Forms of Government Activity

In this activity, students quickly research and summarize the style of government used by their assigned culture.
They will then share out what they learned by a class survey.

Roman Republic Roman Empire Vikings Edo Period Japan Persian Empire
Iroquois Miqmak Pueblos Aztecs Assyrians
Confederacy Confederacy
Kingdom of Kush Dahomey Songhay Ethiopians Monomotapa
Ptolemaic Egypt Rus Koreans Mongols Papua New
Guineans
Berbers Khmer Empire Australian Parthians Sentinelese
Aboriginals

Complete the following brief survey for your culture’s style of government. Prepare to participate in the class survey.

Matriarchal or Patriarchal?

Yes No Explanation: In Greek Myth, the Amazons were a terrifying group of women. In a matriarchal society,
the women governed and fought, whilst the men performed household tasks and served to
impregnate their superiors. This tribe is a fantastical myth, yet their namesakes, the ‘Dahomey
Amazons’, were decidedly real, a brave and terrifying all-female militia who ferociously fought for and
defended the country of Benin, then known as Dahomey.

Democratic?

Yes No Explanation: In 1953 it became the Dahomeyan Democratic Movement. Maga was re-elected to the
French National Assembly in 1956. The MDD was reduced to six seats in the 1957 Territorial Assembly
elections, and in August 1957 it merged with the Independents of the North party led by Paul Darboux
to form the Dahomeyan Democratic Rally.

Monarchic or Dynastic? (King or Emperor)

Yes No Explanation: Today, the kingdom continues to exist as a constituent monarchy located within Benin.

Religious-based leader?

Yes No Explanation: The Kingdom of Dahomey was a West African kingdom located within present-day Benin
that existed from approximately 1600 until 1904. Dahomey developed on the Abomey Plateau
amongst the Fon people in the early 17th century and became a regional power in the 18th century by
expanding south to conquer key cities like Whydah belonging to the Kingdom of Whydah on the
Atlantic coast which granted it unhindered access to the tricontinental triangular trade.

Complex Law System?

Yes No Explanation: Herskovits recounts a complex tax system in the kingdom.

Written Language?
 Yes No Explanation: The Kingdom of Dahomey was referred to by many different names and has been written
in a variety of ways, including Danxome, Danhome, and Fon.

Bureaucracy and Government System?

Yes No Explanation: He governed through a centralized bureaucracy staffed by commoners who could not
threaten his authority. Each male official in the field had a female counterpart in court who monitored
his activities and advised the king. Conquered territories were assimilated through intermarriage,
uniform laws, and a common tradition of enmity to the Yoruba.

Anarchic?

Yes No Explanation: The Kingdom of Dahomey was an important regional power that had an organized
domestic economy built on conquest and slave labor, significant international trade and diplomatic
relations with Europeans, a centralized administration, taxation systems, and an organized military.