1From the end of the 17^th century through to the 20^th century, the small “slave” kingdoms of Abomey and Allada in the region of present-day southern Benin, built on a powerful administration, religious traditions and a voodoo clergy inspiring royal decisions, contributed to writing the high points of the country’s history. These two kingdoms were based on powerful dynasties marked by a complex court life and aristocracy. The kingdom of Abomey, one of the most creative south of the Sahara in terms of African works of art, and involved in the slave trade from the 18^th century onwards, symbolized the resistance to the French colonial advance.

2The development of tourism, linked to the themes of slavery and the transatlantic slave trade, is taking place in a country and a society deeply marked by colonial history. The appropriation of the African heritage by the elites and the inhabitants is part of an imperative and a demand for justice and remembrance, addressed to the country’s former colonizers.

3The “Revealing Benin 2016-2020” tourism component of the Government Action Programme, decided in 2016 at the beginning of President Patrice Talon’s five-year term, chose to base “Destination Benin” around the theme “History and Culture” (Rieucau, 2019). The tangible and intangible heritage of these two kingdoms are at the heart of a national ambition of heritage and remembrance. Benin, like other sub-Saharan countries, is renovating museums (Porto-Novo) and building new museum infrastructures ex nihilo (Abomey and Allada), which will be accompanied by the restitution of works of African art by France.

4Founded in the 17^th century, the kingdom of Abomey continued to expand until the end of the 19^th century. Twelve palaces were built, each subsequent ruler having to build a new palace close to that of his predecessor. This kingdom, with its Fon language and culture, was organized around a system combining war and trade. From the 18^th century onwards, the army, under the king’s command, made forays into the areas bordering the kingdom during each dry season with the purpose of taking prisoners of war to be sold as slaves to the Portuguese. The slaves were rounded up in Abomey and taken to Ouidah, a “slave port” on the Atlantic Ocean, to be sold and then shipped to the New World. With the return of the rainy season, the Fon people went back to being farmers again.

5The Royal Palaces of Abomey, a huge royal site covering more than 40 hectares, comprise earthen constructions often damaged by the climatic conditions and ravaged by the fire organized by the last sovereign, King Béhanzin, when the French attacked in 1892. Two palaces have better withstood the passage of time, that of King Ghézo (1818-1858) and that of King Glélé (1858-1889). King Béhanzin’s palace, restored between 2002 and 2006, constitutes a symbolic dimension for the country. For the people of Benin, this monarch embodied the resistance to the colonial rule until his surrender in 1894.

6In 1944, the heritage value of the Royal Palaces of Abomey was recognized with the creation of the Historical Museum of Abomey, installed in the palaces of Kings Ghézo and Glélé. In 1985, UNESCO included the site under the List of World Heritage in Danger, from which it was removed in 2007.

7The floor of the enclosed courts of the palaces is covered with mud (lateritic soil). The conservation of the buildings forms part of a heritage challenge. Huts made of earth, wood, thatch and corrugated iron are subject to the assaults of heavy rains during the wet season as well as tornadoes, wind, insects, and the rapid growth of vegetation.

8The bas-reliefs, installed in niches carved into the raw brick walls, bear motifs fashioned from termite mound soil mixed with palm nut fibres. They transmit the memory of myths, retrace the great deeds of the kings on the battlefields, and give an account of the daily life of the kingdom’s subjects.

9The kings’ thrones are carved out of kapok wood. They are part of the 1,400 works of art inherited from the successive rulers. The museum’s collections also include weapons, jewellery, bas-reliefs, portable metal altars and wooden statues.

10In Benin, the awareness of the duty to remember slavery and the value of African art linked to the country’s history are recent. Following its independence, the country did not display any great willingness or desire to protect its heritage. Works of art related to Beninese voodoo were legally taken out of the country. Then, in 2016, Benin became the first sub-Saharan African country to request the restitution of works of art from France.

11As early as November 2018, French President Emmanuel Macron declared his intention to return 26 works of art claimed by Benin (bas-reliefs, staffs, military batons, portable altars), including three statues, thrones of the kings of Abomey, as well as the ornate doors of the eponymous palace. These items to be restituted are part of the famous treasure of Abomey that was seized in 1892 by Colonel Alfred Amédée Dodds as spoils of war. They were later entrusted to the Trocadero Museum in Paris after France’s victory over King Béhanzin, and are currently exhibited in the Musée du quai Branly-Jacques Chirac in Paris.

12The two items presented above are intended for the future museum in Abomey, the town from which they originally came. The ornate door dates from 1889. It depicts, in the form of a rebus with voodoo-inspired motifs, the great deeds of King Glélé. The royal statue, half man and half lion, emblem of the same sovereign, represents the lion sowing terror among its enemies.

13The majority of museums in sub-Saharan Africa are little visited. To remedy the lack of interest for the Museum of the Royal Palaces of Abomey, “Revealing Benin 2016-2020” recommends the construction of a new institution, the “Museum of the Epic of the Amazons and Kings of Abomey”, in association with the existing museum.

14But should a new museum be built? Would a better solution not be to renovate and modernize the existing museum, in poor condition, as has been done elsewhere in sub-Saharan Africa? How can funds be raised to restore the large number of works of art immobilized in the storerooms, never seen by visitors and in a state of continuing deterioration? How can modern museographic techniques be implemented, in particular to solve the problem of the high humidity related to the sub-equatorial climate?

15The town of Allada boasts two tourist resources: the memory of a great dynasty and the commemoration of slavery through the symbolic figure of Toussaint Louverture.

16At the end of the 16^th century, the Agasuvi dynasty and King Agaja (1711 to 1740) reigned over the town. This dynasty still retains its mythical status, especially for the Agasuvi (presence of the remains of their founder buried in the town). The Royal Palace of Allada, in a deplorable state of conservation, is located outside the town in the middle of poor neighbourhoods. Tourist facilities are non-existent (unpaved car parks). Street vendors point out that the site receives a few visitors.

17Toussaint Louverture, a figure of the anti-slavery movement, is said to have been the son of Gahou Deguénon, General-in-Chief of the armies and Minister of War of the Kingdom of Allada. He was the first president of the Black Republic of the independent State of Haiti. A little-visited monument in the centre of the town serves as a commemoration to him. The construction of a Museum dedicated to Toussaint Louverture, slavery, resistance and commemoration is currently being planned.

18Permanency and respect for the historical figures of the kings and the tourism development of their descendants in present-day Benin

19During the phase of Marxist-Leninist ideology initiated in Benin by Commander Mathieu Kérékou from 1972 onwards, the descendants of the kings were denounced, in particular by the slogan “Down with feudalism”. Today, royal heirs still live in the towns of Abomey and Allada.

20The upkeep of the palaces of the royal descendants and their life of representation are financed by regional economic actors. The 1990 Constitution guarantees them moral authority as guardians of traditions. They are solicited and consulted by candidates during legislative and presidential elections.

21The request for the commemoration of the pre-colonial and colonial history of the kingdoms of Benin is echoed today by the Beninese people. It helps to confer a certain moral weight on the descendants of the historical sovereigns. Audiences with the contemporary kings represent tourist resources sought after by the towns. Requests for royal audiences in Abomey are made by the Beninese people and increasingly by international visitors. A tourism agency now working with the royal family as well as the tourist office organize visits to the palaces and manage these audiences.