Togoland
Encyclopedia
Togoland was a German
protectorate
in West Africa
from 1884 to 1914, encompassing what is now the nation of Togo
and most of what is now the Volta Region
of Ghana
. The colony was established during the period generally known as the "Scramble for Africa
". The German explorer, medical doctor, imperial consul and commissioner for West Africa Gustav Nachtigal
was the driving force toward the establishment of the West African colonies of Togoland and Kamerun
. From his base on the Spanish island possession Fernando Po
in the Bight of Bonny
he traveled extensively on the mainland of Africa. On 5 July 1884 Nachtigal signed a treaty with the local chief, Mlapa III, in which he declared a German Empire
protectorate over a stretch of territory along the Slave Coast
on the Bight of Benin
. With the small gunboat SMS Möwe at anchor, the imperial flag was raised for the first time on the African continent. Consul Heinrich Ludwig Randad, Jr., resident agent of the firm C. Goedelts at Widah, was appointed as the first commissioner for the territory.
Germany gradually extended its control inland. Colonial administrators and settlers brought scientific cultivation to the country's main export crops (cacao, coffee
, cotton
). The colony’s infrastructure was developed to one of the highest levels in Africa. Colonial officials built roads and bridges to the interior mountain ranges and three rail lines from the capital Lome; along the coast to Aného
in 1905, to Palime (modern Kpalimé) in 1907, and the longest line, the Hinterlandbahn to Atakpamé
by 1911.
In 1895 the capital Lome had a population of 31 Germans and 2,084 natives. By 1913 the native population had swelled to 7,042 persons and 194 Germans, including 33 women, while the entire colony had a German population of 316, including 61 women and 14 children. In the years just before the Great War
Lome had grown into the “prettiest town in West Africa.” Because it was one of Germany's two self-supporting colonies, Togoland was acknowledged as a small but treasured possession. This would last until the eruption of World War I.
After calling on the German colony to surrender on 6 August 1914, French
and British
troops invaded unopposed the next day. No military personnel was stationed in the protectorate. The police force consisted of a commander and deputy commander, 10 German sergeants, 1 native sergeant and 660 Togolese policemen deployed throughout the territory. The Entente forces occupied the capital Lome, then advanced on a powerful and new radio station near Kamina (east of Atakpamé). The colony surrendered on 26 August 1914, after the German technicians who had built the radio installation now destroyed the station during the night of 24/25 August. In the weeks before the destruction, Kamerun
, German Southwest Africa, German East Africa
and 47 ships on the high seas were sent reports of Allied actions, as well as warnings of predicaments ahead. On 27 December 1916, Togoland was separated into French and British administrative zones. Following the ratification of the Treaty of Versailles
, on 20 July 1922, Togoland formally became a League of Nations
Class B mandate divided into French Togoland
and British Togoland
, covering respectively about two-thirds and one-third of the territory.
The British area of the former German colony was integrated into Ghana
in 1957 following a May 1956 plebiscite where 58% of British-area residents voted in favour of joining Ghana upon its independence, rather than remaining under British-administered trusteeship.
The French-ruled region became the Republic of Togo in 1960 and is now known as the Togolese Republic
. In 1960, the new state invited the last German governor of Togoland, Duke Adolf Friedrich of Mecklenburg
to the country’s official independence celebrations.
German Empire
The German Empire refers to Germany during the "Second Reich" period from the unification of Germany and proclamation of Wilhelm I as German Emperor on 18 January 1871, to 1918, when it became a federal republic after defeat in World War I and the abdication of the Emperor, Wilhelm II.The German...
protectorate
Protectorate
In history, the term protectorate has two different meanings. In its earliest inception, which has been adopted by modern international law, it is an autonomous territory that is protected diplomatically or militarily against third parties by a stronger state or entity...
in West Africa
West Africa
West Africa or Western Africa is the westernmost region of the African continent. Geopolitically, the UN definition of Western Africa includes the following 16 countries and an area of approximately 5 million square km:-Flags of West Africa:...
from 1884 to 1914, encompassing what is now the nation of Togo
Togo
Togo, officially the Togolese Republic , is a country in West Africa bordered by Ghana to the west, Benin to the east and Burkina Faso to the north. It extends south to the Gulf of Guinea, on which the capital Lomé is located. Togo covers an area of approximately with a population of approximately...
and most of what is now the Volta Region
Volta Region
Volta Region is one of Ghana's ten administrative regions. It is to the east of Lake Volta. Its capital is Ho.-List of districts:The region has 18 districts consisting of 3 municipal and 15 ordinary districts:-Background:...
of Ghana
Ghana
Ghana , officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country located in West Africa. It is bordered by Côte d'Ivoire to the west, Burkina Faso to the north, Togo to the east, and the Gulf of Guinea to the south...
. The colony was established during the period generally known as the "Scramble for Africa
Scramble for Africa
The Scramble for Africa, also known as the Race for Africa or Partition of Africa was a process of invasion, occupation, colonization and annexation of African territory by European powers during the New Imperialism period, between 1881 and World War I in 1914...
". The German explorer, medical doctor, imperial consul and commissioner for West Africa Gustav Nachtigal
Gustav Nachtigal
Gustav Nachtigal was a German explorer of Central and West Africa. He is further known as the German Empire's consul-general for Tunisia and Commissioner for West Africa. His mission as commissioner resulted in Togoland and Kamerun becoming the first colonies of a German colonial empire...
was the driving force toward the establishment of the West African colonies of Togoland and Kamerun
Kamerun
German Cameroon was a West African colony of the German Empire from 1884 to 1916 in the region of today's Republic of Cameroon.-History:-1800s:...
. From his base on the Spanish island possession Fernando Po
Bioko
Bioko is an island 32 km off the west coast of Africa, specifically Cameroon, in the Gulf of Guinea. It is the northernmost part of Equatorial Guinea with a population of 124,000 and an area of . It is volcanic with its highest peak the Pico Basile at .-Geography:Bioko has a total area of...
in the Bight of Bonny
Bight of Bonny
The Bight of Bonny is a bight off the West African coast, in the easternmost part of the Gulf of Guinea...
he traveled extensively on the mainland of Africa. On 5 July 1884 Nachtigal signed a treaty with the local chief, Mlapa III, in which he declared a German Empire
German Empire
The German Empire refers to Germany during the "Second Reich" period from the unification of Germany and proclamation of Wilhelm I as German Emperor on 18 January 1871, to 1918, when it became a federal republic after defeat in World War I and the abdication of the Emperor, Wilhelm II.The German...
protectorate over a stretch of territory along the Slave Coast
Slave Coast
The Slave Coast is the name of the coastal areas of present Togo, Benin and western Nigeria, a fertile region of coastal Western Africa along the Bight of Benin. In pre-colonial time it was one of the most densely populated parts of the African continent...
on the Bight of Benin
Bight of Benin
The Bight of Benin is a bight on the western African coast that extends eastward for about 400 miles from Cape St. Paul to the Nun outlet of the Niger River. To the east it is continued by the Bight of Bonny . The bight is part of the Gulf of Guinea...
. With the small gunboat SMS Möwe at anchor, the imperial flag was raised for the first time on the African continent. Consul Heinrich Ludwig Randad, Jr., resident agent of the firm C. Goedelts at Widah, was appointed as the first commissioner for the territory.
Togoland/Gold Coast used as bargaining chips
In 1899, Germany and Great Britain traded the Samoan Group, Solomon Group and Tongan Group, using the Togoland Neutral Zone (Yendi) and the Volta Triangle as bargaining chips.Economics and growth
Coffee
Coffee is a brewed beverage with a dark,init brooo acidic flavor prepared from the roasted seeds of the coffee plant, colloquially called coffee beans. The beans are found in coffee cherries, which grow on trees cultivated in over 70 countries, primarily in equatorial Latin America, Southeast Asia,...
, cotton
Cotton
Cotton is a soft, fluffy staple fiber that grows in a boll, or protective capsule, around the seeds of cotton plants of the genus Gossypium. The fiber is almost pure cellulose. The botanical purpose of cotton fiber is to aid in seed dispersal....
). The colony’s infrastructure was developed to one of the highest levels in Africa. Colonial officials built roads and bridges to the interior mountain ranges and three rail lines from the capital Lome; along the coast to Aného
Aneho
Aného is a town in southeastern Togo. It is situated 45 km east of the capital Lomé, between the Atlantic Ocean and Lake Togo in Maritime Region. Historically it was known under the name Little Popo and it had a Portuguese slave market. It later became the first German capital of Togo in the...
in 1905, to Palime (modern Kpalimé) in 1907, and the longest line, the Hinterlandbahn to Atakpamé
Atakpamé
Founded by the Yoruba people, Atakpamé, the fifth largest city in Togo by population , is a city in the Plateaux Region of Togo. It is an industrial centre and lies on the main north-south highway, 161 km north of the capital Lomé...
by 1911.
In 1895 the capital Lome had a population of 31 Germans and 2,084 natives. By 1913 the native population had swelled to 7,042 persons and 194 Germans, including 33 women, while the entire colony had a German population of 316, including 61 women and 14 children. In the years just before the Great War
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
Lome had grown into the “prettiest town in West Africa.” Because it was one of Germany's two self-supporting colonies, Togoland was acknowledged as a small but treasured possession. This would last until the eruption of World War I.
Occupation and beyond
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
and British
British Empire
The British Empire comprised the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom. It originated with the overseas colonies and trading posts established by England in the late 16th and early 17th centuries. At its height, it was the...
troops invaded unopposed the next day. No military personnel was stationed in the protectorate. The police force consisted of a commander and deputy commander, 10 German sergeants, 1 native sergeant and 660 Togolese policemen deployed throughout the territory. The Entente forces occupied the capital Lome, then advanced on a powerful and new radio station near Kamina (east of Atakpamé). The colony surrendered on 26 August 1914, after the German technicians who had built the radio installation now destroyed the station during the night of 24/25 August. In the weeks before the destruction, Kamerun
Kamerun
German Cameroon was a West African colony of the German Empire from 1884 to 1916 in the region of today's Republic of Cameroon.-History:-1800s:...
, German Southwest Africa, German East Africa
German East Africa
German East Africa was a German colony in East Africa, which included what are now :Burundi, :Rwanda and Tanganyika . Its area was , nearly three times the size of Germany today....
and 47 ships on the high seas were sent reports of Allied actions, as well as warnings of predicaments ahead. On 27 December 1916, Togoland was separated into French and British administrative zones. Following the ratification of the Treaty of Versailles
Treaty of Versailles
The Treaty of Versailles was one of the peace treaties at the end of World War I. It ended the state of war between Germany and the Allied Powers. It was signed on 28 June 1919, exactly five years after the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand. The other Central Powers on the German side of...
, on 20 July 1922, Togoland formally became a League of Nations
League of Nations
The League of Nations was an intergovernmental organization founded as a result of the Paris Peace Conference that ended the First World War. It was the first permanent international organization whose principal mission was to maintain world peace...
Class B mandate divided into French Togoland
French Togoland
French Togoland was a France Mandate territory in West Africa, which later became the Togolese Republic.-Mandate territory:...
and British Togoland
British Togoland
British Togoland was a League of Nations Class B mandate in West Africa, under the mandatory power of the United Kingdom. It was effectively formed in 1916 by the splitting of the occupied German protectorate of Togoland into two territories, French Togoland and British Togoland, during the First...
, covering respectively about two-thirds and one-third of the territory.
The British area of the former German colony was integrated into Ghana
Ghana
Ghana , officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country located in West Africa. It is bordered by Côte d'Ivoire to the west, Burkina Faso to the north, Togo to the east, and the Gulf of Guinea to the south...
in 1957 following a May 1956 plebiscite where 58% of British-area residents voted in favour of joining Ghana upon its independence, rather than remaining under British-administered trusteeship.
The French-ruled region became the Republic of Togo in 1960 and is now known as the Togolese Republic
Togo
Togo, officially the Togolese Republic , is a country in West Africa bordered by Ghana to the west, Benin to the east and Burkina Faso to the north. It extends south to the Gulf of Guinea, on which the capital Lomé is located. Togo covers an area of approximately with a population of approximately...
. In 1960, the new state invited the last German governor of Togoland, Duke Adolf Friedrich of Mecklenburg
Duke Adolf Friedrich of Mecklenburg
Duke Adolf Friedrich Albrecht Heinrich of Mecklenburg was a German explorer in Africa, a colonial politician, the elected Duke of the United Baltic Duchy from 5 November to 28 November, 1918, and the first president of the National Olympic Committee of Germany .- Biography :Born in Schwerin, Adolf...
to the country’s official independence celebrations.
See also
- List of colonial heads of German Togoland
- History of TogoHistory of TogoLittle is known about the history of Togo before the late fifteenth century, when Portuguese explorers arrived, although there are signs of Ewe settlement for several centuries before their arrival.- Pre-colonial :...
- British TogolandBritish TogolandBritish Togoland was a League of Nations Class B mandate in West Africa, under the mandatory power of the United Kingdom. It was effectively formed in 1916 by the splitting of the occupied German protectorate of Togoland into two territories, French Togoland and British Togoland, during the First...
- Volta RegionVolta RegionVolta Region is one of Ghana's ten administrative regions. It is to the east of Lake Volta. Its capital is Ho.-List of districts:The region has 18 districts consisting of 3 municipal and 15 ordinary districts:-Background:...
- Gold Coast (British colony)Gold Coast (British colony)The Gold Coast was a British colony on the Gulf of Guinea in west Africa that became the independent nation of Ghana in 1957.-Overview:The first Europeans to arrive at the coast were the Portuguese in 1471. They encountered a variety of African kingdoms, some of which controlled substantial...
- German West African CompanyGerman West African CompanyThe German West African Company, in German Deutsch-Westafrikanische Gesellschaft / Compagnie, was a German chartered company, founded in 1885...
- List of former German colonies
- German South-West AfricaGerman South-West AfricaGerman South West Africa was a colony of Germany from 1884 until 1915, when it was taken over by South Africa and administered as South West Africa, finally becoming Namibia in 1990...
- Shark Island, German South West Africa
- German KamerunKamerunGerman Cameroon was a West African colony of the German Empire from 1884 to 1916 in the region of today's Republic of Cameroon.-History:-1800s:...
- German East AfricaGerman East AfricaGerman East Africa was a German colony in East Africa, which included what are now :Burundi, :Rwanda and Tanganyika . Its area was , nearly three times the size of Germany today....
