The Woman King tells the remarkable story of the Agojie, an all-female warrior unit that protected the African Kingdom of Dahomey in the 1800s. A group of all-female warriors protects the African kingdom of Dahomey with skills and ferocity unparalleled in history. In the face of a new threat, General Nanisca prepares the next generation of recruits to fight a foreign enemy determined to destroy their way
The Kingdom of Dahomey was a West African kingdom that existed in present-day Benin from around 1600 to 1904.
Dahomey developed on the Abomey Plateau among the Fon people in the early 17th century and became a regional power, in the 18th century by expanding south to conquer key cities like Whydah on the Atlantic coast belonging to the Kingdom of Whydah, granting it unhindered access to the tricontinental triangular trade.
After losing its tributary status to the Oyo Empire, the Kingdom of Dahomey became a key regional state for much of the middle nineteenth century.
The Woman King exemplifies women’s ability to change and have an impact on a country’s development and growth.
Africans have a rich culture to share with the rest of the world.
When King Ghezo took the throne in 1818, he faced two immediate challenges: the Kingdom of Dahomey was in political turmoil and financially unstable.
First, he needed to gain political independence by freeing Dahomey from the tributary yoke that the Yoruba empire of Oyo had imposed on it since 1748.
Second, he needed to revive Dahomey’s economy.
Both of these goals were dependent on the slave trade. King Ghezo implemented new military strategies, allowing them to take a physical stand against the Oyo, who were also a major slave trade competitor. He also restricted Dahomey’s participation in the slave trade. The Dahomey would no longer be traded under his rule, as they had been under his brother Adandozan’s.
The film is based on a true life story.
The all-woman army of the African kingdom of Dahomey.
