page_title: Kingdom of Whydah
section_title: Life inside Whydah
hierarchical_section_title: Kingdom of Whydah / Life inside Whydah
caption_attribution_description: Crowning of the King of Whydah, april 1723, engraving by Jacob van der Schley/Jacob van Schley (1715-1779). Print from the book by "Des Marchais". On display at the Musée de la Compagnie des Indes in Port-Louis
context_page_description: The Kingdom of Whydah was a kingdom on the coast of West Africa in what is now Benin. It was a major slave trading area. In 1700, it had a coastline of around 16 kilometres; under King Haffon, this was expanded to 64 km, and stretching 40 km inland.
  The Kingdom of Whydah was centered in Savi. The last ruler of Whydah was King Haffon, who was deposed in 1727, when Whydah was conquered by the Kingdom of Dahomey.
context_section_description: According to one European, who visited in 1692–1700, Whydah exported some thousand slaves a month, mainly taken captive from villages in the interior of Africa. For this reason, it has been considered a "principal market" for human beings. When the king could not supply the European traders with sufficient slaves, he would supplement them with his own wives. Robbery was common. Every thing in Whydah paid a toll to the king, but corruption amongst collectors was endemic. Despite this, the king was wealthy, and clothed in gold and silver—goods of which little was known in Whydah. He commanded great respect, and, unusually, was never seen to eat. The color red was reserved for the royal family. The king was considered immortal, although successive kings were recognized as dying of natural causes. Interregna, even of only a few days,were often occasions of plundering and anarchy by the populace. The patriarchal society isolated women, "protecting" them from the larger society (or other men). Fathers were recorded with more than two hundred children by their numerous wives. 
  Three public objects were the subject of devotion: some lofty trees, the sea, and a type of snake. This snake was the subject of many stories and incidents; it may perhaps have been worshipped because it ate the rats that would otherwise ruin the harvest. Priests and priestesses were held in high regard, and immune from capital punishment. 
  The king could field 200,000 men. In comparison, other estimates range upward from twenty thousand, although contemporary interpretation is generally that these armies were of "overwhelming size". Battles were normally won by strength of numbers alone, with the weaker side fleeing.
caption: Crowning of the King of Juida, by Jacob van der Schley (1715-1779)
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