1963 Dahomeyan coup d'état was dropped, but Maga was still guilty of corruption. Following a March 1964 retrial, Maga was let out of prison and went into exile in Paris. 1963 Dahomeyan coup d'état The 1963 Dahomey coup d'état was staged on October 28, 1963, by Christophe Soglo, who took control of the Republic of Dahomey to prevent a civil war. He overthrew Hubert Maga, whose presidency faced extreme economic stagnation and a host of other problems. The West African colony of French Dahomey, the present-day nation of Benin, was largely ignored by the French during its colonial era in French West Africa. Dahomey
History of the Kingdom of Dahomey in the 15th century, but significant trade did not start until 1533 when the Portuguese and the city of Grand-Popo signed a trade agreement. There are a number of different folk stories about the founding of the Kingdom of Dahomey. Most scholars believe many of these stories were created or exaggerated in the 18th century to promote the legitimacy of the Dahomey royal regimes at the time and thus may be based only loosely on actual events. The most common founding myth traces the establishment of the kingdom to the royal lineage of Allada. According to this story, there was