Dahomey Panyarring

the door of no return in whydah. memorial slave trade through port of dahomey.

the kingdom of dahomey, along coast in present-day benin, took on kingdoms of allada , whydah in 1720s , established control on part of atlantic coast , became 1 of main participants in slave trade. allada , whydah had been prominent users of panyarring of contact europeans. king of allada, toward end of 17th century, recorded threatening local traders in default on loans wives taken. similarly, whydah known being particularly hard on debtors because allowed panyarring of persons or goods whenever loans not paid.

dahomey had banned practice of panyarring in 17th century under king houegbadja, requiring debt disputes handled in royal courts. when dahomey conquered allada , whydah practice banned. although kingdom known militarism , slave raids, dahomey did not use panyarring , practice not prominent along known slave coast in 18th , 19th centuries.