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Essay / Research Paper Abstract
This 3 page paper looks at the Dahomey Empire of West Africa which existed between the 17th and the 19th centuries. The structure and power of the Empire, stability, interaction with others and cause of the collapse are all discussed. The bibliography cites 3 sources.
Page Count:
3 pages (~225 words per page)
File: TS14_TEdahomey.doc
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Unformatted sample text from the term paper:
Whydah in 1729. This created the Kingdom of Dahomey. The kingdom was an absolute monarchy, where the king had total control, this included all direct ownership of all land, and
the taxes which were collected would go directly to the king. This type of power and absolute monarchy can be seen as even more extreme than King Louis XIV of
France (Oliver et al, 1985). The power of the king is also demonstrated in the way human sacrificed was practiced, including many beheading of many citizens on the death of
a king, although the wives were buried alive (Bailyn and Denault, 2009). This all indicates the power of the ruler, and their control over the military; this was absolute and
as such the system was a unipolar. Brewer describes the concept of a fiscal-military state, where the state effectively existed to fight; to wage war. While the aggressive nature of
the state and the control of the king is absolute, the kingdom cannot be seen as a highly successful military state, there were may wars wages which were not won.
Even when the kingdom waged war on the neighbouring kingdom of Oyo; attractive as this was the main rival in the slave trade, they were unable to win and became
a tributary to Oyo. However, they effectively retained their independence and the king absolute power over his state, with the main impact being the paying of heavy taxes (Bailyn and
Denault, 2009). Stability The kingdom remained in tact and faced a number of challenges, but the internal structure and practices appear to remain relativity stable given the time
and external influences. The culture and practices cam be seen as a key aspect of the society which generated ongoing traditions. The role of religion is one of the controls,
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