Adandozan
Encyclopedia
Adandozan was a King of Dahomey
(now Benin
), technically the ninth, though he is not counted as one of the twelve kings. His name has largely been erased from the history of Abomey
(the capital of Dahomey), and to this day is generally not spoken out loud in the city. He became king when, in 1797, the previous King of Dahomey, Agonglo
, died, leaving the throne to his eldest son.
with a swollen stomach, full mouth, and ear of corn
in hand (an unflattering reference to his enemy, the King of Oyo
), and a large parasol ('the king overshadows his enemies'). These symbols are not included in Abomey appliques, for the same reasons that Adandozan is not included in Abomey's history.
The traditional stories about Adandozan's rule (which are retold, with some changing of names, in Bruce Chatwin
's novel The Viceroy of Ouidah
) portray him as extremely cruel: he is said to have raised hyena
s to which he would throw live subjects for amusement; he is pictured slitting a pregnant woman's abdomen open on a bet to see whether he could predict the sex of the fetus.
Adandozan is portrayed as an incompetent warrior and general, and as a betrayer of the royal family: he is said to have sold his brother's, Gakpe
(also known as Ghezo
), mother into slavery. Gakpe, who had previously feigned idiocy to avoid attracting his brother's attention, fled into exile near Kana
. Adandozan is portrayed as hopelessly mad, struggling foolishly with the European powers. He refused to pay Francisco Felix de Sousa
, a Brazil
ian merchant and trader who had become a major middle-man in the Ouidah
slave market, for services rendered, imprisoned and tortured de Souza, and then attempted to have his own ministers sell the slaves directly.
In the traditional story, Gakpe, secretly coming back from exile, helped de Souza escape. In return, de Souza helped Gakpe marshall a military force and take the throne with the assistance of the terrified council of ministers. Gakpe then put Adandozan in prison.
This traditional portrayal may be wrong: like Richard II of England
in the Wars of the Roses
, Adandozan may have been the object of a propagandistic rewriting of history after he lost the throne, turned into a monster by his successor as a means of excusing the coup d'état
and legitimizing the new regime. All stories agree that Adandozan tried to force more favorable terms of trade with the Europeans involved in the export of slaves, and seriously undermined the power of the extended royal family and Vodun cult practitioners at court through administrative reforms.
It may be that these policies themselves provoked Adandozan's powerful opponents to support a coup against him. In order to justify the coup, Gakpe may then have been obliged to have his griot
s (oral historians) tell of the monstrous and mad Adandozan.
Although tradition has not been kind to Adandozan, he has helped to salvage his own reputation through a substantial number of letters that he, or secretaries in his employ, wrote to various outsiders, especially the kings and other officials of Portugal who fled to Brazil following the conquest of Portugal by Napoleon. In these letters, Adandozan outlines a substantial military campaigns, which he presents as victories, as well as showing his negotiations with Europeans. Some of these letters were published in Pierre Verger in the 1960s. A large cache, found in the Instituto Historico e Geografico Brasileiro in Rio de Janeiro, remains unpublished.
Dahomey
Dahomey was a country in west Africa in what is now the Republic of Benin. The Kingdom of Dahomey was a powerful west African state that was founded in the seventeenth century and survived until 1894. From 1894 until 1960 Dahomey was a part of French West Africa. The independent Republic of Dahomey...
(now Benin
Benin
Benin , officially the Republic of Benin, is a country in West Africa. It borders Togo to the west, Nigeria to the east and Burkina Faso and Niger to the north. Its small southern coastline on the Bight of Benin is where a majority of the population is located...
), technically the ninth, though he is not counted as one of the twelve kings. His name has largely been erased from the history of Abomey
Abomey
When UNESCO designated the royal palaces of Abomey as a World Heritage Site in 1985 it statedFrom 1993, 50 of the 56 bas-reliefs that formerly decorated the walls of King Glèlè have been located and replaced on the rebuilt structure...
(the capital of Dahomey), and to this day is generally not spoken out loud in the city. He became king when, in 1797, the previous King of Dahomey, Agonglo
Agonglo
Agonglo was the eighth King of Dahomey. He succeeded his father, Kpengla, and ruled from 1789 to 1797.Agonglo made several reforms which pleased his subjects: taxes were lowered, and a greater distribution of gifts was made during the annual customs...
, died, leaving the throne to his eldest son.
Biography
Adandozan's symbols were a baboonBaboon
Baboons are African and Arabian Old World monkeys belonging to the genus Papio, part of the subfamily Cercopithecinae. There are five species, which are some of the largest non-hominoid members of the primate order; only the mandrill and the drill are larger...
with a swollen stomach, full mouth, and ear of corn
Maize
Maize known in many English-speaking countries as corn or mielie/mealie, is a grain domesticated by indigenous peoples in Mesoamerica in prehistoric times. The leafy stalk produces ears which contain seeds called kernels. Though technically a grain, maize kernels are used in cooking as a vegetable...
in hand (an unflattering reference to his enemy, the King of Oyo
Oyo Empire
The Oyo Empire was a Yoruba empire of what is today southwestern Nigeria. The empire was established before the 14th century and grew to become one of the largest West African states encountered by European explorers. It rose to preeminence through its possession of a powerful cavalry and wealth...
), and a large parasol ('the king overshadows his enemies'). These symbols are not included in Abomey appliques, for the same reasons that Adandozan is not included in Abomey's history.
The traditional stories about Adandozan's rule (which are retold, with some changing of names, in Bruce Chatwin
Bruce Chatwin
Charles Bruce Chatwin was an English novelist and travel writer. He won the James Tait Black Memorial Prize for his novel On the Black Hill...
's novel The Viceroy of Ouidah
The Viceroy of Ouidah
-Summary:Chatwin's novel, detailing the life of a slave trader named Francisco Manuel da Silva, is loosely based on the life of an historical Brazilian, Francisco Felix de Sousa, who became a powerful personage in Wydah or Ouidah, the so-called Slave Coast of West Africa, now Benin and Togo...
) portray him as extremely cruel: he is said to have raised hyena
Hyena
Hyenas or Hyaenas are the animals of the family Hyaenidae of suborder feliforms of the Carnivora. It is the fourth smallest biological family in the Carnivora , and one of the smallest in the mammalia...
s to which he would throw live subjects for amusement; he is pictured slitting a pregnant woman's abdomen open on a bet to see whether he could predict the sex of the fetus.
Adandozan is portrayed as an incompetent warrior and general, and as a betrayer of the royal family: he is said to have sold his brother's, Gakpe
Gakpè
Gakpè is a town and arrondissement in the Atlantique Department of southern Benin. It is an administrative division under the jurisdiction of the commune of Ouidah. According to the population census conducted by the Institut National de la Statistique Benin on February 15, 2002, the arrondissement...
(also known as Ghezo
Ghezo
Ghezo was the ninth King of Dahomey , considered one of the greatest of the twelve historical kings. He ruled from 1818 to 1858. His name before ascending to the throne was Gakpe....
), mother into slavery. Gakpe, who had previously feigned idiocy to avoid attracting his brother's attention, fled into exile near Kana
Kana
Kana are the syllabic Japanese scripts, as opposed to the logographic Chinese characters known in Japan as kanji and the Roman alphabet known as rōmaji...
. Adandozan is portrayed as hopelessly mad, struggling foolishly with the European powers. He refused to pay Francisco Felix de Sousa
Francisco Felix de Sousa
Francisco Felix de Sousa was a slave trader from Brazil of Portuguese origin. He has been called "the greatest Portuguese slave trader". Marketing slaves in the Dahomey region, now known as the Republic of Benin, he was known for his extravagance and reputably had at least 80 children and 1000...
, a Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
ian merchant and trader who had become a major middle-man in the Ouidah
Ouidah
Ouidah , also Whydah or Juda, is a city on the Atlantic coast of Benin.The commune covers an area of 364 square kilometres and as of 2002 had a population of 76,555 people.-History:...
slave market, for services rendered, imprisoned and tortured de Souza, and then attempted to have his own ministers sell the slaves directly.
In the traditional story, Gakpe, secretly coming back from exile, helped de Souza escape. In return, de Souza helped Gakpe marshall a military force and take the throne with the assistance of the terrified council of ministers. Gakpe then put Adandozan in prison.
This traditional portrayal may be wrong: like Richard II of England
Richard II of England
Richard II was King of England, a member of the House of Plantagenet and the last of its main-line kings. He ruled from 1377 until he was deposed in 1399. Richard was a son of Edward, the Black Prince, and was born during the reign of his grandfather, Edward III...
in the Wars of the Roses
Wars of the Roses
The Wars of the Roses were a series of dynastic civil wars for the throne of England fought between supporters of two rival branches of the royal House of Plantagenet: the houses of Lancaster and York...
, Adandozan may have been the object of a propagandistic rewriting of history after he lost the throne, turned into a monster by his successor as a means of excusing the coup d'état
Coup d'état
A coup d'état state, literally: strike/blow of state)—also known as a coup, putsch, and overthrow—is the sudden, extrajudicial deposition of a government, usually by a small group of the existing state establishment—typically the military—to replace the deposed government with another body; either...
and legitimizing the new regime. All stories agree that Adandozan tried to force more favorable terms of trade with the Europeans involved in the export of slaves, and seriously undermined the power of the extended royal family and Vodun cult practitioners at court through administrative reforms.
It may be that these policies themselves provoked Adandozan's powerful opponents to support a coup against him. In order to justify the coup, Gakpe may then have been obliged to have his griot
Griot
A griot or jeli is a West African storyteller. The griot delivers history as a poet, praise singer, and wandering musician. The griot is a repository of oral tradition. As such, they are sometimes also called bards...
s (oral historians) tell of the monstrous and mad Adandozan.
Although tradition has not been kind to Adandozan, he has helped to salvage his own reputation through a substantial number of letters that he, or secretaries in his employ, wrote to various outsiders, especially the kings and other officials of Portugal who fled to Brazil following the conquest of Portugal by Napoleon. In these letters, Adandozan outlines a substantial military campaigns, which he presents as victories, as well as showing his negotiations with Europeans. Some of these letters were published in Pierre Verger in the 1960s. A large cache, found in the Instituto Historico e Geografico Brasileiro in Rio de Janeiro, remains unpublished.