View source for Ouidah

{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2024}}
{{Infobox settlement
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|name          = Ouidah
|other_name             = Whydah
|native_name            = Glexwe
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|settlement_type        =[[Communes of Benin|Commune]] and [[List of cities in Benin|city]]
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|image_caption          = ''Door of No Return''. A memorial arch monument to the victims of trans-atlantic slavery, on the coast of Ouidah.
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|subdivision_name1      = [[Atlantique Department]]
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|population_as_of               =2012
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|population_total               =91688
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|timezone               =[[West Africa Time|WAT]]
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'''Ouidah''' (English: {{IPAc-en|ˈ|w|iː|d|ə}}; French: {{IPA|fr|wi.da|}}) or '''Whydah''' ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|hw|ɪ|d|ə|,_|-|ɔː}}; ''Ouidah'', ''Juida'', and ''Juda'' by the French;<ref>{{Google books |id=Yr9dAAAAcAAJ |page=313 |title=Tome Vingt-Cinquieme, contenant La Suite de l'Histoire d'Afrique }}</ref><ref>Kein, Sybil, ''Creole'', p. 227.</ref> ''Ajudá'' by the Portuguese;<ref>http://www.red.unb.br/index.php/ {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150220012320/http://www.red.unb.br/index.php/ |date=20 February 2015 }}
textos/article/viewArticle/5714</ref> and ''Fida'' by the Dutch), and known locally as '''Glexwe''', formerly the chief port of the [[Kingdom of Whydah]], is a city on [[Atlantic Ocean|the coast]] of the Republic of [[Benin]]. The commune covers an area of {{convert|364|km2|sqmi|abbr=on}} and as of 2002 had a population of 76,555 people.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.statoids.com/ybj.html|title=Communes of Benin|publisher=Statoids|access-date=5 January 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120324053222/http://www.statoids.com/ybj.html|archive-date=24 March 2012|url-status=live}}</ref>

==History==
{{AI-generated|section=History|date=August 2025}}
In local tradition [[Kpassa]] is supposed to have founded the town.<ref>Robin Law, ''Ouidah: The Social History of a West African Slaving 'Port', 1727–1892'', 2004, p. 21.</ref> This probably happened towards the end of the sixteenth century.<ref>Law, ''Ouidah: The Social History of a West African Slaving 'Port', 1727–1892'', 2004, pp. 24–25.</ref> The town was originally known as ''Glēxwé'', literally 'Farmhouse', and was part of the Kingdom of Whydah.

Ouidah saw its role in international trade rise when the [[Royal African Company]] (RAC) constructed a fort there in 1650.<ref>[http://www.nationsonline.org/oneworld/History/Benin-history-timeline.htm national "Benin History Timeline"], One World Nations Online.</ref>

[[File:Street of whidah in 1892.jpg|thumb|left|A street of Ouidah in 1892]]
Whydah troops pushed their way into the African interior, capturing millions of people through wars, and selling them to European and [[Arab slave trade]]rs.<ref>Ouidah Museum, Benin – ''"Depart pour D'Autres 'Ceux', Convoi De negres: homes, femmes et enfants, conduits enchaines par des metis Arabes"''</ref> By 1716, the Kingdom of Whydah had become the second largest slave port in the [[triangular trade]], as noted by the crew of the [[slave ship]] ''[[Whydah Gally]]'' when it arrived to purchase 500 slaves from King Haffon to sell in [[Jamaica]].

The Kingdom was ruled by King Haffon, who received his coronation crown as a gift from Portugal, until, in 1727, the Kingdom of Whydah was captured by the forces of King [[Agaja]] of [[Dahomey]].<ref name="Bradt">Butler, Stuart (2019), ''Bradt Travel Guide – Benin'', pp. 101–112.</ref> On 19 March 1727, ''[[The Boston News-Letter]]'' gave this report:
{{blockquote|WHYDAH IN AFRICA: the beginning of this month, Agaja the king of Dahomey came down unexpectedly with an army, and soon became master of this place, and the country adjacent [[Allada]]; the desolation which ensued was so great, that it is impossible to be represented! The factory at Saber, once the king's town and Seat of Trade, was burnt to the ground, and in it a great quantity of merchandise. Forty Europeans were carried into captivity, to the King of Dahomey's camp at Ardrah, but after having been detained about 14 days, seven of them were released and are now returning hither; they gave a melancholy account of their treatment. This country, which was the pleasantest in all these parts, is now laid waste by fire and sword, and made a wilderness!{{citation needed|date=February 2023}}}}

In 1860, Whydah was the port that sent the last recorded shipment of [[Slavery in the United States|slaves to the United States]], even though that country had prohibited the [[transatlantic slave trade]] in 1808. This illegal shipment was aboard the ''[[Clotilda (slave ship)|Clotilda]]'' and went to [[Mobile, Alabama]].<ref name="foster">[http://digital.mobilepubliclibrary.org/items/show/1802 "Last Slaver from U.S. to Africa. A.D. 1860": Capt. William Foster, Journal of ''Clotilda''], 1860, ''Mobile Public Library Digital Collections''; accessed 28 January 2018.</ref> The last shipment of slaves to Spanish Cuba occurred as late as 1873.<ref>[https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/jan/04/transatlantic-slavery-continued-for-years-after-1867-historian-finds Transatlantic slavery continued for years after 1867, historian finds] The Guardian</ref>

France captured the town in 1894, by which time the town had declined due to the outlawing of the slave trade.<ref name="Bradt" /> In the time frame of 1946–1949 French government estimates put the population of Ouidah at about 14,600. By then it had a railway. It was a centre for production and trade in palm kernels, [[palm oil]], [[copra]], coffee, manioc, beans, tomatoes and onions. It was also a centre of the fish trade and the manufacture of vegetable oil. It had Catholic, Protestant and Muslim places of worship.<ref>Columbia-Lippincott ''Gazetteer'', p. 1408.</ref>

European involvement in West Africa differed between the Slave Coast and the Gold Coast. In contrast to the grand forts of the Gold Coast, William's Fort at Ouidah (ex-Slave Coast) stood as a testimonial to the slave trade.<ref>Robin Law, Ouidah: The Social History of a West African Slaving 'Port', 1727–1892 (Oxford: James Currey, 2004).</ref><ref>A.W. Lawrence, Trade Castles and Forts of West Africa (London: Jonathan Cape, 1963).</ref>

Today, Ouidah is economically peripheral, and 'cultural tourism' based on the slave trade is less successful. Unlike true ports, Ouidah was inland. Slaves and goods were transported along the "slave route" to the beach for embarkation.<ref name="Robin Law 1989">Robin Law, 'Between the Sea and the Lagoons: The Interaction of Maritime and Inland Navigation on the Pre-colonial Slave Coast', Cahiers d’études africaines 29 (1989): 209–237.</ref><ref>K.B. Dickson, 'Evolution of Seaports in Ghana: 1800–1928', Annals of the Association of American Geographers 55 (1965): 98–111.</ref> Ships couldn't approach due to sandbars and used canoes for communication (common on both the Slave Coast and the Gold Coast).

===Fort of São João Baptista de Ajudá===
{{main|Fort of São João Baptista de Ajudá}}
[[File:Fort of São João Baptista de Ajudá (1890).jpg|thumb|[[Fort of São João Baptista de Ajudá]] in 1890]]

The Fort of São João Baptista de Ajudá (in English ''Fort of'' ''St John the Baptist of Ouidah'') is a small [[fortress]] built by the Portuguese in Ouidah on the coast of Dahomey (originally ''Ajudá'', from ''Hweda'', on the [[Atlantic]] coast of modern [[Benin]]), reached by the Portuguese in 1580, after which it grew around the [[History of slavery|slave trade]], for which the [[Slave Coast of West Africa|Slave Coast]] was already renowned. In 1680 the Portuguese governor of [[Colonial São Tomé and Príncipe|São Tomé and Príncipe]] was authorized to erect a fort but nothing was done and it was only in 1721 that construction of the fort, which was named [[Fort of São João Baptista de Ajudá]], started. The fort, built on land given to Portugal by King Haffon of Whydah, remained under Portuguese control from 1721 until 1961.

=== William's Fort ===

==== Introduction ====
Ouidah's importance arose from the fact that several European powers (French, Portuguese, English) competed for influence, weakening their overall authority.<ref>Law, Robin. "William’s Fort: The English Fort at Ouidah, 1680s–1960s." Forts, Castles and Society in West Africa. Brill, 2018. 119-147.</ref><ref>Simone Berbain, Le Comptoir français de Ouidah (Juda) au XVIIIe siècle (Paris: ifan, 1942).</ref><ref>Pierre Verger, Le Fort Saint Jean-Baptiste d’Ajuda (Porto Novo: IRAD, 1966).</ref> The British presence peaked at the height of the slave trade (1680s-1710s) before shifting focus.<ref>David Eltis, Paul E. Lovejoy, and David Richardson, 'Slave-trading Ports: Towards an Atlanticwide Perspective', in Robin Law and Silke Strickrodt (eds.), Ports of the Slave Trade (Bights of Benin and Biafra) (University of Stirling: Centre of Commonwealth Studies, 1999), 12–34.</ref> The 1830s saw a switch to palm oil, dominated by French companies. This coincided with Ouidah's decline compared to Cotonou's better port access that French colonial rule consolidated.<ref name="Robin Law 1989"/>

==== William's Fort ====
William's Fort began as a modest English trading post in the late 17th century, named after King William III and initially fortified during his reign (1689–1702).<ref>Venance S. Quénum, Ouidah: Cité historique des 'Houeda' (Ouidah: B.Quenum, 1983), 12.</ref> The English presence in Ouidah predates the fort, with the Royal African Company suffering initial setbacks before securing a permanent factory in 1684,<ref>Robin Law, The Kingdom of Allada (Leiden: Research School cnws, 1997), 5–9.</ref><ref>Robin Law, The English in West Africa: The Local Correspondence of the Royal African Company of England, 1681–1699 (3 vols., Oxford, 1997, 2001, 2006), i, nos. 476–478.</ref> with guns often only used for salutes.<ref>P.E.H. Hair, Adam Jones, and Robin Law (eds.), Barbot on Guinea: The Writings of Jean Barbot on West Africa, 1678–1712 (2 vols., London:Hakluyt Society, 1992), 647, n. 6.</ref>

Built of mud and straw, early fortifications were simple, with cannons probably used for signal purposes rather than combat.<ref>Law, English in West Africa, ii, no. 820: John Carter, Whydah, 6 December 1686.</ref><ref>Law, English in West Africa, ii, no. 1342: John Wortley, Whydah, 5 January 1692.</ref> Tensions with the French factory culminated in an exchange of fire in 1692, prompting the English to build proper fortifications. Historical documents later describe the fort as an important slave trading facility.<ref>Law, English in West Africa, ii, nos. 813, 822.</ref><ref>John Carter, Whydah, 28 December 1685, 6 January 1687.</ref>

Despite being deserted by the British in 1812,<ref>I.A. Akinjogbin, Dahomey and its Neighbours, 1708–1818 (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1967), 192.</ref> the fort had a surprisingly large populace. The British attempted to reoccupy it with a vice-consulate, but encountered difficulties.<ref>Robin Law (ed.), Dahomey and the Ending of the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade: The Journals and Correspondence of Vice-Consul Louis Fraser, 1851–1852 (London: Oxford University Press, 2012).</ref> Missionaries from the English Wesleyan Methodist Missionary Society took up residence for a time and even built a chapel.<ref>Burton, Richard. A Mission to Gelele, King of Dahome. London: Tinsley Brothers, 1864.</ref> The fort then returned to the commercial sphere, with various trading companies controlling it.<ref>J.A. Skertchly, Dahomey As It Is (London: Chapman and Hall, 1874), 46.</ref><ref>Bismarck to King Glele, 16 January 1882, in Milan Kalous, 'Some Correspondence between the German Empire and Dahomey in 1882–1892', Cahiers d’études africaines 8 (1968): 635–641, 636.</ref><ref>Casimir Agbo, Histoire de Ouidah (Avignon: Presses de la Maison Aubanel Père, 1959), 30.</ref> Interestingly, it was even under French control during the First World War.<ref>Frank J. Quinn, A Coaster’s Letters from Dahomey, French West Africa (n.p., 1928), 54.</ref> The local area around the fort still reflects its British past with names like "The English Fort" and a shop named after the last British resident.<ref>Sinou and Agbo, Ouidah et son patrimoine, 133.</ref>

==== Limited local power ====
Unlike their counterparts on the Gold Coast, the European forts in Ouidah, including William's Fort, lacked real authority. They couldn't compete militarily with local rulers and deferred to them, first in Hueda and then in Dahomey.<ref>Robin Law, ‘"Here Is No Resisting the Country": The Realities of Power in Afro-European Relations on the West African "Slave Coast",’ Itinerario 18 (1994): 50–64.</ref> This was very unlike the Gold Coast forts, such as Cape Coast Castle, which eventually evolved into full colonies. At William's Fort, abandoned by the British in 1812, French reconstruction relied on private enterprise rather than government intervention<ref>Ibid.</ref>).

The key difference was one of legal authority. European forts, even large ones, weren't sovereign entities in West Africa. They remained under African control, essentially acting as 'tenants' with limited powers, paying rent to local rulers.<ref>K.G. Davies, The Royal African Company (London: Longmans, 1957), 282.</ref><ref>Larry Yarak, Asante and the Dutch, 1744–1873 (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1990), 133–172.</ref><ref>Journal of the Commissioners for Trade and Plantations, Vol. 9 (London: hmso, 1932), 270–271 (14 February 1752).</ref> The European presence in Ouidah, particularly at William's Fort, was particularly weak. The Dahomians saw the European governors as part of their own system, not as independent rulers. This is reflected in the king's expectation of their attendance at feasts and the way they were treated on death, which mirrored Dahomian officials.<ref>Law, Ouidah, 57.</ref><ref>Akinjogbin, Dahomey, 190.</ref>

==== A microcosm of Ouidah society ====
The European forts in Ouidah, especially William's Fort with its extensive records, offer a unique perspective on the social and economic life of the city. These records document interactions with the local community, particularly those employed by the fort (both enslaved and free Africans) and those providing various services. William's Fort itself functioned as a commercial centre, relying on local currency and outside suppliers. Historians can use these records, including wages and prices, to trace economic trends within Ouidah.<ref>Robin Law, 'Posthumous Questions for Karl Polanyi: Price Inflation in Pre-colonial Dahomey', Journal of African History 33 (1992): 387–420.</ref>

Despite the European influence, William's Fort relied heavily on African labour. The population surrounding the fort, Sogbadji, mirrored the diverse ethnic mix of Ouidah. Enslaved Africans often came from distant regions, making escape attempts less likely, while temporary workers from places such as the Gold Coast sometimes settled permanently.<ref>Robin Law, 'Ouidah as a Multiethnic Community', in Jorge Cañizares-Esguerra, Matt D. Childs, and James Sidbury (eds.), The Black Urban Atlantic in the Age of the Slave Trade (Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 2013), 42–62.</ref><ref>John Parker, Making the Town: Ga State and Society in Early Colonial Accra (Oxford: John Currey, 2000), 10–14; Feinberg, Europeans and Africans, 106.</ref> This diverse population is still evident in Sogbadji families today. Some trace their roots back to the 19th century, while others claim to be the original inhabitants<ref>Law, Robin. 'Between the Sea and the Lagoons: The Interaction of Maritime and Inland Navigation on the Pre-colonial Slave Coast'. Cahiers d’études africaines 29 (1989): 209–237.</ref><ref>Agbo, Casimir. Histoire de Ouidah. Avignon: Presses de la Maison Aubanel Père, 1959, 188–192.</ref>

Integration went beyond ethnicity. The Lemon family, as an example, descended from a fort soldier who married locally,<ref>Robin Law, 'Madiki Lemon, the "English Captain" at Ouidah, 1843–1852: An Exploration
in Biography', History in Africa 37 (2010): 107–123.</ref> were even appointed royal guards by the Dahomian kings. Similarly, the Midjrokan family descended from the fort's 18th-century linguist, whose descendants inherited the role.<ref>Law, Ouidah, 74, 204.</ref> Even families such as the Kocus, who are canoeists, trace their lineage back to an 18th-century Gold Coast boatswain.<ref>Law, Ouidah, 75.</ref>

Religious practices at William's Fort also reflected this integration. Unlike other European forts with on-site chaplains, William's Fort appears to have adopted local customs. Historical accounts mention a shrine dedicated to the 'king's fetish Mawoo', the god of creation, existing within the fort itself.<ref>F.E. Forbes, Dahomey and the Dahomans (London: Longman, Brown, Green, and Longmans, 1851), i, 108.</ref><ref>Wesleyan Methodist Missionary Society Archives, School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London, Joseph Dawson, Whydah, 4 January 1865.</ref><ref>Norris, Robert. Memoirs of the Reign of Bossa Ahadee, King of Dahomy. London: W. Lowndes, 1789, 42.</ref> This wasn't a recent development, as 18th century records mention a shrine within the fort dedicated to a local goddess.<ref>Norris, Memoirs, 42.</ref> The presence of this shrine, believed to be responsible for the fort's invincibility, further underlines the assimilation that took place.

This assimilation is also evident in the way the Dahomians treated the tombs of the deceased English governors buried inside the fort. The king of Hueda sent a "fetishman" to make offerings at the grave of one such governor, believing that his spirit was calling his successor to the afterlife.<ref>Phillips, 'Journal', 226.</ref> Centuries later, the Dahomian king sent priests to perform rites in the forts, including ceremonies over the graves in the English fort, despite the protests of the resident British official.<ref>Fraser’s Journal, 19 November 1851, in Law, Dahomey, 130.</ref> These examples demonstrate the deep social and religious integration that existed within the William's Fort community.

==Population==
The population evolution of Ouidah is as follows:
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Year
! Population<ref name="World Gazetteer">{{cite web|url=http://world-gazetteer.com/wg.php?x=&men=gpro&lng=en&des=wg&geo=-35&srt=npan&col=abcdefghinoq&msz=1500&pt=c&va=&geo=346914209|archive-url=https://archive.today/20121209114926/http://world-gazetteer.com/wg.php?x=&men=gpro&lng=en&des=wg&geo=-35&srt=npan&col=abcdefghinoq&msz=1500&pt=c&va=&geo=346914209|url-status=dead|archive-date=9 December 2012|title=Benin|access-date=19 December 2008|work=World Gazetteer}}</ref>
|-
| 1979
| 25 459
|-
| 1992
| 64 433
|-
| 2002
| 77 832
|-
| 2008 (estimate)
| 90 042
|}
{{clear}}

==Notable landmarks==
[[File:Temple des serpents whydah.jpg|200px|thumb|left|The Temple of the Pythons circa 1900. The temple was the main religious building of pre-colonial Ouidah.]]
Attractions in Ouidah include a restored mansion of Brazilian slavers (the Maison du Brésil), a [[West African Vodun|Vodun]] python temple, an early twentieth century [[basilica]] and the [[Sacred Forest of Kpasse]], dotted with [[bronze]] statues.<ref name="Bradt"/>

[[File:Basilique Ouidah 1910.jpg|200px|thumb|The Basilica of Ouidah in 1910. Construction began in 1903 and was completed in 1909.]]
The [[Route des Esclaves]], by which [[slavery|slave]]s were taken to the beach, has numerous statues and [[monument]]s, including the [[Door of No Return, Ouidah|Door of No Return]], a [[memorial arch]].<ref name="Bradt"/>

The Market Center of Ouidah, which was established by [[Scoutisme Béninois|Scouts]] more than 20 years ago, trains young people in agricultural skills, thus helping to reverse the exodus towards the cities.{{citation needed|date=December 2019}}

Ouidah is often considered the spiritual capital of the [[West African Vodun|Vodun religion]], and hosts an annual international Vodun conference.<ref>{{cite web
| title = The Voodoo Day: Benin welcomes magicians from all over the world
| date = 11 January 2004
| url = http://english.pravda.ru/world/africa/11-01-2004/4545-voodooday-0
| work =Pravda
| access-date = 29 August 2008}}</ref>

Other landmarks include:<ref name="Bradt"/>
* [[Basilique de l'Immaculée Conception]]
* [[Ouidah Museum of History]]
* Zinsou Foundation Museum

==World Heritage Status==
This site was added to the [[UNESCO]] [[World Heritage]] Tentative List on 31 October 1996 in the Cultural category.<ref>[https://whc.unesco.org/en/tentativelists/870/ La ville d'Ouidah : quartiers anciens et Route de l'Esclave – UNESCO World Heritage Centre]</ref>

==Notable people==
*[[Cudjoe Lewis]] (d. 1935), [[Redoshi]] (d. 1937), and [[Matilda McCrear]] (d, 1940), last known survivors of the Transatlantic slave trade.<ref name="Durkin-2019">{{cite journal |last=Durkin |first=Hannah |title=Finding last middle passage survivor Sally 'Redoshi' Smith on the page and screen |journal=Slavery & Abolition |date=2019 |volume=40 |issue=4 |pages=631–658 |doi=10.1080/0144039X.2019.1596397|s2cid=150975893 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|last=Durkin|first=Hannah|date=2020-03-19|title=Uncovering The Hidden Lives of Last Clotilda Survivor Matilda McCrear and Her Family|journal=Slavery & Abolition|volume=41|issue=3|pages=431–457|doi=10.1080/0144039X.2020.1741833|s2cid=216497607|issn=0144-039X}}</ref>
* [[Patrice Talon]] (1958), president of Benin
* [[Angélique Kidjo]] (1960), singer<ref>{{cite web|url=http://musique.rfi.fr/artiste/musiques-monde/angelique-kidjo|title=Angélique Kidjo – Biographie, discographie et fiche artiste|website=RFI Musique|date=3 March 2011|language=fr-FR|access-date=2018-07-03}}</ref> 
* [[Oscar Olou]] (1987), footballer{{citation needed|date=December 2019}}

==See also==
* [[Heads of State of Benin]]
* [[Heads of Government of Benin]]
* [[Savi]], a commune in Ouidah formerly the regional capital
* ''[[Whydah Gally]]''

==References==
{{Ibid|date=March 2024}}
{{reflist}}
* [http://www.worldstatesmen.org/Benin.html#São%20João%20Baptista%20de%20Ajudá WorldStatesmen- Benin] not quite worked in yet
* [https://whc.unesco.org/en/tentativelists/870/ La ville d'Ouidah : quartiers anciens et Route de l'Esclave – UNESCO World Heritage Centre]

==External links==
{{NIE poster|Whydah}}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20130204124213/http://laroutedespeches.bj/?p=71&lang_view=en Door of No Return]

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{{Communes of Benin}}

{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Ouidah| ]]
[[Category:Communes of Benin]]
[[Category:Portuguese forts]]
[[Category:Populated places established in the 16th century]]
[[Category:Capitals of former nations]]
[[Category:Portuguese colonisation in Africa]]
[[Category:Former enclaves]]
[[Category:Former Portuguese colonies]]