The Xwédan kingdom with its capital at Savi and port
of Ouidah (or Gléwé) was one of the most important
trade entrepôts during the emergence of large-scale
and sustained trade between Western Europe, the Americas ,
and Africa ca. 1600 AD. Xwédan kings exchanged captured
individuals to traders for European manufactured goods and
exotic items from as far away as the Indian Ocean . As this
trade reached a zenith in the coastal area of modern-day Bénin,
Savi served as a political center for regional administration,
a religious center for python (i.e., Dangbe) worship, and
an economic hub. Weekly markets near Savi drew thousands,
who bartered locally produced goods, or exchanged cowries
as currency, for other trade items.
The various kings of Xwéda profited by taxing trade
conducted in the market and goods moving through their borders.
The trade corridor from Savi to the coast became so profitable
that it was targeted by King Agadja of Dahomey . In 1727,
Dahomean troops advanced on Savi and burned the palace to
the ground. The ruins of the palace complex held such political
significance that Agadja forbade Xwédans from resettling
in direct proximity to the palace.
The museum attempts to illuminate the Xwédans lifestyle
within the palace as well as in the surrounding countryside
through historical illustrations and through archaeological
material uncovered by archaeologists Kenneth Kelly and Neil Norman
. These materials, circa 1600-1900 AD, were uncovered over
several years of intense archaeological excavation around
the present-day village of Savi . Materials include remnants
of a variety of materials imported from Europe and the new
world: porcelain, glass (in the form of wine or gin bottles),
bricks, and beads. Also included are materials that were fabricated
either in Xwéda or in other areas of Africa , such
as locally produced ceramics, metal tools, quartz beads, and
stone tools. |
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