The Rising Son; or, the Antecedents and Advancement of the Colored RaceBrown, William Wells
History
The Rising Son; or, the Antecedents and Advancement of the Colored Race
Brown, William Wells
African Americans -- Biography; African Americans -- History; Black race; Slavery -- United States
Mr. Crowther is a man of superior ability, and his attainments in
learning furnish a happy illustration of the capacity of the Negro
for improvements. Dahomey is one of the largest and most powerful of
all the governments on the west coast. The King is the most absolute
tyrant in the world, owning all the land, the people, and everything
that pertains to his domain. The inhabitants are his slaves, and they
must come and go at his command. The atrocious cruelties that are
constantly perpetrated at the command and bidding of this monarch,
has gained for him the hatred of the civilized world; and strange to
say, these deeds of horror appear to be sanctioned by the people, who
have a superstitious veneration for their sovereign, that is without
a parallel. Abomi, the capital of Dahomey, has a large population, a
fort, and considerable trade. The King exacts from all the sea-port
towns on this part of the coast, and especially from Popo, Porto Novo,
and Badagry, where the foreign slave-trade, until within a very short
period, was carried on as in no other part of Africa.
The Dahomian soldiery, for the past two hundred years, have done little
less than hunt slaves for the supply of the traders.
The English blockading squadron has done great service in breaking
up the slave-trade on this part of the coast, and this has turned
the attention of the people to agriculture. The country has splendid
natural resources, which if properly developed, will make it one of
the finest portions of Western Africa. The soil is rich, the seasons
are regular, and the climate favorable for agricultural improvements.
Indian corn, yams, potatoes, manico, beans, ground-nuts, plantains, and
bananas are the chief products of the country. Cotton is raised to a
limited extent.
The practice of sacrificing the lives of human beings upon the graves
of dead kings every year in Dahomey, and then paving the palace
grounds with the skulls of the victims, has done much to decrease the
population of this kingdom. As many as two thousand persons have been
slaughtered on a single occasion. To obtain the required number, wars
have been waged upon the surrounding nations for months previous to the
sacrifice. There is no place where there is more intense heathenism;
and to mention no other feature in their superstitious practice, the
worship of snakes by the Dahomians fully illustrates this remark.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account