Republic of Dahomey

Coordinates: 6°28′N 2°36′E / 6.467°N 2.600°E / 6.467; 2.600
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Republic of Dahomey
République du Dahomey (French)
1958–1975

(1958—1964)

(1964—1975)
Motto: 
  • "Fraternité, Justice, Travail" (French)
Fraternity, Justice, Labour
Anthem: 
presidential republic (1960–1963, 1964–1965, 1968–1970)
Unitary military dictatorship
(1963–1964, 1965–1968, 1972–1975)
Historical eraCold War
4 December 1958
1 August 1960
• Renamed
30 November 1975
CurrencyCFA franc
Preceded by
Succeeded by
French Dahomey
Fort of São João Baptista de Ajudá
People's Republic of Benin
Today part ofBenin

The Republic of Dahomey (French: République du Dahomey; pronounced [daɔmɛ]), simply known as Dahomey (Fon: Danhomè), was established on 4 December 1958, as a self-governing colony within the French Community. Prior to attaining autonomy, it had been French Dahomey, part of the French Union. On 1 August 1960, it attained full independence from France.

In 1975, the country was renamed

Kingdom of Dahomey
.

History

The Republic of Dahomey became independent of France on 1 August 1960.[2] In the words of the historian Martin Meredith, the young country "was encumbered with every imaginable difficulty: a small strip of territory jutting inland from the coast, it was crowded, insolvent and beset by tribal divisions, huge debts, unemployment, frequent strikes and an unending struggle for power between three rival political leaders".[3] These rivals were Justin Ahomadégbé-Tomêtin, who held sway in the southern and central regions of the country, Sourou-Migan Apithy, who dominated the southeast, and Hubert Maga, whose power base was located in the north.[4]

Upon independence, 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.[5] 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.[6]

Following the 1965 coup, Colonel

Marxism–Leninism, declaring the end of the Republic of Dahomey and the establishment of the People's Republic of Benin on 30 November 1975.[9]

In film

Dahomey was chosen for some of the filming locations in the 1967 film The Comedians, with an all-star cast that included Richard Burton, Elizabeth Taylor, Lillian Gish, James Earl Jones, Roscoe Lee Browne, Alec Guinness, Raymond St. Jacques, Gloria Foster, Zakes Mokae, Paul Ford, Georg Stanford Brown, Peter Ustinov, Douta Seck and Cicely Tyson. The movie is the story of an adulterous affair, placed against the backdrop of Haiti during the tumultuous dictatorship of François Duvalier (known as Papa Doc). Dahomey resembled Haiti in many ways, both geographically and culturally, and it was safer to film there than in Haiti.[10]

See also

References

  1. .
  2. ^ Meredith 2013, p. 69.
  3. ^ Meredith 2014, p. 601.
  4. ^ Decalo 1990, pp. 95–96.
  5. ^ Post 1964, pp. 55–56.
  6. ^ Decalo 1990, pp. 98–99.
  7. ^ Meredith 2013, pp. 177–178.
  8. ^ Decalo 1990, p. 99.
  9. ^ Dickovick 2014, p. 70.
  10. ^ Time 1967.

6°28′N 2°36′E / 6.467°N 2.600°E / 6.467; 2.600