spacetime coordinates: 1820’s the West African kingdom of Dahomey
The Woman King is a 2022 American historical epic film about the Agojie, the all-female warrior unit that protected the West African kingdom of Dahomey during the 17th to 19th centuries. The film stars Viola Davis as a general who trains the next generation of warriors to fight their enemies. It is directed by Gina Prince-Bythewood and written by Dana Stevens, based on a story she wrote with Maria Bello. The film also stars Thuso Mbedu, Lashana Lynch, Sheila Atim, and John Boyega.
(historical accuracy) John Boyega plays King Ghezo, a real-life figure who ruled Dahomey from 1818 to 1858 and engaged in the Atlantic slave trade through the end of his reign. Hero Fiennes Tiffin plays the white Portuguese-speaking slave trader Santo Ferreira who is fictional and portrayed as an enemy to Ghezo. History vs. Hollywood said the character was “possibly loosely inspired” by Francisco Félix de Sousa, a Brazilian slave trader who in actuality helped Ghezo gain power.
Historically, Dahomey was a kingdom that conquered other African states and enslaved their citizens to sell in the Atlantic slave trade, and most of the kingdom’s wealth was derived from slavery. The Agojie had a history of participating in slave raiding, and slavery in Dahomey persisted after the British Empire stopped Dahomey from continuing in the Atlantic slave trade.
In the film’s setting of the 1820s, Nanisca confronts Ghezo about the immorality of selling Dahomey slaves to the Portuguese and suggests trading in palm oil production instead. Nanisca being fictional, the confrontation did not take place. Smithsonian wrote, “Though Ghezo did at one point explore palm oil production as an alternative source of revenue, it proved far less lucrative, and the king soon resumed Dahomey’s participation in the slave trade.” wiki
The film does not mention or depict the Kingdom of Dahomey’s practice of human sacrifice. (read more: A look at Dahomey’s gory history of human sacrifices on a large scale)
The all-woman Dora Milaje regiment featured in Black Panther is based on the Dahomey warriors.
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