Loading

History of Togo

A country in West Africa that began as the German protectorate of Togoland and gained independence from France in 1960. 3 eras, 1884 to today.

Togoland, 1884–1914 Draft, not yet reviewed

Togoland, officially the Togoland Protectorate, was a protectorate of the German Empire 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. In February 1884, the chiefs of the town of Aného were abducted by German soldiers and forced to sign a treaty of protection. On 5 July 1884 Nachtigal signed a treaty with the local chief, Mlapa III, in which he declared a German protectorate over a stretch of territory along the Slave Coast on the Bight of Benin. At the outbreak of the First World War in 1914, the colony was invaded and quickly overrun by British and French forces during the Togoland campaign and placed under military rule.

Seat of power: Lomé

French Togoland, 1916–1960 Draft, not yet reviewed

French Togoland was a French colonial League of Nations mandate from 1922 to 1946, and a UN trust territory from 1946 to 1960 in French West Africa. Togoland was divided into French and British administrative zones in 1916, and following the war, Togoland formally became a League of Nations mandate divided for administrative purposes between France and the United Kingdom. By statute in 1955, French Togoland became an autonomous republic within the French Union, although it retained its UN trusteeship status. On 27 April 1960, in a smooth transition, Togo severed its constitutional ties with France, shed its UN trusteeship status, and became fully independent under a provisional constitution with Olympio as president.

Seat of power: Lomé

Togo, 1960 to today Draft, not yet reviewed

Togo, officially the Togolese Republic, is a country located in West Africa. In 1884, during the scramble for Africa, Germany established a protectorate in the region called Togoland. Togo gained independence from France in 1960. In 1967, Gnassingbé Eyadéma led a successful military coup d'état and became president of an anti-communist, single-party state.

Seat of power: Lomé

Rulers

Text adapted from the Wikipedia articles listed as sources, CC BY-SA 4.0.