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The Woman King is set in the West African Kingdom of Dahome. Viola Davis plays a ferocious general named Nanniska, who leads an army of women soldiers. The kingdom got rich in part by capturing and selling its enemies into slavery. Coming up on Today Explained, the director tells us how she balanced a history both triumphant and tragic.

The historical epic The Woman King, in theaters today, is set in the Kingdom of Dahomey in the 19th century. The kingdom’s elite all-female fighting force was evidence of its enlightened attitude toward women, but its participation in the transatlantic slave trade is a stain on its history. Director Gina Prince-Bythewood and economist Leonard Wantchekon, a descendent of the women fighters, explain.

This episode was produced by Avishay Artsy, fact-checked by Tori Dominguez, engineered by Paul Robert Mounsey, and edited by Amina Al-Sadi and Noel King, who also hosted.

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