Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 05.djvu/853

* I DAHOMEY. 737 DAIMIEL. finally, the extreme north is characterized by bare tracts of desert, fonning part of what is called Ujiper Dahomey. The only river of im- portance is the navigable Weme, which traverses the eastern part of the countrj-. Jlono, however, borders on the west, and the Niger on the north- east. The climate is unhealthful in the low coast lands, being both hot and moist, but is favorable in the interior. The rainy season is in summer. A large Jiart of Dahomey is covered with thick forests abounding in rubber-plants, and also palms which yield large quantities of oil and ker- nels for export. The soil is remarkably fertile, and along the coast manioc, maize, and potatoes are grown by the industrious natives, who also weave, and make potterj-. Trade, which in for- mer days was little more than an exchange of trinkets for gold and other equally precious arti- cles, has now assumed an entirely modern as- pect and importance. The commerce is mostly concentrated in the Gulf towns, especially in Porto Novo, the main port of the colony. The exports, consisting almost entirelj- of palm-oil and palm-kernels, amounted to nearly 13,000,000 francs in 1900. The imports for 1900 exceeded 1.5,200,000 francs, and were made up chiefly of liquors, cotton, and tobacco. About one-fourth of the trade is with France. In 1900 vessels -with a total tonnage of 394,000 tons entered and cleared the ports. The port Kotonu is con- nected with the Niger and the Senegal by tele- graph. There is regular steamship communica- tion with Europe. Dahomey was an absolute monarchy previous to the French occupation. There was a stand- ing army estimated at over lii.OOO, consisting partly of female warriors or amazons, who were distinguislied for superior physique and high skill in the use of weapons. At present the col- ony is locally administered by a French Gover- nor, assisted by a council over which he pre- sides. The council is made up of higher officials, and also two prominent residents, one of whom is native and one white. (See French West Africa.) The local budget for 1901 balanced at .$574,000. The colony is self-supporting. The population is estimated at nearly 1,000,000, composed of full-blooded Guinea Negroes, or Ni- gritians of the coast (Deniker). The Da- homans are tall, very long-headed { index 75.1), but not so black as the tribes of Senegal, In their owti tongue, a dialect "of the Ewe lan- guage, common on this part of the Slave Coast, they are called Fon or Fawin. Their religion is jjurely fetish, and the sacrifice of human beings, a widespread custom in former times, is still supposed to be practiced. In spite of a low standard of morality and warlike attributes and usages, the Dahomans are polite in their inter- course. The activity of missionaries has thus far been attended with little success, except in the case of the dervishes, who are indefatigable in their efforts to spread the gospel of Islam. The capitjil of the colony has been removed, since the French occupation, from Abomey to Porto Novo (q.v.). Other towns are Grand Popo, Agoue, Say (on the Niger), Whydah, and Allada, an important trading point. The kingdom of Dahomey arose in the seven- teenth century around the city of Abomey as a nucleus. By successive conquests the kings ex- tended their rule to the highlands of the Mah6 on the north and to the Slave Coast on the south (17721. There they came into contact willi the Europeans and succeeded in o))taiiiing control of a large part of the shive trade, which was then carried on actively l>.v the English, the French, and Portuguese. With the cessation of the slave trallie, the prosperity of the country came to an end. France secured a firm footing on the coast in the second half of the nineteentli century. Between 187S and 1S85 it ol)tained possession of Kotonu, Porto Novo, and Granrt Popo, and after a bloody contest in 1890 forced King Behanzin to acknowledge its title to the coast region. War broke out again in 1892, and resulted in the taking of .VI)omey. the deposition of Behanzin (since retained as prisoner at Fort-de- France, ilartinique I, and the establishment of a vintual French jjrotectorate. Since then the French have been actively engaged in extending their authority over the region to the north, so as to bring Dahomey into touch with their posses- sions in the Sudan. In 1897 and 1898 they con- cluded treaties with the (Jernians and the English, and the sphere of influence claimed by each was determined. Consult: Skertchley, Dahomey As It Is (Lon- don, 1874; Careb, Les territoires africains et les conventions anglaises (Paris, 191); Tout- tee, Du Dahome an Sahara (Paris, 1899) ; Keane, in Stanford's Africa (London, 1895) ; Verdier, Trcnte-cinq annces de lutte aux colonies, cote occidentale d'Afriquc (Paris, 1897) ; Au- blet, La guerre au Dahome (Paris, 1894). DAIBTJTSU, di'boo'tsoo (.Japanese, great Buddha). A famous .Tapanese image of Buddha at Kamakura, near Yokohama. It dates from 1252 and is a unique production of Japanese art. wrought of bronze and silver, with eyes of gold, and measiires 50 feet in height and 97 feet in circumference. More ancient, even, dating from 749, and of more gigantic proportions, but of inferior artistic merit, is the Daibutsu at Nara, in the main island of Japan. D'AIGUEBELLE, dug'bel'. See Aiguebelle. DAILLE, dii'ya', or DALL.a:XJS, dal-le'us. Jean (1594-1670). A French Reformed theolo- gian, boin at Chatellerault. He was tutor to the grandsons of Philli])e de Jlornay and trav- eled with them through Italy, Germany, Hol- land, and England in 1021-25. He became preacher at Saumur in 1025, and at Charenton in 1026. and was president of the last national svnod of the Reformed Church held in France in 1659. He was one of the most learned and influential theo- logians of the Reformed Church in France, and wrote a considerable number of controversial works, among which the Traite de I'emploi des Saints Peres (1623) is of permanent value. DAILY COTTKANT, The. A journal called the first English daily newspaper, which first appeared March 11, 1702. DAIMIEL, di-myal'. A town in Spain, in the Province of Ciudad Real, 20 miles east-north- east of the city of that name, with which it/ is connected by rail (Jlap: Spain, D 3). It lies on the .^zuer River, in the fertile Campo de Calatrava; it has several squares, and its prin- cipal streets, though un])aved, are wide and com- paratively clean. Its chief buildings are the churches of San Pedro and Santa Jlaria — the former' a Doric and the latter a Gothic structure