Allada is a town,

arrondissement An arrondissement (, , ) is any of various administrative divisions of France, Belgium, Haiti, certain other Francophone countries, as well as the Netherlands. Europe France The 101 French departments are divided into 342 ''arrondissements ...

, and commune, located in the Atlantique Department of

Benin Benin ( , ; french: Bénin , ff, Benen), officially the Republic of Benin (french: République du Bénin), and formerly Dahomey, is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Togo to the west, Nigeria to the east, Burkina Faso to the nort ...

. The current town of Allada corresponds to

Great Ardra The Kingdom of Ardra, also known as the Kingdom of Allada, was a coastal West African kingdom in southern Benin. While historically a sovereign kingdom, in present times the monarchy continues to exist as a non-sovereign monarchy within the republ ...

(also called Grand Ardra, or Arda), which was the capital of a Fon kingdom also called Allada (the '' kingdom of Ardra'' or ''kingdom of Allada''), which existed as a sovereign kingdom from around the 13th or 14th century (date of the initial settlements by Aja people, reorganized as a kingdom c. 1600) until 1724, when it fell to the armies of neighbour

Kingdom of Dahomey The Kingdom of Dahomey () was a West African kingdom located within present-day Benin that existed from approximately 1600 until 1904. Dahomey developed on the Abomey Plateau amongst the Fon people in the early 17th century and became a region ...

. The present-day commune of Allada covers an area of 381 square kilometres and as of 2013 had a population of 127,512 people.

History

In the mid-sixteenth century, Allada (then called Grand Ardra, or Arda) had a population of about 30,000 people. The original inhabitants of Ardra were ethnic Aja. According to oral tradition, the Aja migrated to southern Benin around the 12th or 13th century, coming from Tado, on the Mono River in modern

Togo Togo (), officially the Togolese Republic (french: République togolaise), is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Ghana to the west, Benin to the east and Burkina Faso to the north. It extends south to the Gulf of Guinea, where its c ...

. They established themselves in the area that currently corresponds to southern Benin, until c. 1600, when three brothers – Kokpon, Do-Aklin, and Te-Agdanlin – split the rule of the region amongst themselves: Kokpon took the capital city of

, reigning over the Allada kingdom, while his brother Do-Aklin founded

Abomey Abomey is the capital of the Zou Department of Benin. The commune of Abomey covers an area of 142 square kilometres and, as of 2012, had a population of 90,195 people. Abomey houses the Royal Palaces of Abomey, a collection of small traditional ...

(which would become capital of the

) and their brother Te-Agdanlin founded Little Ardra, also known as Ajatche, later called

Porto Novo Porto-Novo (Portuguese: "New Port", , ; yo, Àjàṣẹ́, ), also known as Hogbonu and Ajashe, is the capital of Benin. The commune covers an area of and as of 2002 had a population of 223,552 people. Situated on an inlet of the Gulf of G ...

(literally, "New Port") by Portuguese traders (which is the current capital city of Benin).

Notable citizens and residents

The Haitian revolutionary Toussaint L'Ouverture, who was the grandson of the Allada prince

Gaou Guinou Gaou Guinou was an African prince and sometime the King of the Allada and the Fon people. He was reportedly captured and enslaved by his brother, Hussar, and his wife, Queen Aitta in 1724. According to Haitian oral traditions, Gaou Guinou's father, ...

, was the

founding father The following list of national founding figures is a record, by country, of people who were credited with establishing a state. National founders are typically those who played an influential role in setting up the systems of governance, (i.e. ...

of the Republic of Haiti. There is a statue of L'Ouverture in the north of the town.Butler, Stuart (2019) ''Bradt Travel Guide - Benin'', pgs. 100

Demographics

The main town demographics:

History

Notable citizens and residents

Demographics

References

Further reading