Agonglo

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.

Rise to power 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. Agonglo accepted the missionaries and expressed a willingness to be converted which caused a significant uproar amongst different factions within the kingdom. It is unknown whether he was sincere in his willingness to be converted or whether it was merely to appease the Portuguese. Dogan and Na Wanjile were buried alive for the assassination.

Succession With the execution of Dogan, the Migan and Mehu of Dahomey named Adandozan, the second oldest son of Agonglo, as the new king. Although Adandozan was quite young, he started his reign by punishing all members of the faction that had killed his father executing hundreds and selling the rest into slavery. Those sold into slavery included the future mother of King Ghezo who would replace Adandozan.