Does ‘The Woman King’ Justify Slavery?The message of the film seems to suggest that slavery is forgivable if it is implemented by “strong, black women.”
By Mackubin Owens
October 4, 2022
The recently released film, “The Woman King,” has been described as “the remarkable true story of a fierce, all-female unit known as the Agojie, who protected the west African kingdom of Dahomey in the 1800s.” The film is indeed based on two historical facts. The Agojie were a corps of fierce women warriors who fought on behalf of the King of Dahomey (now Benin). The women were segregated from men and remained celibate. And Dahomey did wage war against France in the latter part of the 19th century. The problem for historical accuracy—the underlying truth of the story—is the question of the purpose for which the Agojie and Dahomey fought.
Many reviewers have praised the film as a portrayal of African resistance to European colonialism. True, but that is only part of the story. Dahomey’s entire economy was based on capturing other Africans and selling them into Atlantic slave trade. It is estimated the Kingdom of Dahomey dispatched at least a million African souls into slavery over two centuries. As one commentator has noted, “Dahomey was not an African state that desired only to be left alone and preserve its traditional culture; its entire government and society were built around capturing slaves to sell to Europeans, and this had been true as far back as the early 1700s.”
An early 19th century religious revival in Britain created a backlash against slavery and ultimately a campaign to destroy the Atlantic slave trade. (It should be noted that the Atlantic slave trade was only one facet of a universal practice dating to the beginning of civilization. Sub-Saharan Africans—as well as Europeans—were also sold into the Arab slave trade, which was of even greater magnitude than the Atlantic slave trade.) Thus Dahomey’s resistance to European colonialism cannot be separated from the kingdom’s continuing effort to profit from the Atlantic slave trade. Indeed, so committed were they to commerce in slaves, African states, including Dahomey and the powerful Ashanti Empire, had earlier petitioned the King of England to refrain from interfering with the slave trade.
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There is an irony associated with praise for “The Woman King.” On the one hand, we recognize the monstrous injustice of slavery. On the other, the message of the film seems to suggest that slavery is forgivable if it is implemented by “strong, black women.” For my money. I’ll take “Harriet” over “The Woman King.” The former tells the story of Harriet Tubman, an escaped slave who helped others to escape slavery. I much prefer the account of a “strong, black woman” who helped emancipate slaves over the story of one who helped enslave them.
Source:
https://amgreatness.com/2022/10/04/does-the-woman-king-justify-slavery/
