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A Dialogue with King Agaja: William Snelgrave’s 1727 Ardra Diary and the Contours of Dahomian-European Commercial Exchange

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  10 May 2016

Neal D. Polhemus
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Abstract:

The rise of the Kingdom of Dahomey in the first quarter of the eighteenth century was a watershed event in the political history of precolonial West Africa. This article draws on a newly rediscovered copy of William Snelgrave’s diary who visited King Agaja of Dahomey in April 1727. The diary provides the fullest account to date of Agaja’s motives for invading Whydah in March 1727. In addition, the Diary provides the earliest evidence confirming the bona fides of Bulfinch Lambe’s 1731 mission to England to establish commercial relations with King George II.

Résumé:

L’essor du royaume d’Abomey dans le premier quart du XVIIIe siècle a été un tournant dans l’histoire politique précoloniale de l’Afrique de l’Ouest. Cet article se base sur un exemplaire nouvellement redécouvert du journal de William Snelgrave qui a rendu une visite au roi Agadja d’Abomey en avril 1727. Le journal fournit le récit le plus complet à ce jour des raisons qui ont poussé Agadja à envahir Ouidah en mars 1727. En outre, ce journal constitue la plus ancienne source confirmant les références données par le roi d’Abomey à la mission menée en 1731 par Bulfinch Lambe en Angleterre pour établir des relations commerciales avec le roi George II.

Type
Critical Source Analysis of European Travelers’ Sources
Information
History in Africa , Volume 43 , June 2016 , pp. 29 - 62
Copyright
Copyright © African Studies Association 2016 

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