Kpengla [SEP] country of citizenship
Kpengla
Kpengla was a King of the Kingdom of Dahomey, in present-day Benin, from 1774 until 1789. Kpengla followed his father Tegbessou to the throne and much of his administration was defined by the increasing Atlantic slave trade and regional rivalry over the profits from this trade. His attempts to control the slave trade generally failed, and when he died of smallpox in 1789, his son Agonglo came to the throne and ended many of his policies.
Rise to power.
The Kingdom of Dahomey had increased significantly
in Dahomey under Kpengla. When Tegbessou (ruled 1740-1774) became king in a contentious selection, two older sons of King Agaja were passed over for selection. The heirs of these two other brothers had slowly increased their power into a distinct rival claim to the throne at Dahomey.
When Kpengla died in 1789, four rival claimants came to the throne: two younger brothers of Kpengla, Fraku or Don Jeronimo (the son of one of the older sons of Agaja), and Agonglo (the oldest son of