Everything about Togoland totally explained
Togoland was a
German protectorate in
West Africa from
1884 to
1914. The protectorate was established during the "
Scramble for Africa", when German explorer and
imperialist Gustav Nachtigal arrived at
Togoville, sent as a special commissioner by Prime Minister
Otto von Bismarck. On
July 5 1884, a treaty was signed with the local chief,
Mlapa III, in which the
German Empire declared a protectorate over a stretch of territory along the coast of the
Bight of Benin. Nachtigal was
Reichskommissar for a day, but was replaced on
July 6 by
Heinrich Randad as other tasks were waiting for Nachtigal in Northern Africa.
Germany gradually extended its control inland. They brought scientific cultivation to the country's main export crops (
cacao,
coffee and
cotton) and developed its infrastructure to one of the highest levels in Africa. Because it became Germany's only self-supporting
colony, Togoland was known as its model possession. This would last until the eruption of
World War I.
After calling on German forces to surrender on 6 August 1914,
French and
British forces invaded the colony the next day, occupying Lome and advancing on a powerful radio station near Kamina (just east of
Atakpamé). The colony surrendered on
August 26, after the Germans had destroyed the station on the night of August 24/25. On
December 27 1916, Togoland was divided into French and British administrative zones. Following the war, Togoland formally became a
League of Nations Class B mandate divided for administrative purposes into
French Togoland and
British Togoland (covering respectively about 2/3 and 1/3 of the territory).
As a result, the French-ruled part of Togoland became what is now
Togo, with the rest transferred to
Ghana following a plebiscite.
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