Abstract
1the foundation of the Brazilian heritage was solidly laid in an important West African kingdom (see Figure 1). Even the French influence during the period of the anti-slave trade crusade and eventual transition to ‘legitimate’ commerce in agricultural products (palm oil in particular) benefited from the cooperation or complicity of the Brazilian slave-traders. Similarly, the subsequent French colonial administration sought and found strong support among the Afro-Brazilian elite. It is therefore not surprising that the Brazilian heritage, despite the vicissitudes of history, still remains today a living reality, as if Dahomey had been a Brazilian colony! From Porto-Novo to Agoue, the vestiges of the heritage are attested in family names, cultural traditions, architecture, and more. This short article reflects on the establishment of the Brazilian heritage in Dahomey and its significance in the present-day Republic of Benin. The reign of the Dahomean king Gezo was of particular significance in the consolidation and growth of Brazilian influence. This monarch came to power in 1818 through a coup d’etat, with the assistance of a famous Brazilian slave-trader, Felix Francisco de Souza, who is generally and rightly regarded not only as the ancestor of the de Souza family of the subregion, but also of the Afro-Brazilian community in Dahomey. This episode in the history of Dahomey and biography of Felix Francisco de Souza is already well known and does not require elaboration. 2 It is worth pointing out, however, that the installation by Gezo of Felix Francisco de Souza as his principal commercial agent in Ouidah, with the title of Chacha, was a decisive factor in the establishment and development of the AfroBrazilian community in Dahomey. From the 1830s, de Souza became the chief coordinator of the arrival and establishment of slaves freed or expelled from Brazil as a result of the Bahia uprising in 1835. 3
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