kingdom · West Africa

Kingdom of Whydah

1580 CE – 1727 CE (approx.) · capital Savi

Coastal kingdom of present-day Benin whose port of Ouidah was one of the busiest slave-trading harbours in Africa around 1700.

Origins

Whydah, or Hueda, was a kingdom of Gbe-speaking people on the coast west of the Kingdom of Allada, with its capital at Savi a few kilometres inland. It emerged as an independent state in the late 16th century and grew rapidly as European ships turned to its port.

Rule and society

The king of Whydah opened the port to all European nations, and the English, French and Portuguese built forts at Ouidah. By the early 18th century more than ten thousand enslaved people were shipped from Whydah in many years. The cult of the python, Dangbe, was central to the town's religion and is still practised.

Decline and legacy

In 1727 Agaja of the Kingdom of Dahomey invaded and destroyed Savi, and King Haffon fled. Dahomey took control of Ouidah, which remained its main port. The town is now a centre of Vodun and of memory of the Atlantic slave trade.

Connections (2)

More states of West Africa →

Cite this page
APA
The Epoch Institute. (2026). Kingdom of Whydah. In The Epoch Institute States Register. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/kingdom-of-whydah
MLA
“Kingdom of Whydah.” The Epoch Institute States Register, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/kingdom-of-whydah. Accessed .
Chicago
The Epoch Institute. “Kingdom of Whydah.” The Epoch Institute States Register. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/kingdom-of-whydah.
Harvard
The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘Kingdom of Whydah’, The Epoch Institute States Register. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/kingdom-of-whydah (Accessed: ).

Last reviewed October 2026Random state ↻