36 Facts About Ghezo

Ghezo, spelled Gezo, was King of Dahomey from 1818 until 1858.

Ghezo replaced his brother Adandozan as king through a coup with the assistance of the Brazilian slave trader Francisco Felix de Sousa.

Ghezo ruled over the kingdom during a tumultuous period, punctuated by the British blockade of the ports of Dahomey in order to stop the Atlantic slave trade.

Ghezo promised to end the slave trade in 1852, but resumed slave efforts in 1857.

Ghezo was assassinated in 1858, and his son Glele became the new king.

Ghezo was a son born with the name Gakpe to King Agonglo and was a younger brother to Adandozan.

The story says that this understanding lasted until 1838, when Ghezo instead named his own son, the future king Glele, as the crown prince.

Ghezo's rule was defined by some important military victories, domestic dissent, and transformation of the slave trade economy.

Ghezo's rule is often remembered as one of the most significant in terms of reform and change to the political order of the kingdom.

Ghezo defeated this force by organizing a night raid which resulted in the death of the Oyo leader, Ajanaku, and caused the Oyo troops to retreat.

Ghezo suffered losses to the Mahi people to the north of Dahomey and was unable to secure enough individuals to meet slave demands, leading him to sell citizens of Dahomey, a quite unpopular decision.

In 1851, Ghezo organized a direct attack on the city of Abeokuta, but it did not succeed.

Ghezo suspended large-scale military operations when he ended the slave trade.

However, by 1858, a conservative faction pressured Ghezo to begin large-scale military operations again with an assault on Abeokuta to follow.

Ghezo is credited with the formation of the Mino as an actual war fighting force.

Ghezo did this by raising the status of the female guards, providing them uniforms, giving them additional weapons, and making them a crucial part of war policy.

Since de Sousa was of crucial importance in Ghezo's rise to power, he named de Sousa the Chacha at Whydah, a position which would be the principal trade official in that port.

Agontime was a wife of Agonglo, sometimes claimed to be the mother of Ghezo, who was sold into slavery when Adandozan came to power because she supported a rival to the throne.

Ghezo was the head of the Elephant faction which supported opposition to the British demands to end the slave trade and was supported by key officials and the representatives of de Sousa.

The Fly faction grew more powerful with the British naval blockade of 1852 and Ghezo eventually agreed to end the slave trade; however, the Elephant faction and the interests of de Souza's family remained important for the rest of his reign.

Historian Robin Law largely believes that the elite factionalism to Ghezo developed in 1856 when he had reduced the slave trade.

In that year, a faction for the resumption of the slave trade formed, headed by the Migan and Yovogan which pushed Ghezo toward resuming the slave trade in 1857.

One additional way that Ghezo maintained domestic support was by lengthening the ceremony cycle in the 1850s with additions to the Annual Customs including a ceremony for the palm oil trade, one to celebrate ending tribute to the Oyo empire, and one dedicated to Ghezo himself.

When King Ghezo ascended the throne in 1818, he was confronted by two immediate obstacles: the Kingdom of Dahomey was in political turmoil, and it was financially unstable.

King Ghezo implemented new military strategies, which allowed them to take a physical stand against the Oyo, who were a major competitor in the slave trade.

Ghezo put stipulations on Dahomey's participation in the slave trade.

King Ghezo responded to these requests by saying he was unable to end the slave trade because of domestic pressure.

Ghezo additionally explained to the British that the entire region had become dependent on the trans-Atlantic slave trade for profit, so ending it in one day would destabilize his kingdom and lead to anarchy.

The Egbas, who did not participate in slavery, had set their sights on becoming the new palm oil capital of the region; a title King Ghezo needed to steer the Dahomey Kingdom away for slavery.

Jealous of the attention and goods that the Egba were received from the British and fearful of what it would mean for Dahomey, King Ghezo decided to act.

The agreement specified that Ghezo was to end the slave trade from Dahomey.

The British believed that Ghezo never implemented the provisions of this treaty, although he believed he did comply by stopping slave trade through Dahomey's ports even though he allowed slaves to be traded from Dahomey to other ports and then sold into the slave trade.

Ghezo significantly reduced the wars and slave raids by the kingdom and in 1853 told the British that he reduced the practice of human sacrifice at the Annual Customs However, these positions were reversed dramatically in 1857 and 1858 as Ghezo became hostile to the British; he revived slave trade through the port of Whydah, and in 1858, Dahomey attacked Abeokuta.

The details of Ghezo's death are different depending on the historical source.

Many of the reforms attempted by Ghezo were partially undermined by Glele, who began slave trading, warfare, and human sacrifice to some extent.

Ghezo is mentioned in the historical novel Segu by Maryse Conde, which notes the prophecy that he would die of smallpox.