Agonglo
| Agonglo | |
|---|---|
| King of Dahomey | |
| Reign | 1789–1797 |
| Predecessor | Kpengla |
| Successor | Adandozan |
| Born | 1766 |
| Died | 1797 Abomey |
| House | Aladaxonou |
| Father | Kpengla |
Agonglo was a King of the Kingdom of Dahomey, in present-day Benin, from 1789 until 1797. Agonglo took over from his father King Kpengla in 1789 and inherited many of the economic problems that developed during Kpengla's reign. Because of the poor economy, Agonglo was often constrained by domestic opposition. As a response, he reformed many of the economic policies (lowered taxes and removed constrains on the slave trade) and did military expeditions to try to increase the supply for the Atlantic slave trade. Many of these efforts were unsuccessful and European traders became less active in the ports of the kingdom. As a final effort, Agonglo accepted two Portuguese Catholic missionaries which resulted in a large outcry in royal circles and resulted in his assassination on May 1, 1797. Adandozan, his second oldest son, was named the new king.
Agonglo was the oldest son of King Kpengla (ruled 1774-1789) who had ruled over a long term economic crisis in Dahomey. The Oyo empire still had suzerainty over the kingdom and in the time of Kpengla this power of Oyo over the kingdom had resulted in decreased slave trading by Dahomey. Kpengla responded in a variety of ways: first trying to defeat common competitors of both Oyo and Dahomey, then when this failed he ended slave trade with Oyo entirely, raised harsh taxes on slave traders through Dahomey, and resumed slave raiding. These policies largely did not work and the slave trade, which had become the primary trade for Dahomey, slowed significantly.
Political factions were also developing in Dahomey under Kpengla. When Tegbessou (ruled 1740-1774) became king in a contentious selection, two older sons of King Agaja were passed over for selection. The heirs of these two other brothers had slowly increased their power into a distinct rival claim to the throne at Dahomey.
When Kpengla died in 1789, four rival claimants came to the throne: two younger brothers of Kpengla, Fraku or Don Jeronimo (the son of one of the older sons of Agaja), and Agonglo (the oldest son of Kpengla. The Migan and Mehu of Dahomey, who were tasked with selecting the new king, choose Agonglo, but there remained significant political opposition to Agonglo. The selection of Agonglo resulted in such widespread opposition that the political functions of the kingdom largely halted for a year. Agonglo then did a series of conciliatory moves to try and end the opposition: promised to give citizens back some rights, ended constraints on slave traders, reduced taxes, reassigned some of the aggressive tax collectors into the army, and recognized other powerful individuals.
...
Wikipedia