Togoland Protectorate Schutzgebiet Togo (German) | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1884–1914[1] | |||||||||
 Flag  Coat of arms | |||||||||
 Green: Territory comprising the German colony of Togoland Dark grey: OtherGerman possessions Darkest grey:German Empire | |||||||||
| Status | Protectorate of German Empire | ||||||||
| Capital | Bagida (1884–87) Sebeab (1887–97) Lomé (1897–1916) | ||||||||
| Common languages | German (official) Ewe,Kotokoli,Kabye | ||||||||
| Religion | Islam,Christianity,Traditional religion | ||||||||
| Governor | |||||||||
• 1884 (first) | Gustav Nachtigal | ||||||||
• 1914 (last) | Hans Georg von Doering | ||||||||
| Historical era | New Imperialism | ||||||||
| 5 July 1884 | |||||||||
| 26 August 1914 | |||||||||
• Togoland partitioned | 27 December 1916 | ||||||||
| Area | |||||||||
| 1912 | 87,200 km2 (33,700 sq mi) | ||||||||
| Population | |||||||||
• 1912 | 1,000,000 | ||||||||
| Currency | German gold mark | ||||||||
| |||||||||
| Today part of | Ghana Togo | ||||||||
Togoland, officially theTogoland Protectorate (German:Schutzgebiet Togo;French:Protectorat du Togo), was aprotectorate of theGerman Empire inWest Africa from 1884 to 1914, encompassing what is now the nation ofTogo and most of what is now theVolta Region ofGhana, approximately 90,400 km2 (29,867 sq mi) in size.[2][3] During the period known as the "Scramble for Africa", the colony was established in 1884 and was gradually extended inland.
At the outbreak of theFirst World War in 1914, the colony was invaded and quickly overrun by British and French forces during theTogoland campaign and placed under military rule. In 1916 the territory was divided into separate British and French administrative zones, and this was formalised in 1922 with the creation ofBritish Togoland andFrench Togoland.
The colony was established towards the end of the period ofEuropean colonisation in Africa generally known as the "Scramble for Africa". Two separate protectorates were established in 1884. In February 1884, the chiefs of the town ofAného were abducted by German soldiers and forced to sign a treaty of protection.[4] In theLomé region, the German explorer, medical doctor, imperial consul and commissioner for West AfricaGustav Nachtigal was the driving force toward the establishment of the West African colonies of Togoland as well asKamerun. From his base on the Spanish island possessionFernando Po in theBight of Biafra he traveled extensively on the mainland of Africa. On 5 July 1884 Nachtigal signed a treaty with the local chief,Mlapa III [fr], in which he declared aGerman protectorate over a stretch of territory along theSlave Coast on theBight of Benin. With the small gunboatSMS 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 atOuidah, was appointed as the first commissioner for the territory.[5]
In 1899, Germany and Great Britain traded territory in theSamoan Islands for theNorthern Solomon Islands and control inTonga, using the Togoland Neutral Zone (Yendi) and the Volta Triangle as bargaining chips.[6]
Germany gradually extended its control inland. Colonial administrators and settlers brought scientific cultivation to the country's main export crops (cacao,coffee,cotton). The total number of German officials in the colony was only 12 in 1890.[7] The colony'sinfrastructure was developed to one of the highest levels in Africa.[8] Colonial officials built roads and bridges toward the interior mountain ranges and three rail lines from the capital,Lomé: along the coast toAného in 1905, to Palime (modernKpalimé) in 1907, and the longest line, theLomé–Blitta railway, or Hinterlandbahn, toAtakpamé andBlitta by 1911.[9] By 1914, over 1,000 km[10] of roads had been constructed by the colonial office.[7]
Organized in 1888 with 25Hausa infantry, thePolizeitruppe was used to enforce colonial authority over the hinterland of Togo. Expanded to 144 members in 1894, it conducted operations againstKpandu, and "a number of towns in central Togo which had resisted the government was attacked and razed to the ground, the property of the inhabitants confiscated and the people fined sums ranging from 200 marks to 1,110 marks."[7] Over the remainder of the decade, an additional 35 expeditions were authorized by the colonial government.[7]
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In 1895 the capital Lomé had a population of 31 Germans and 2,084 natives. By 1913 the native population had grown to 7,042 persons together with 194 Germans, including 33 women, while the entire colony had a German population of 316, including 61 women and 14 children.[11] In the years just beforeWorld War I, Lomé had grown into the "prettiest town in West Africa".[12] Because it was one of Germany's two self-supporting colonies,[13] Togoland was acknowledged as a small but treasured possession.[according to whom?] This lasted until the outbreak of World War I.
After calling on the German colony to surrender on 6 August 1914,French andBritish troops invaded unopposed the next day. No military personnel were 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.[14] TheEntente forces occupied Lomé, then advanced on a powerful new radio station near Kamina, east ofAtakpamé.[15] The colony surrendered on 26 August 1914 under governorHans Georg von Doering[16][17][18][19] after the German technicians who had built the radio installation 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 trouble ahead.[15] On 27 December 1916, Togoland was separated into French and British administrative zones. After the end of World War I, members of the newly establishedCzechoslovakia government considered acquiring the colony asCzechoslovak Togo, but the idea never proceeded past creating a flag. Following the ratification of theTreaty of Versailles,[citation needed] on 20 July 1922, Togoland formally became aLeague of Nations Class B mandate[citation needed] divided intoFrench Togoland andBritish Togoland, covering respectively about two-thirds and one-third of the territory.[20][failed verification]
The British area of the former German colony was integrated intoGhana in 1957 after a May 1956 plebiscite in which 58% of British-area residents voted to join Ghana upon its independence, rather than remaining under British-administeredUnited Nations Trusteeship.
The French-ruled region became the Republic of Togo in 1960 and is now known as theTogolese 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.[21]
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In 1914 a series of drafts were made for proposed Coat of Arms and Flags for theGerman colonies. However,World War I broke out before the designs were finalized and implemented and the symbols were never actually taken into use. Following the defeat in the war, Germany lost all its colonies and the prepared coat of arms and flags were therefore never used.
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