Whydah was the largest port of slave embarkation in the Bight of Benin, and for a brief period in the beginning of the eighteenth century, it emerged as the major slaving port in the transatlantic slave trade. Whydah was capital of the old Hueda Kingdom, under which the port was known to Europeans as Sabi, Savi or Xavier. Several European nations had commercial establishments there, and the slave trade prospered in the Hueda Kingdom until the beginning the eighteenth century. In 1727, the king of Dahomey conquered Whydah and the slave trade declined momentarily, but the port continued active until the 1860s, perpetuating the name of Whydah as an important port in the transatlantic slave trade. The image shows an illustration of Whydah at the peak of the slave trade in the 1720s. Note the European factories, left and center, the royal palace, right, an the town, top. The image is reproduced courtesy of Tracy W. McGregor Library of American History, Special Collections, University of Virginia Library. Permission required to reproduce.