Today, we remember the victims of colonial violence in Benin under the rule of France.

French military campaigns against the Kingdom of Dahomey culminated in full colonial control in 1894. What followed was approximately 66 years of occupation (1894–1960), ending only when the country achieved independence on August 1, 1960.

During the wars of conquest (especially 1890–1894) and subsequent suppression of uprisings, thousands of Dahomean soldiers and civilians lost their lives. Precise numbers were never systematically recorded by colonial authorities, and historians agree that the full human cost—through warfare, forced labor, repression, displacement, and famine—cannot be definitively calculated.

We honor those who resisted. Among the notable resistance figures killed by French colonial authorities were:

Kaba – Executed by French forces in 1894 during the final phase of the conquest.

Bio Guera – A leader of the 1916–1917 anti-colonial revolt in northern Dahomey, killed by French troops.

Other prominent figures, such as Béhanzin, the last independent ruler of Dahomey, were captured and exiled rather than executed; he died in exile in 1906.

Many others, including local chiefs, warriors, community leaders, and civilians, resisted, and their names are not preserved in written records. Their stories live on in oral histories, cultural memory, and the continued resilience of the Beninese people.

May we remember the known and the unnamed. May we honor their courage. May their struggle for dignity and sovereignty never be forgotten.