After the historic return of 26 royal treasures from Abomey in 2021, Benin is pressing ahead with its fight to recover its heritage. President Romuald Wadagni has now asked his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron to hand back 35 additional cultural objects and historical documents held in France. It is a new phase that blends memory, cultural sovereignty and touristic ambition.
A fresh push to recover national heritage
The question of returning African cultural objects kept in Europe has become a lasting feature of relations between Benin and France. With its request for 35 more cultural objects and historical documents, Cotonou intends to continue a process begun several years ago and to recover part of a heritage whose many elements were taken during the colonial period.
The approach championed by President Romuald Wadagni is not limited to a symbolic demand. It is part of a broader policy aimed at allowing Benin to take back important parts of its history and make them accessible to its people.
Among the items claimed are objects linked to the ancient kingdoms of Benin, their rulers and their traditions. Their return would help complete national collections and give greater depth to the historical narrative presented in Beninese museums.
For the authorities in Cotonou, restitution is therefore a matter of memory, but also of sovereignty. For decades, a significant part of Benin’s material history was kept outside the African continent. The country now wants to reverse that trend.
Continuing the fight led by Patrice Talon
Romuald Wadagni is following in the footsteps of his predecessor, Patrice Talon, who made the return of cultural objects a priority of Beninese diplomacy.
The most striking moment of that policy remains the return, in November 2021, of 26 works from the royal treasury of Abomey, after their official restitution by France.
These objects, including thrones, statues, ceremonial scepters and other emblematic pieces of the Kingdom of Dahomey, had been taken by French troops during the conquest of the kingdom in 1892.
Their return to Benin sparked immense emotion in the country. For many Beninese, it was not simply the return of ancient objects, but of a part of their history.
That first restitution also had international significance. It helped make Benin one of the African countries most committed to the debate on the return of African heritage held in Western collections.
With the new request for 35 objects, Cotonou therefore intends to continue this momentum and broaden the movement.
Museums to house the recovered treasures
But recovering the works is only a first step. There is still a need for infrastructure capable of receiving, conserving and showcasing them.
This is precisely one of the major pillars of Benin’s cultural policy. The government has made significant investments in building and modernizing museum infrastructure.
In Abomey, the Museum of the Epic of the Amazons and the Kings of Danxomè is intended in particular to tell the story of the Kingdom of Dahomey and present part of its heritage to the public.
In Porto-Novo, the International Museum of Vodun project should help highlight a religious and cultural tradition that is often reduced abroad to clichés. In Ouidah, projects dedicated to the memory of slavery should also strengthen the place of this historic city in the country’s cultural and tourist landscape.
The strategy is clear: returned objects must not simply be placed behind glass cases. They must be accompanied by scientific, educational and historical work that allows visitors to understand their origin, their meaning and the circumstances in which they left Benin.
Making heritage an engine for tourism
This heritage policy also responds to an economic ambition.
Benin wants to make culture and tourism sectors capable of contributing more to the country’s growth. The return of the works therefore fits into a broader strategy aimed at turning historic sites, traditions and museums into genuine tourist attractions.
Abomey and its royal palaces, Ouidah and its history linked to the slave trade, Porto-Novo and its architectural heritage, Vodun traditions and the cultures of the ancient kingdoms are all assets.
The challenge now is to create a real tourist circuit around these different sites.
A visitor could discover the royal palaces of Abomey, continue their journey to the museums of Porto-Novo, learn about the history of Ouidah and take part in cultural events such as the Vodun Days. Around these activities can develop hotels, restaurants, crafts, transport, guide services and a whole local economy.
Heritage then becomes much more than a matter of conservation: it can become an economic sector creating jobs and income.
The challenge of conservation and transmission
Restitution, however, raises another challenge: that of conservation.
Ancient objects require particular conditions of temperature, humidity, security and restoration. Their return must therefore be accompanied by appropriate skills and resources.
Benin will also need to continue training curators, historians, restorers and heritage specialists to guarantee the transmission of these objects to future generations.
For the goal should not be only to recover the objects. It must also allow younger generations to make them their own.
In schools, universities and museums, these works can become teaching and research materials. They can help better understand pre-colonial kingdoms, African societies, resistance to colonial conquest and the political and cultural transformations that have marked Benin’s history.
A cultural battle that goes beyond borders
The request for 35 new cultural objects sent to France also illustrates the changing balance of power around African heritage.
For a long time, major European museums held a considerable share of objects from the African continent. Today, several African states want to regain control of their heritage and build institutions on their territory capable of conserving and presenting it.
Benin intends to play a leading role in this movement.
After the 26 royal treasures returned in 2021 under Patrice Talon, the 35 new items claimed by Romuald Wadagni mark a new stage. The process could still be long, because each object requires identification, documentation and negotiation.
But the message from Cotonou is now clear: Beninese heritage must gradually find its place back in Benin.
Recovering the past to build the future
The battle for restitution therefore goes beyond the sole question of ancient objects. It touches on identity, memory and a country’s ability to tell its own story.
For Benin, the challenge now is to turn each restitution into an opportunity. A work that returns must be studied, conserved, exhibited and explained. A museum that opens its doors must attract both Beninese and foreign visitors. A historic site must benefit the communities living nearby.
Only then will restitution take on its full meaning.
The 35 new objects claimed from France could thus become another piece of a vast project: recover heritage, build museums, develop tourism and turn memory into a resource for the future.
Having secured the return of the Abomey treasures, Benin now wants to go further. The heritage fight is changing scale. And behind the negotiations between Cotonou and Paris, a broader ambition is taking shape: to make Beninese heritage not only a legacy to preserve, but also a cultural, educational and economic force for future generations.
