Overview

Based on extensive archival research, this is a detailed history of the 18th- and 19th-century women warriors of the West African kingdom of Dahomey (now the People's Republic of Benin). Originally a praetorian guard, they developed into a 6000-strong force and were accorded semi-sacred status. They lusted for battle, fighting with fury and valour until the kingdom's final defeat by France in 1892. Once dubbed a ""small black Sparta"", Dahomey shared with Sparta an intense militarism and sense of collectivism. Moreover the women of both kingdoms prided themselves on bodies hardened from childhood by rigorous physical exercise, but Spartan women kept in shape to breed male warriors, Dahomean amazons to kill them.

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9780814706787

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<p> Alpern, a former Agency for International Development official long-stationed in Africa and now an independent scholar, draws together the available material on this peculiar institution into an interesting and readable book.

Author Information

Stanley B. Alpern worked as a sub-editor for the New York Herald Tribune and then as a foreign service officer of the United States Information Agency for twenty-two years, two of which were spent in West Africa. He lives on the French Riviera.

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