The play is inspired by the Dahomey Amazons or Mino, an all-female military regiment of the Fon people of the Kingdom of Dahomey in the present-day Republic of Benin.
They existed from the 17th century to the end of the 19th century. While European narratives refer to the women soldiers as “Amazons,” because of their similarity to the semi-mythical Amazons of ancient Anatolia, they called themselves “Mino” (our mothers) in the Fon language.
Black Sparta begins in 1892; thirty years after the transatlantic slave trade has been virtually at an end. France has already taken over apart of Dahomey and has established a colony called Porto-Novo. They have made it very clear that they want more. Their invasion is unwelcome and the Dahomeans will not go quietly.
