The name "Cotonou" means "mouth of the river of death"
in the Fon language. At the beginning of the 19th century, Cotonou (then
spelled "Kotonou") was a small fishing village. Though originally
ruled by the Kingdom of Dahomey, in 1851 the French made a treaty with the
Dahomean King Ghezo that allowed them to establish a trading post at Cotonou.
During the reign of Glele, his successor (1858–89), the territory was ceded to
France by a treaty signed on May 19, 1868. In 1883, the French navy occupied
the city to prevent British conquest of the area. After Glele's death in 1889,
his son Behanzin tried,
