Béhanzin Hossu Bowelle

Béhanzin Monument

When Béhanzin refused to transfer the land as a colony, he was deported with his queen Lakoukou Massè, son Ouanilo and daughters Agbopano, Mécougnon, and Potassi, as well as eleven other wives with about fifty children, and court in 1894 to Martinique . In 1906, towards the end of Béhanzin’s life, the entourage was allowed to settle in Algeria . For several years, Prince Ouanilo Béhanzin sought permission from France to bury his father in Abomey next to his representative, according to the king’s wishes . Ouanilo was not allowed to move the remains until 1928 .

Prince Ouanilo trained as an agricultural engineer and lawyer and became the first black lawyer in Paris. Ouanilo died in 1928 in Dakar on the way home to France after the burial in Abomey, 42 years old. Ouanilo was first buried in Bordeaux, but in 2006 his remains were also moved to Abomey.

In 2006, one hundred years after Béhanzin’s death, his memory was celebrated through exhibitions and seminars in Benin and France. ^{[ 1 ] [ 2 ]}