Benin, 1975 — dissident coup conspiracy
Event Summary
This entry is coded 19 October 1975, during the crisis year of Mathieu Kerekou's early regime in the country then still called Dahomey, weeks before it was renamed the People's Republic of Benin. Kerekou had seized power in the October 1972 military coup and proclaimed a turn to Marxism-Leninism in 1974. By 1975 his regime's popularity had fallen amid austerity measures that alienated trade unionists, civil servants, students, and teachers.
The year opened with a January 1975 coup attempt by Captain Assogba on behalf of former President Zinsou, and in June 1975 Captain Michel Aikpe, one of the regime's leading southern figures, was killed by the presidential guard, an event seen as regional favoritism that triggered southern resignations and unrest. In July 1975 exiled politicians formed the FLRD opposition group in Brussels, and Kerekou used the turmoil to purge opponents. The October 1975 coding sits in this period of intense plotting and purges, just before the country was renamed on 30 November 1975.
Researched Details
Researched
Independent research, added record by record. Hover any label for what it means.
Sources
Editorial Note
Cross-Reference
Only one dataset carries it. One of the three reference datasets we check against carries this event; the others do not list it. That is not a contradiction — the datasets cover different periods and use different thresholds — but it means the record has had less outside corroboration.
Identifiers for finding this same event in the other datasets:
- Cline Center id
43410191975
How the match is made is described in crossref-report.md.
Outcome and Target
Coup Atlas research identifies the target as: Kerekou weathered the 1975 crisis and consolidated power, ruling Benin until 1991.
Baseline coding: Plot discovered and disrupted before execution. Recorded leader fate: remained in office; not physically harmed. The baseline file does not name individual targets; researched names are kept in a separate layer.
Baseline Dataset Citation
Baseline Source-Document Entries
CSP
New York Times
This is the citation trail carried by the baseline dataset, grouped by outlet and rejoined from the line-wrapped original. Coup Atlas has not independently re-checked every document; read the original before citing a specific claim. URLs the import damaged beyond safe repair are shown as plain text and listed in citations-report.md. How this list is built →