History of the Kingdom of Dahomey and the French took over the Kingdom of Dahomey in 1894. The throne was vacated by the French in 1900, but the royal families and key administrative positions of the administration continued to have a large impact in the politics of the French administration and the post-independence Republic of Dahomey, renamed Benin in 1975. Historiography of the kingdom has had a significant impact on work far beyond African history and the history of the kingdom forms the backdrop for a number of novels and plays. Prior to the centralization of the kingdom of Dahomey, the evidence suggests that the Abomey
History of the Kingdom of Dahomey the city. In 1730 the war with Oyo ended and Dahomey retained domestic control but became a tributary of the Oyo empire. By the end of Agaja's reign, the Kingdom of Dahomey occupied significant area, particularly the crucial coastal slave trade cities. At the same time, Agaja created much of the administrative apparatus of the kingdom and instituted the key ceremony of the Annual Customs, or "Xwetanu" in Fon. Following the death of Agaja in 1740, the empire was defined by significant political struggle (although limited largely to within the palace walls) and deepening engagement with the slave trade. There