1963 Dahomeyan coup d'état

The 1963 Dahomey coup d'état was staged on October 28, 1963, by Christophe Soglo, who took control of the Republic of Dahomey to prevent a civil war. He overthrew Hubert Maga, whose presidency faced extreme economic stagnation and a host of other problems.

The West African colony of French Dahomey, the present-day nation of Benin, was largely ignored by the French during its colonial era in French West Africa. Dahomey had a weak economy, propelled by the lack of known natural resources. The last time the colony had a favorable trade balance was in 1924. Its main export was intellectuals, and was known as the Latin Quarter of Africa due to its rich cultural landscape. On August 1, 1960, Dahomey gained its independence and prominent politician Hubert Maga was chosen as its first president. At the time, Dahomey was also facing a major economic recession. Now that Dahomey was independent, France no longer offered subsidies. Maga helped counter this by investing in the infrastructure and encouraging civil servants to take Dahomey as their residence. Still, Dahomey's GDP grew by 1.4 percent annually from 1957–1965, making Dahomey's economy one of the weakest in Africa.

The economic stagnation triggered intense regionalistic attitudes in Dahomey. Parties epitomising the idea began with the 1951 French National Assembly elections. Capitalising on growing cynicism for the domination of southern Dahomey in the French colony's politics, Maga allied himself with the northern tribes. Sourou-Migan Apithy, whom academic Samuel Decalo described as "the grandfather of Dahomeyan politics," kept the second seat, which he had first won in 1945. Apithy represented the people living in southeast Benin, while a third figure, Justin Ahomadégbé-Tomêtin, represented the southwest. Attempts to counteract regionalism failed, as did the establishment of a one-party state. Coalitions between Maga, Apithy, and Ahomadégbé-Tomêtin were similarly unsuccessful, as each sought absolute power.

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