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 republic of Benin.
It was named for its capital, the modern Allada, which was also the main city and major port of the realm.
The city and kingdom were supposedly founded by a group of Aja migrants from Tado, a settlement along the Mono River, in the 12th or 13th century. Its kings "ruled with the consent of the elders of the people". The state reached the peak of its power in the 16th and early 17th centuries, when it was an important source of slaves for the Atlantic trade. By the mid-15th century, the city of Allada had a population of approximately 30,000 people, while the state as a whole had a population of nearly 200,000 people by the 16th century.
Name
The name is variously spelled Ardra, Ardrah, Ardres, Hardre, Arda, Arada, and Arrada. It is also sometimes known by its capital's present-day name Allada.
Foundational legend
According to the Fon oral tradition, the Aja settlers that established themselves in the area of present-day Allada arrived in southern Benin around the 12th or 13th century coming from Tado, on the Mono River. They established themselves in the area that currently corresponds to southern Benin, until 1600, when three brothers — Kokpon, Do-Aklin, and Te-Agdanlin — split the rule of the region amongst themselves: Kokpon took the capital city of Great Ardra, reigning over the Allada Kingdom, while his brother Do-Aklin founded Abomey (which would become capital of the Kingdom of Dahomey) and their brother Te-Agdanlin founded Little Ardra, also known as Ajatche, later called Porto Novo (literally, "New Port") by Portuguese traders (which is the current capital city of Benin).
History
Founded by Aja settlers, the settlement of Allada was in 1600 the most prominent of Aja states, bordering the nearby Oyo Empire, to which the King of Allada was vassal and tributary. Although it was an inland kingdom, Allada maintained control of some sea ports such as Offra, Jaquin and Whydah, thus making Allada important in the growing slave trade business, which also granted Allada the economic means to pay its duties to Oyo. Between 1640 and 1690, about 125,000 slaves were sold from Allada, peaking at about 55,000 during the 1680s alone.
Originally a part of the Allada Kingdom, the city of Abomey went on to become capital of a new kingdom, the Kingdom of Dahomey, which grew strong enough to challenge the nearby Oyo Kingdom, with Dahomey finally vanquishing it and establishing itself as the main kingdom in the region.
By the late 1690s, the growth of Dahomey had severely restricted Allada's supply of slaves from the north, while simultaneously Whydah surpassed Allada as a primary source of slaves from West Africa. This greatly weakened Allada's comparative power in the region. In 1724, Dahomey invaded Allada; in three days, the King of Dahomey's troops slaughtered thousands of Allada's warriors and citizens. More than 8,000 of Allada's population were captured and sold into slavery in the New World.
Modern history
Following Dahomey's subjugation of the kingdom, in 1734, Dahomy permitted the existence of a subordinate royalty. In 1894, France re-established the kingdom under its control. In 1904, the kingdom was annexed by France, however it was allowed to continue to exist as a non-sovereign monarchy with its leaders being referred to as "chef supérieur". The title of "king" was re-established in 1992 upon the coronation of Kpodégbé Togi Djigla, and the non-sovereign monarchy continues to this day.
Kpodégbé Toyi Djigla is leader of the High Council of Kings of Benin.
The modern non-sovereign kingdom of Ardra also consists of numerous minor kings who, in theory, accept the king of Ardra as their superior.