THE AGOJIE WARRIORS

The photo below is of the last regiment of Agojie Warriors.

The photo was taken around 1894 and exists in a museum in Benin.

The Agojie were an all female regiment that Defended the Kingdom of Dahomey ( Modern Day Republic of Benin).

The Dahomey warriors defeated the French in the first Franco-Dahomean war in 1890... Although the French had the Maxim Gun...the Agojie Warriors were more prepared. However, the French were not satisfied with their defeat and still were determined to colonise Dahomey. They still made plans to attack Dahomey.

During the second Franco-Dahomean war led by French commander General Alfred Amedde Dodd that took place between 1892 until 1894. The kingdom of Dahomey went again into war against France, the Agojie lastly suffered a Major defeat and that is how the Kingdom of Dahomey was colonised by the French.

You look at the rifle the Agojie Warriors were having , it was weak compared to the Maxim gun used by Europeans

The King of Dahomey called Behanzin was captured and jailed in Algeria by the French

Dahomey kept its name as a French colony until 1946 where the French decided to rename the Colony Benin...a name they copied from the Southern Kingdom of Nigeria.

The last Agojie Warrior to fight in the Franco-Dahomean war died in 1976