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    "verified_text": "dahn, julius sophus felix (1834- ), german historian, jurist and poet, was born on the 9th of february 1834 in hamburg, where his father, friedrich dahn (1811-1889), was a leading actor at the city theatre. his mother, constance dahn, nee le gay, was a noted actress. in 1834 the family moved to munich, where the parents took leading roles in the classical german drama, until they retired from the stage: the mother in 1865 and the father in 1878. felix dahn studied law and philosophy in munich and berlin from 1849 to 1853. his first works were in jurisprudence, _uber die wirkung der klagverjahrung bei obligationen_ (munich, 1855), and _studien zur geschichte der germanischen gottesurteile_ (munich, 1857). in 1857 he became docent in german law at munich university, and in 1862 professor-extraordinary, but in 1863 was called to wurzburg to a full professorship. in 1872 he removed to the university of konigsberg, and in 1888 settled at breslau, becoming rector of the university in 1895. meanwhile in addition to many legal works of high standing, he had begun the publication of that long series of histories and historical romances which has made his name a household word in germany. the great history of the german migrations, _die konige der germanen_, bande i.-vi. (munich and wurzburg, 1861-1870), bande vii.-xi. (leipzig, 1894-1908), was a masterly study in constitutional history as well as a literary work of high merit, which carries the narrative down to the dissolution of the carolingian empire. in his _urgeschichte der germanischen und romanischen volker_ (berlin, 1881-1890), dahn went a step farther back still, but here as in his _geschichte der deutschen urzeit_ (gotha, 1883-1888), a wealth of picturesque detail has been worked over and resolved into history with such imaginative insight and critical skill as to make real and present the indistinct beginnings of german society. together with these larger works dahn wrote many monographs and studies upon primitive german society. many of his essays were collected in a series of six volumes entitled _bausteine_ (berlin, 1879-1884). not less important than his histories are the historical romances, the best-known of which, _ein kampf um rom_, in four volumes (leipzig, 1876), which has gone through many later editions, was also the first of the series. others are _odhins trost_ (leipzig, 1880); _die kreuzfahrer_ (leipzig, 1884); _odhins rache_ (leipzig, 1891); _julian der abtrunnige_ (leipzig, 1894), and one of the most popular, _bis zum tode getreu_ (leipzig, 1887). the list is too long to be given in full, yet almost all are well-known. parallel with this great production of learned and imaginative works, dahn published some twenty small volumes of poetry. the most notable of these are the epics of the early german period. his wife therese, _nee_ freiin von droste-hulshoff, was joint-author with him of _walhall, germanische gotter und heldensagen_ (leipzig, 1898). a collected edition of his works of fiction, both in prose and verse, has reached twenty-one volumes (leipzig, 1898), and a new edition was published in 1901. dahn also published four volumes of memoirs, _erinnerungen_ (leipzig, 1890-1895). dahomey (fr. _dahome_), a country of west africa, formerly an independent kingdom, now a french colony. dahomey is bounded s. by the gulf of guinea, e. by nigeria (british), n. and n.w. by the french possessions on the middle niger, and w. by the german colony of togoland. the french colony extends far north of the limits of the ancient kingdom of the same name. with a coast-line of only 75 m. (1 deg. 38' e. to 2 deg. 46' 55\" e.), the area of the colony is about 40,000 sq. m., and the population over 1,000,000. as far as 9 deg. n. the width of the colony is no greater than the coast-line. from this point, the colony broadens out both eastward and westward, attaining a maximum width of 200 m. it includes the western part of borgu (q.v.), and reaches the niger at a spot a little above illo. its greatest length n. to s. is 430 m. _physical features._--the littoral, part of the old slave coast (see guinea,), is very low, sandy and obstructed by a bar. behind the seashore is a line of lagoons, where small steamers can ply; east to west they are those of porto novo (or lake nokue), whydah and grand popo. the weme (300 m. long), known in its upper course as the ofe, the most important river running south, drains the colony from the bariba country to porto novo, entering the lagoon so named. the zu is a western affluent of the weme. farther west is the kuffu (150 m. long), which, before entering the whydah lagoon, broadens out into a lake or lagoon called aheme, 20 m. long by 5 m. broad. the makru and kergigoto, each of which has various affluents, flow north-east to the niger, which in the part of its course forming the north-east frontier of the colony is only navigable for small vessels and that with great difficulty (see niger). for some 50 m. inland the country is flat, and, after the first mile or two of sandy waste is passed, covered with dense vegetation. at this distance (50 m.) from the coast is a great swamp known as the lama marsh. it extends east to west some 25 m. and north to south 6 to 9 m. north of the swamp the land rises by regular stages to about 1650 ft., the high plateau falling again to the basin of the niger. in the north-west a range of hills known as the atacora forms a watershed between the basins of the weme, the niger and the volta. a large part of the interior consists of undulating country, rather barren, with occasional patches of forest. the forests contain the baobab, the coco-nut palm and the oil palm. the fauna resembles that of other parts of the west coast, but the larger wild animals, such as the elephant and hippopotamus, are rare. the lion is found in the regions bordering the niger. some kinds of antelopes are common; the buffalo has disappeared. _climate._--the climate of the coast regions is very hot and moist. four seasons are well marked: the harmattan or long dry season, from the 1st december to the 15th march; the season of the great rains, from the 15th march to the 15th july; the short dry season, from the 15th july to the 15th september; and the \"little rains,\" from the 15th september to the 1st december. near the sea the average temperature is about 80 deg. f. the harmattan prevails for several days in succession, and alternates with winds from the south and south-west. during its continuance the thermometer falls about 10 deg., there is not the slightest moisture in the atmosphere, vegetation dries up or droops, the skin parches and peels, and all woodwork is liable to warp and crack with a loud report. tornadoes occur occasionally. during nine months of the year the climate is tempered by a sea-breeze, which is felt as far inland as abomey (60 m.). it generally begins in the morning, and in the summer it often increases to a stiff gale at sundown. in the interior there are but two seasons: the dry season (november to may) and the rainy season (june to october). the rains are more scanty and diminish considerably in the northern regions. _inhabitants._--the inhabitants of the coast region are of pure negro stock. the dahomeyans (dahomi), who inhabit the central part of the colony, form one of eighteen closely-allied clans occupying the country between the volta and porto novo, and from their common tongue known as the ewe-speaking tribes. in their own tongue dahomeyans are called fon or fawin. they are tall and well-formed, proud, reserved in demeanour, polite in their intercourse with strangers, war-like and keen traders. the mina, who occupy the district of the popos, are noted for their skill as surf-men, which has gained for them the title of the krumen of dahomey. porto novo is inhabited by a tribe called nago, which has an admixture of yoruba blood and speaks a yoruba dialect. the nago are a peaceful tribe and even keener traders than the dahomi. in whydah and other coast towns are many mulattos, speaking portuguese and bearing high-sounding portuguese names. in the north the inhabitants--mahi, bariba, gurmai,--are also of negro stock, but scarcely so civilized as the coast tribes. settled among them are communities of fula and hausas. there are many converts to islam in the northern districts, but the mahi and dahomeyans proper are nearly all fetish worshippers. _chief towns._--the chief port and the seat of government is kotonu, the starting-point of a railway to the niger. an iron pier, which extends well beyond the surf, affords facilities for shipping. kotonu was originally a small village which served as the seaport of porto novo and was burnt to the ground in 1890. it has consequently the advantage of being a town laid out by europeans on a definite plan. situated on the beach between the sea and the lagoon of porto novo, the soil consists of heavy sand. good hard roads have been made. owing to an almost continuous, cool, westerly sea-breeze, kotonu is, in comparison with the other coast towns, decidedly healthy for white men. porto novo (pop. about 50,000), the former french headquarters and chief business centre, is on the northern side of the lagoon of the same name and 20 m. north-east of kotonu by water. the town has had many names, and that by which it is known to europeans was given by the portuguese in the 17th century. it contains numerous churches and mosques, public buildings and merchants' residences. whydah, 23 m. west of kotonu, is an old and formerly thickly-populated town. its population is now about 15,000. it is built on the north bank of the coast lagoon about 2 m. from the sea. there is no harbour at the beach, and landing is effected in boats made expressly to pass through the surf, here particularly heavy. whydah, during the period of the slave-trade, was divided into five quarters: the english, french, portuguese, brazilian and native. the three first quarters once had formidable forts, of which the french fort alone survives. in consequence of the thousands of orange and citron trees which adorn it, whydah is called \"the garden of dahomey.\" west of whydah, on the coast and near the frontier of togoland, is the trading town of grand popo. inland in dahomey proper are abomey (q.v.), the ancient capital, allada, kana (formerly the country residence and burial-place of the kings of dahomey) and dogba. in the hinterland are carnotville (a town of french creation), nikki and paraku, borgu towns, and garu, on the right bank of the niger near the british frontier, the terminus of the railway from the coast. _agriculture and trade._--the agriculture, trade and commerce of dahomey proper are essentially different from that of the hinterland (_haut dahome_). the soil of dahomey proper is naturally fertile and is capable of being highly cultivated. it consists of a rich clay of a deep red colour. finely-powdered quartz and yellow mica are met with, denoting the deposit of disintegrated granite from the interior. the principal product is palm-oil, which is made in large quantities throughout the country. the district of toffo is particularly noted for its oil-palm orchards. palm-wine is also made, but the manufacture is discouraged as the process destroys the tree. next to palm-oil the principal vegetable products are maize, guinea-corn, cassava, yams, sweet potatoes, plantains, coco-nuts, oranges, limes and the african apple, which grows almost wild. the country also produces ground-nuts, kola-nuts, pine-apples, guavas, spices of all kinds, ginger, okros (_hibiscus_), sugar-cane, onions, tomatoes and papaws. plantations of rubber trees and vines have been made. cattle, sheep, goats and fowls are scarce. there is a large fishing industry in the lagoons. round the villages, and here and there in the forest, clearings are met with, cultivated in places, but agriculture is in a backward condition. in the grassy uplands of the interior cattle and horses thrive, and cotton of a fairly good quality is grown by the inhabitants for their own use. the prosperity of the country depends chiefly on the export of palm-oil and palm-kernels. copra, kola-nuts, rubber and dried fish are also exported, the fish going to lagos. the adulteration of the palm-kernels by the natives, which became a serious menace to trade, was partially checked (1900-1903) by measures taken to ensure the inspection of the kernels before shipment. trade is mainly with germany and great britain, a large proportion of the cargo passing through the british port of lagos. only some 25% of the commerce is with france. cotton goods (chiefly from great britain), machinery and metals, alcohol (from germany) and tobacco are the chief imports. the volume of trade, which had increased from l701,000 in 1898 to l1,230,000 in 1902, declined in 1903 to l826,000 in consequence of the failure of rain, this causing a decrease in the production of palm-oil and kernels. in 1904 the total rose to l873,399. in 1905 the figure was l734,667, and in 1907 l853,051. by the anglo-french convention of 1898 the imposition of differential duties on goods of british origin was forbidden for a period of thirty years from that date. _communications._--the dahomey railway from kotonu to the niger is of metre gauge (3.28 ft.). work was begun in 1900, and in 1902 the main line was completed to toffo, a distance of 55 m. some difficulty was then encountered in crossing the lama marsh, but by the end of 1905 the railway had been carried through abomey to pauignan, 120 m. from kotonu. in 1907 the rails had reached paraku, 150 m. farther north. a branch railway from the main line serves the western part of the colony. it goes via whydah to segborue on lake aheme. besides the railways, tramway lines exist in various parts of dahomey. one, 28 m. long, runs from porto novo through the market-town of adjara to sakete, close to the british frontier in the direction of lagos. this line serves a belt of country rich in oil-palms. kotonu is a regular port of call for steamers from europe to the west coast, and there is also regular steamship communication along the lagoons between porto novo and lagos. there is a steamboat service between porto novo and kotonu. a telegraph line connects kotonu with abomey, the niger and senegal. _administration._--the colony is administered by a lieutenant-governor, assisted by a council composed of official and unofficial members. the colony is divided into territories annexed, territories protected, and \"territories of political action,\" but for administrative purposes the division is into \"circles\" or provinces. over each circle is an administrator with extensive powers. except in the annexed territories the native states are maintained under french supervision, and native laws and customs, as far as possible, retained. natives, however, may place themselves under the jurisdiction of the french law. such natives are known as \"assimiles.\" in general the administrative system is the same as that for all the colonies of french west africa (q.v.). the chief source of revenue is the customs, while the capitation tax contributes most to the local budget. _history._--the kingdom of dahomey, like those of benin and ashanti, is an instance of a purely negro and pagan state, endowed with a highly organized government, and possessing a certain amount of indigenous civilization and culture. its history begins about the commencement of the 17th century. at that period the country now known as dahomey was included in the extensive kingdom of allada or ardrah, of which the capital was the present town of allada, on the road from whydah to abomey. allada became dismembered on the death of a reigning sovereign, and three separate kingdoms were constituted under his three sons. one state was formed by one brother round the old capital of allada, and retained the name of allada or ardrah; another brother migrated to the east and formed a state known under the name of porto novo; while the third brother, takudonu, travelled northwards, and after some vicissitudes established the kingdom of dahomey. the word dahomey means \"in danh's belly,\" and is explained by the following legend which, says sir richard burton, \"is known (1864) to everybody in the kingdom.\" takudonu having settled in a town called uhwawe encroached on the land of a neighbouring chief named danh (the snake). takudonu wearied danh by perpetual demands for land, and the chief one day exclaimed in anger \"soon thou wilt build in my belly.\" so it came to pass. takudonu slew danh and over his grave built himself a palace which was called dahomey, a name thenceforth adopted by the new king's followers. about 1724-1728 dahomey, having become a powerful state, invaded and conquered successively allada and whydah. the whydahs made several attempts to recover their freedom, but without success; while on the other hand the dahomeyans failed in all their expeditions against grand popo, a town founded by refugee whydahs on a lagoon to the west. it is related that the repulses they met with in that quarter led to the order that no dahomeyan warrior was to enter a canoe. porto novo at the beginning of the 19th century became tributary to dahomey. such was the state of affairs at the accession of king gezo about the year 1818. this monarch, who reigned forty years, raised the power of dahomey to its highest pitch, extending greatly the border of his kingdom to the north. he boasted of having first organized the amazons, a force of women to whom he attributed his successes. the amazons, however, were state soldiery long before gezo's reign, and what that monarch really did was to reorganize and strengthen the force. in 1851 gezo attacked abeokuta in the yoruba country and the centre of the egba power, but was beaten back. in the same year the king signed a commercial treaty with france, in which gezo also undertook to preserve \"the integrity of the territory belonging to the french fort\" at whydah. the fort referred to was one built in the 17th century, and in 1842 made over to a french mercantile house. england, portugal and brazil also had \"forts\" at whydah--all in a ruinous condition and ungarrisoned. but when in 1852 england, to prevent the slave-trade, blockaded the dahomeyan coast, energetic protests were made by portugal and france, based on the existence of these \"forts.\" in 1858 gezo died. he had greatly reduced the custom of human sacrifice, and left instructions that after his death there was to be no general sacrifice of the palace women. gezo was succeeded by his son glegle (or gelele), whose attacks on neighbouring states, persecution of native christians, and encouragement of the slave-trade involved him in difficulties with great britain and with france. it was, said earl russell, foreign secretary, to check \"the aggressive spirit of the king of dahomey\" that england in 1861 annexed the island of lagos. nevertheless in the following year glegle captured ishagga and in 1864 unsuccessfully attacked abeokuta, both towns in the lagos hinterland. in 1863 commander wilmot, r.n., and in 1864 sir richard burton (the explorer and orientalist) were sent on missions to the king, but their efforts to induce the dahomeyans to give up human sacrifices, slave-trading, &c. met with no success. in 1863, however, a step was taken by france which was the counterpart of the british annexation of lagos. in that year the kingdom of porto novo accepted a french protectorate, and an anglo-french agreement of 1864 fixed its boundaries. this protectorate was soon afterwards abandoned by napoleon",
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