Room III · 3 of 7 on the tour

Resistance

Savalou resisted: first the armies of Danxomè, then the protectorate and colonial rule. From war narratives to built traces — the colonial prison, the settler's avenue — to the Pantheon of African Resistance, this room keeps the memory of the struggles.

Room texts

What you should know

Provisional texts based on the project presentation document (v3.2) — awaiting approval by the royal court and the town hall of Savalou.

A century facing Danxomè

From its foundation, the kingdom of Savalou had to reckon with its powerful southern neighbour: the kingdom of Abomey, Danxomè. For more than a century, Savalou resisted its repeated attacks, before being gradually vassalised in the mid-18th century, after the fall of Gbowèlè. Savalou's sovereigns were then enthroned with the approval of the king of Abomey — King Kpingla went as far as deposing Tchaou Aditi Gbaguidi II, who had gone blind, in favour of Baglo Gbaguidi III.

1894: the protectorate

Abomey's tutelage ended with the fall of Danxomè to the French troops of General Dodds. In 1894, King Zoundégla Gbaguidi VIII signed a treaty placing the kingdom under French protectorate. Throughout the colonial period, Savalou remained a centre of influence, a district capital of Middle Dahomey — the settler's avenue and the colonial prison are its material witnesses.

The works

What this room will present

The pieces are being collected, researched or reviewed by the royal court and the town hall — each label below awaits its work.

Under research

01 · Historical narrative

The wars against Danxomè

A powerful, conquering neighbour, Danxomè met with Savalou's resistance. The campaigns and alliances will be reconstructed from oral and written sources.

Oral tradition · bibliography

Notice FR/EN · campaign maps · Mahi audio

Under research

02 · Archive documents

Protectorate and colonial period

Treaties, photographs and administrative documents will shed light on the protectorate and colonial period, and on what it changed for the monarchy.

National archives · royal court

Digitisations · transcripts · notices FR/EN

To be collected

03 · Monument

The Pantheon of African Resistance

An emblematic monument dedicated to the figures of African resistance, it anchors Savalou in a memory that reaches beyond its hills.

Savalou

360° panorama · HD photographs · notice FR/EN

To be collected

04 · Memorial site

The colonial prison

With the settler's avenue, it is among the built traces of the colonial period in Savalou. A witness in stone, to be documented before memory fades.

Savalou

HD photographs · notice FR/EN · testimonies