end the opposition: promised to give citizens back some rights, ended constraints on slave traders, reduced taxes, reassigned some of the aggressive tax collectors into the army, and recognized other powerful individuals. Administration As king, Agonglo attempted a variety of efforts to get the Dahomey economy started but was often constrained by domestic opposition and a major smallpox epidemic. The Oyo empire which had exercised power over Dahomey since 1730 had grown significantly weak in the early 1790s. This culminated in the suicide of the king of Oyo in 1796, which provided Agonglo with the ability to end the tributary status of Dahomey to Oyo. However, while Agonglo was able to act independently, domestic dissent prevented him from directly challenging Oyo power. Although he reduced many of the restrictions on slave traders that Kpengla had created, he still followed some of the other policies of Kpengla: including slave raiding and attacking rival ports. However, these were generally not successful with multiple unsuccessful raids against the Mahi people to the north and unsuccessful attacks on Little Popo and Porto-Novo. However, in 1795 he was able to lead a successful slave raid against the Mahi, largely by rewarding soldiers with wives before the war, and allied with Grand-Popo was able to successfully disrupt Little Popo's slave trade. Unfortunately these efforts to improve the domestic supply of slaves were of limited impact because of developments impacting the different European countries involved in the slave trade. The British commander in the port city of Whydah had become very slow and unresponsive to British regional efforts and so the British had slowed their trade in the port. At the same time, the French Revolution resulted in France banning the trade on slaves in 1794 (to be restored in 1802) and began an active effort to stop the trade by other countries. In November 1794, the French seized all Portuguese slave ships in the port of Whydah and would continue this practice for the next few years. The result was that Whydah no longer was a safe harbor for the trade and Portuguese slowed their trade. Agonglo responded by sending three ambassadors to Maria I of Portugal to try to convince her to resume trade with Dahomey. Instead of resuming the trade, Maria sent two Catholic missionaries to Agonglo and encouraged him to convert for continued trade relations. Agonglo accepted the missionaries and expressed a willingness