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Acknowledgments
This book is the result of research work carried out in Brazil (Salvador and Rio de Janeiro) and Benin (Cotonou, Porto-Novo, and Ouidah), where I consulted archives, conducted interviews, visited monuments and museums, and attended religious and commemorative ceremonies. The archival research was carried out in archives and libraries located in Salvador (Pierre Verger Foundation and Arquivo Público do Estado); Rio de Janeiro (Museu Nacional, Biblioteca Nacional, Instituto Histórico Geográfico Brasileiro); Porto-Novo (Archives Nationales); and Paris (Bibliothèque Nationale de France). The fieldwork in Brazil, archival research, and the writing of this book were made possible through the very generous support granted by Howard University through the New Faculty Start-Up Research Fund. This financial support was critical to the accomplishment of this book. Fieldwork in Benin was conducted thanks to the funds provided by the Canadian Research Chair in Comparative History of Memory, the Department of History, CELAT (Centre Interuniversitaire d'Études sur les Lettres, les Arts et les Traditions), the Bureau International—Université Laval, and the FQRSC (Fonds Québécois de la Recherche sur la Société et la Culture).