During the 19th and 20th century, the coastal town of Ouidah, Benin, suddenly became home to a large number of recently freed slaves returning from Bahia, Brazil, in the years following the Malé Revolt of 1835. In this essay, we will focus on how these returnees changed the social, economic and political landscape of Ouidah and to what extent we can credit the Aguda community with these changes. We will discuss how, ‘those individuals who had been sent into slavery… [and] were subsequently alienated from the native social structure,’ were able to overcome these pre-existing conceptions, to influence the shaping of communities in West Africa, through their established economic, social and cultural ties with Brazil . Through this, we will discover how this mass migration came to play a role in shaping the political landscape of Ouidah in the nineteenth century.
When looking at how the returnees were able to shape the political landscape of Ouidah in the 19th century, we must first focus on their social reception upon arriving back to West Africa. Soon after arrival it became clear that, despite the fact that in Brazil these people were viewed as being free from slavery, considering, ‘themselves modern and progressive in the face of a society that they saw as primitive and savage,’ the people of Ouidah had an equally negative view of the returnees, seeing the Agudá community as, ‘tainted by slavery.’ Ex-slaves would have been viewed in this light due to the nature in which they became slaves, for having committed crimes, explaining why there was a lingering sentiment of disapproval towards those returning from Brazil. However, regardless of their social status, living in Brazil enabled Afro-Brazilians to acquire elements of western culture, a culture that stereotypically viewed itself as more progressive than that of African culture. Returnees were therefore both African by birth and Brazilian by assimilation to its lifestyle and culture, leaving them as outsiders to both native African and Brazilian communities, and without a clear sense of identity. However, with an already well-established Brazilian community settled in Ouidah, returnees were able to, ‘organize themselves socially according to their experiences in Brazil,’ and assimilate themselves into this pre-existing community of free Brazilians. It has therefore been argued that, ‘the subsequent consolidation of the Brazilian community was largely due to the re-remigration…of large numbers of ex-slaves,’ who were able to incorporate their own, ‘tradition of polyglottism and multiculturalism,’ to shape this community, ‘while retaining the essence of their identity.’ This community became so strong, in fact, that it has been argued that, ‘some of those who came to form part of the “Brazilian” community were thus in fact Africans, who had never been to Brazil, but had assimilated Brazilian culture in West Africa,’ both from the pre-existing Brazilians there, and from the sudden influx of westernized Afro-Brazilian returnees. However, by assimilating themselves with this culture, despite gaining greater social respect from Western powers, in Ouidah, the Agudá community experienced, ‘intense feelings of anti-colonialism,’ from West African natives, due to the fact that many of these ex-slaves were being received by notorious slave-trader Francisco Felix de Souza and founder of the Brazilian community in Ouidah. By joining the “Brazilians”, returnees often became clients of de Souza, who was able to give them land and therefore a place in society when they arrived back in West Africa only to find themselves, in some cases, poverty stricken. This worked to both strengthen de Souza’s community and help struggling returnees. However, the feelings of anti-colonialism perhaps arose due to the fact that to get anywhere socially, and economically upon returning to West Africa, you had to have a slave yourself, explaining why, ‘some of the Brazilian merchants involved in the slave-trade from West Africa in the nineteenth century were likewise ex-slaves.’
This then leads us on to thinking about how the returnees economically impacted the various communities in Ouidah, as their induction by de Souza gave them the opportunity to become traders and merchants within the Brazilian community themselves. For this, many returnees chose to build their communities by the coast, such as in Ouidah, as trading opportunities were greater there. Towards the end of the 19th century, after intervention from the British, the slave trade would begin to slow down, making way for the dominant force of trading Palm-produce. This opened up stronger economic links to Europe with many of, ‘the large oil plantations now established in Ouidah… mainly owned by existing merchants,’ now trading with Europe rather than Brazil. Due to this trade relationship with Europe, the returnees, with their invaluable knowledge of both the Portuguese and local languages, together with existing Ouidah merchants, ‘became a class of commercial farmers and large-scale slave-owners rather than merely traders,’ resulting, in some cases, in ownership and cultivation of these particular lands by ex-slaves. It is therefore clear that, ‘the “Brazilians” contributed significantly to the development of agriculture and trade in this area,’ largely aided by the Afro-Brazilian returnees, who were able to assume, ‘the role of interpreter,’ for European traders who were subsequently arriving in Benin.
With the re-introduction of the Portuguese language to West Africa and the economic connections being forged with Europe, religion is another important factor we must consider when thinking about how the returnees shaped the political landscape of Ouidah. The, ‘Aguda community, in most cases assumed Catholicism as a critical mark of identity and distinction,’ from their time in Brazil. However, Catholicism was also used more politically for the Brazilians and the returnees alike. It has been argued that, ‘the blacks of the Diaspora and their Aguda descendants saw the Catholic religion as a springboard to a rise in social status and for better integration into the new socio-political ecology.’ Furthermore, in terms of slave-trading, you could argue that, ‘religious images of slavery rationalize capitalist exploitation by hiding who is really responsible,’ with slave traders therefore using these, ‘religious traditions…as a way of, ‘embodying a “disciplinary function”,’ upon the freed slaves. Afro-Brazilians were unlikely to have been Catholic before slavery, however, by assuming the Catholic religion, a freed slave returning to Ouidah could secure their status as, ‘a free colonial individual…and today a member of the elite,’ as having native Africans assume Catholicism was of great value to the existing Brazilians who saw religious beliefs and practices as a way to bridge the gap between Benin and Brazil. This was a sentiment shared by the Europeans, who worked with the Catholic returnees who had re-integrated themselves into native West African communities, to send missionaries over for the purpose of education and trade. However, ‘Catholic affiliation did not necessarily translate into an anti-slavery discourse,’ as we know that many Catholic Brazilians were in fact still slave-traders during the 19th century. ‘Not all of the repatriates were Christians, however…and it must be presumed that Muslims were especially prominent among those deported,’ from Bahia, with some suggesting that before the return to Brazil, many slaves became Muslim out of a desire to free themselves during the Malés rebellion of 1835. The influence of both the Muslim and Catholic religions in Ouidah, saw new religious practices and institutions being formed on the basis of these new ideas of ethnicity. The introduction of Muslim returnees had both a political and cultural impact on the town of Ouidah with the creation of the first mosque there, led by Baba Olougbon, a returned slave from Brazil and one of the first Imams of the town. Furthermore, it has been suggested that, ‘ Islamic slaves, or Malés were the most respected and the most feared by the white plantocracy,’ perhaps due to their, ‘adamant…refusal to accept Catholicism.’ This therefore demonstrates the intense social and political influence of religion in the shaping and relationship of communities in Ouidah, contributing to a change in the political landscape.
In conclusion, we can see that the Afro-Brazilian returnees had a large impact on the coastal region of Ouidah, politically, socially and economically. They were able to integrate themselves into a society where they were not particularly well-received or welcome by the natives or the pre-existing free Brazilians, due to doubt over the loyalties of their community. This doubt is likely to have stemmed from the fact that whilst the returnees were viewed as freed slaves in Brazil, upon returning to Benin, the native population and the pre-existing Brazilian community were unwilling to see them as anything other than the slaves they had been when they left West Africa. Religion was used as a way to integrate themselves into this new society, with many of the returnees sharing their faith with the Brazilian community, with their influence said to have even provided, ‘the basis for the establishment of organized Christian worship in the town.’ Those who did not return Catholic, returned with their Muslim faith leaving a clear mark on the culture and architecture of Ouidah, introducing mosques and Islamic practices to the region. Economically, interest from Ouidah and its ports, was moving away from Brazil and towards Europe with the flourish of the Palm Oil trade, which gave returnees the opportunity to involve themselves with trade and the economy, whilst also managing the arrival of Portuguese speaking Brazilians and Europeans. Afro-Brazilian returnees were therefore used as traders, slave-owners and interpreters for local communities, with their ability to speak both Portuguese and the local language. It has become clear that, ‘the agudás were living testimony to a history of Brazilian linguistic, religious, cultural, and economic influence,’ in West Africa, and were able to create a community of multiculturalism, valued particularly by the pre-existing Brazilian community in Ouidah. The mass migration of this group of people drastically changed the social, cultural and economic landscapes of Ouidah, thus resulting in an undeniable shift in the political relationship between West Africa, Europe and Brazil in the nineteenth century.