Dahomey and the Ending of the Transatlantic Slave Trade

The Vice-Consulate in the coastal port of Ouidah, in the kingdom of Dahomey, West African (now in the modern Republic of Bénin) was established in1851-2 as part of the British government's efforts to suppress the trans-Atlantic slave trade. In particular it was hoped to persuade King Gezo to accept a treaty banning exports of slaves from his dominions. Louis Fraser proved a poor choice as Vice-Consul: he was no linguist, abrasive with naval colleagues and arrogant towards the king and people of Ouidah. However, his shortcomings as a diplomat do not detract from the value of his account as a historical resource. The documents collected here comprise principally the journals of the Vice-Consul, Louis Fraser, together with letters and other reports by him, a selection of the documents referred to in his journals, and letters and reports by other British officials (especially officers of the navy's West African squadron) which refer to his activities. These documents are valuable sources, not only for the history of British policy on the slave trade, but also for the history of Dahomey, which was one of the most important indigenous states in coastal West Africa in the nineteenth century. Fraser was one of a number of British visitors to Dahomey in the mid-nineteenth century, many of whom left published accounts. Fraser's account, in contrast, was never published, and so has remained less known. Its publication now brings it more effectively within the public domain.