History of the Kingdom of Dahomey of National Assembly of Benin 1990-1991), and others. Kojo Tovalou Houénou (1887–1936), who claimed to be a prince of Dahomey but had lived most of his life in France, became a major critic of the French colonial empire founded the "Ligue Universelle pour la Défense de la Race Noire" to push for recognition of Africans as full citizens of the French state. European historiography of Dahomey has been significant for its use in debates about the morality of the slave trade and for its importance to fields outside African history. Many of the early histories and descriptions were written by
Republic of Dahomey Maga became the first president of Dahomey. A political crisis in 1958, prior to independence, had led to Maga's Dahomeyan Democratic Movement joining a coalition government, with a subsequent crisis leading to Maga becoming the head of government in April 1959. This compromise, however, was unable to solve Dahomey's problems, and an uprising broke out in October 1963, culminating in a coup d'état, and the replacement of Maga as president with Apithy. This also failed to bring about stability, and Apithy was removed in another coup, in December 1965. Following the 1965 coup, Colonel Christophe Soglo became president. A veteran