Date: 1724 to 1727
Location: Benin, Africa
Category: Slavery
Between 1724 and 1727, King Agaja Trudo of Dahomey (present-day Benin) took significant action to disrupt the slave trade. He conquered the coastal states of Allada (1724) and Whydah (1727), which were major European slave trading centers. These campaigns damaged trading posts and besieged European forts, temporarily halting slave exports. In 1726, Agaja reportedly sent Bulfinch Lambe, a captured British trader, and Adomo Tomo, an African interpreter, to England. Their mission, purportedly to propose alternative trade arrangements, remains a subject of historical debate due to limited documentation and questions about its authenticity. By 1730, facing invasions from the Oyo Empire and internal pressures, Agaja allowed slave trading to resume under royal monopoly. Thus, while Dahomey’s initial actions disrupted the slave trade, they ultimately did not end his involvement in it, illustrating the complex political and economic challenges he and other African leaders faced.
