pushed Ghezo toward resuming the slave trade in 1857. One additional way that Ghezo maintained domestic support was by lengthening the ceremony cycle in the 1850s with additions to the Annual Customs including a ceremony for the palm oil trade, one to celebrate ending tribute to the Oyo empire, and one dedicated to Ghezo himself (but to the time when he was a prince). Slave trade When King Ghezo ascended the throne in 1818, he was confronted by two immediate obstacles: the Kingdom of Dahomey was in political turmoil, and it was financially unstable. First, he needed to gain political independence by removing the hold that the Yoruba empire of Oyo had over the Dahomey since 1748. Secondly, he needed to revitalize the Dahomey economy. Both of these objectives relied on the slave trade. King Ghezo implemented new military strategies, which allowed them to take a physical stand against the Oyo, who were also a major competitor in the slave trade. He also put stipulations on Dahomey's participation in the slave trade. Under his reign, no longer would the Dahomey be traded, as they were under his brother's, Adandozan, leadership. Dahomey would focus on capturing people from enemy territories and trading them instead. According to Augustus Adeyinka, King Ghezo did, however, seek to eventually lead his people toward the "legitimate" trade of palm oil. While Portugal's demand for slaves in Brazil increased in 1830, the British started a campaign to abolish the slave trade in Africa. The British government began putting significant pressure on King Ghezo in the 1840s to end the slave trade in Dahomey. King Ghezo responded to these requests by saying he was unable to end the slave trade because of domestic pressure. Ghezo added:«The slave trade is the ruling principle of my people. It is the source and the glory of their wealth…the mother lulls the child to sleep with notes of triumph over an enemy reduced to slavery»However, several quotes attributed to King Ghezo have been challenged, as the writers never actually visited the Kingdom of Dahomey nor did they speak to King Ghezo directly. Some scholars cite them as Western propaganda. He additionally explained to the British that the entire region had become dependent on the trans-Atlantic slave trade for profit, so ending it in one day would destabilize his kingdom and lead to anarchy. King William Dappa Pepple of Bonny and Kosoko took