View source for Togoland

{{Short description|German protectorate in West Africa (1884–1914); now part of Ghana and Togo}}
{{Distinguish|British Togoland|French Togoland}}
{{Infobox country
| native_name            = {{native name|de|Schutzgebiet Togo}}
| conventional_long_name = Togoland Protectorate
| common_name            = Togoland|
| era                    = New Imperialism
| status                 = Protectorate
| empire                 = German Empire
| government_type        = 
| year_start             = 1884
| year_end               = 1914
| life_span              = 1884–1914<ref>{{harvp|Laumann|2003|pp=195–199}}</ref>
| event_start            = [[Scramble for Africa|Protectorate established]]
| date_start             = 5 July
| event_end              = [[West Africa Campaign (World War I)|Allied occupation]]
| date_end               = 26 August
| event_post             = Togoland partitioned
| date_post              = 27 December 1916|
| s1                     = British Togoland
| s2                     = French Togoland|
| image_flag             = Reichskolonialflagge.svg
| flag_type              = Flag
| image_coat             = Wappen Deutsches Reich - Reichsadler 1889.svg
| symbol_type            = Coat of arms
| image_map              = Togoland 1914.svg
| image_map_caption      = '''Green''': Territory comprising the German colony of Togoland<br>'''Dark grey''': Other [[German colonial empire|German possessions]]<br>'''Darkest grey''': [[German Empire]]|
| capital                = [[Bagid]]a (1884–87)<br />[[Sebe]]ab (1887–97)<br />[[Lomé]] (1897–1916)
| national_anthem        = 
| common_languages       = [[German language|German]] (official) <br /> [[Ewe language|Ewe]], [[Tem language|Kotokoli]], [[Kabye language|Kabye]]
| religion               = [[Islam]], [[Christianity]], [[Traditional religion]]
| title_representative   = [[List of colonial governors of Togo#Togoland|Governor]]
| representative1        = [[Gustav Nachtigal]]
| year_representative1   = 1884 (first)
| representative2        = {{nowrap|[[Hans Georg von Doering]]}}
| year_representative2   = 1914 (last)
| currency               = [[German gold mark]]
| today                  = [[Ghana]]<br>[[Togo]]
| stat_year1             = 1912
| stat_area1             = {{convert|33668.108|mi2|km2|0|disp=number}}
| stat_pop1              = 1,000,000
| flag_s1                = Flag of the United Kingdom.svg
| flag_s2                = Flag of France (1794–1815, 1830–1958).svg
}}
'''Togoland''', officially the '''Togoland Protectorate''' ({{langx|de|Schutzgebiet Togo}}; {{langx|fr|Protectorat du Togo}}), 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]], approximately 90,400&nbsp;km<sup>2</sup> (29,867 sq mi) in size.<ref name="CIA world Factbook Country Size Ranks">{{cite web|title=Rank Order – Area|publisher=CIA World Fact Book|url=https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/rankorder/2147rank.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070613003422/https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/rankorder/2147rank.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=June 13, 2007|access-date=12 April 2008}}</ref><ref>David Owusu-Ansah. Historical Dictionary of Ghana (4 ed.). Rowman & Littlefield. p. xii.</ref> During the period known as the "[[Scramble for Africa]]", the colony was established in 1884 and was gradually extended inland.

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. In 1916 the territory was divided into separate British and French administrative zones, and this was formalised in 1922 with the creation of [[British Togoland]] and [[French Togoland]].

==History==
The colony was established towards the end of the period of [[Colonisation of Africa|European 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 of [[Aného]] were abducted by German soldiers and forced to sign a treaty of protection.<ref>Laumann, "A Historiography of German Togoland", p. 195</ref> In the [[Lomé]] region, 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 as well as [[Kamerun]]. From his base on the Spanish island possession [[Bioko|Fernando Po]] in the [[Bight of Bonny|Bight of Biafra]] he traveled extensively on the mainland of Africa. On 5 July 1884 Nachtigal signed a treaty with the local chief, {{ILL|Mlapa III|fr}}, in which he declared a [[German Empire|German]] protectorate over a stretch of territory along the [[Slave Coast of West Africa|Slave Coast]] on the [[Bight of Benin]]. With the small gunboat {{SMS|Möwe|1879|6}} 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 [[Ouidah]], was appointed as the first commissioner for the territory.<ref>Washausen, ''Hamburg und die Kolonialpolitik'', p. 79</ref>

In 1899, Germany and Great Britain traded territory in the [[German Samoa|Samoan Islands]] for the [[Northern Solomon Islands]] and control in [[Tonga]], using the Togoland Neutral Zone ([[Yendi]]) and the Volta Triangle (the section of [[Gold Coast (British colony)|British Gold Coast Colony]] east of the [[Volta River]]) as bargaining chips.<ref>Paul M. Kennedy, "The Samoan Tangle: A Study in Anglo-German-American Relations, 1878–1900", Harper & Row, p 1974.</ref>

==Economics and growth==
Germany gradually extended its control inland. Colonial administrators and settlers brought scientific cultivation to the country's main export crops ([[Cocoa bean|cacao]], [[coffee]], [[cotton]]). The total number of German officials in the colony was only 12 in 1890.<ref name=Amenumey/> The colony's [[infrastructure]] was developed to one of the highest levels in Africa.<ref>{{Cite encyclopedia | url = https://www.britannica.com/place/Togoland| title = Togoland | encyclopedia =  Encyclopaedia Britannica}}</ref> Colonial officials built roads and bridges toward the interior mountain ranges and three rail lines from the capital, [[Lomé]]: along the coast to [[Aného]] in 1905, to Palime (modern [[Kpalimé]]) in 1907, and the longest line, the [[Lomé–Blitta railway]], or Hinterlandbahn, to [[Atakpamé]] and [[Blitta]] by 1911.<ref>Haupt,''Deutschlands Schutzgebiete'', p. 82</ref> By 1914, over 1,000&nbsp;km<ref>{{Cite journal|url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/179902|jstor = 179902|title = German Administration in Southern Togo|last1 = Amenumey|first1 = D. E. K.|journal = The Journal of African History|year = 1969|volume = 10|issue = 4|pages = 623–639|doi = 10.1017/S0021853700009749| s2cid=162947085 |url-access = subscription}}</ref> of roads had been constructed by the colonial office.<ref name=Amenumey/>
[[Image:Togo land 1885.jpg|right|thumb|Map of Togoland in 1885]]

Organized in 1888 with 25 [[Hausa people|Hausa]] infantry, the ''Polizeitruppe'' was used to enforce colonial authority over the hinterland of Togo. Expanded to 144 members in 1894, it conducted operations against [[Kpandu]], 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."<ref name=Amenumey/> Over the remainder of the decade, an additional 35 expeditions were authorized by the colonial government.<ref name=Amenumey>Amenumey, D. E. K. ''German Administration in Southern Togo.'' The Journal of African History 10, No. 4 (1969), pp. 623–639.</ref>
[[File:FROBENIUS(1911) Tafel44 Togo, eine Beerdigungsfeier mit militärischen Ehren.jpg|thumb|[[Askari]] troops in Togoland, c. 1911]]
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.<ref>Haupt, p. 81</ref> In the years just before [[World War I]], Lomé had grown into the "prettiest town in West Africa".<ref>Haupt, p. 74</ref> Because it was one of Germany's two self-supporting colonies,<ref>[[German Samoa]] was self-sufficient after 1908</ref> Togoland was acknowledged as a small but treasured possession.{{according to whom|date=December 2016}} This lasted until the outbreak of World War I.

==World War I occupation and beyond==
{{Further|Togoland Campaign}}
After calling on the German colony to surrender on 6 August 1914, [[France|French]] and [[British Empire|British]] 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.<ref>Haupt, p. 79</ref> The ''[[Allies of World War I|Entente]]'' forces occupied Lomé, then advanced on a powerful new radio station near Kamina, east of [[Atakpamé]].<ref name=":Haupt p.87"/> The colony surrendered on 26 August 1914 under governor [[Hans Georg von Doering]]<ref>{{cite book |last1=Falola|first1= Toyin|last2=Salau|first2=Mohammed Bashir|title=Africa in Global History: A Handbook|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Nw5QEAAAQBAJ&dq=togoland+surrender+26+august+1914&pg=PA171 |date=2021|publisher=[[Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co KG]]|page=171 |isbn=9783110678017}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Stanton|first= Andrea L. |title=Cultural Sociology of the Middle East, Asia, and Africa: An Encyclopedia|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GtCL2OYsH6wC&dq=togoland+surrender+26+august+1914&pg=RA1-PA408|date=2012|publisher=[[Sage Publishing]]|page=408|isbn=9781412981767}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Jenkins, Jr.|first= Everett |title=Pan-African Chronology III: A Comprehensive Reference to the Black Quest for Freedom in Africa, the Americas, Europe and Asia, 1914-1929|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=SXMwCgAAQBAJ&dq=togoland+surrender&pg=PA24|date=2011|publisher=[[McFarland & Company]]|page=24|isbn=9780786445073}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Morrow|first= John Howard|title=The Great War: An Imperial History|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=bQVFJ38UoGkC&dq=togoland+surrender+26+august+1914&pg=PA58|date=2004|publisher=[[Psychology Press]]|page=58|isbn=9780415204408}}</ref> 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.<ref name=":Haupt p.87">Haupt, p. 87</ref> On 27 December 1916, Togoland was separated into French and British administrative zones. After the end of World War I, members of the newly established [[Czechoslovakia]] government considered acquiring the colony as [[Czechoslovak Togo]], but the idea never proceeded past creating a flag. Following the ratification of the [[Treaty of Versailles]],{{citation needed|date=July 2020}} on 20 July 1922, Togoland formally became a [[League of Nations mandate#Class B mandates|League of Nations Class B mandate]]{{citation needed|date=July 2020}} divided into [[French Togoland]] and [[British Togoland]], covering respectively about two-thirds and one-third of the territory.<ref name="Martin">{{cite book|last=Martin|first=Lawrence|title=The treaties of peace, 1919–1923|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jtyOqiwiDLYC&pg=PR15|access-date=19 July 2011|volume=2|year=2007|publisher=The Lawbook Exchange, Ltd.|isbn=978-1-58477-708-3|page=15}}</ref>{{failed verification|date=July 2020}}

The British area of the former German colony was integrated into [[Ghana]] 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-administered [[United Nations Trusteeship]].

The French-ruled region became the Republic of Togo in 1960 and is now known as the [[Togo|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.<ref>[https://www.spiegel.de/spiegel/print/d-43065481.html ''Adolf Friedrich Herzog zu Mecklenburg'']; [[Der Spiegel]] April 20, 1960</ref>

==Governors==
{{Main|List of colonial governors of Togo#Togoland}}

== Planned symbols for Togoland ==
{{unreferenced section|date=July 2020}}
{{Main|Armorial of Germany#Colonies}}
In 1914 a series of drafts were made for proposed Coat of Arms and Flags for the [[German colonial empire|German 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.
<div style="text-align: center;">
<gallery>
Proposed Flag of Togoland.svg|Proposed flag
Proposed Coat of Arms Togo 1914.svg|Proposed coat of arms
</gallery>
</div>

==See also==
{{Portal|History}}
{{Div col|colwidth=30em}}
* [[German West African Company]]
* [[Gold Coast (British colony)]]
* [[History of Togo]]
* [[List of colonial heads of German Togoland]]
* [[List of former German colonies]]
* [[Slave Coast of West Africa]]
{{Div col end}}

==Footnotes==
{{Reflist|30em}}

==References==
* {{cite book |last=Haupt |first=Werner |title=Deutschlands Schutzgebiete in Übersee 1884–1918 |others= [Germany's Overseas Protectorates 1884–1918]|year=1984 |publisher=Podzun-Pallas Verlag |location=Friedberg |isbn=3-7909-0204-7 }}
* {{cite journal|last=Laumann|first=Dennis|title=A Historiography of German Togoland, or the Rise and Fall of a "Model Colony"|journal=History in Africa|year=2003|volume=30|pages=195–211|doi=10.1017/S0361541300003211|s2cid=162952592|jstor=3172089}}
* {{cite book |last=Washausen |first=Helmut |title=Hamburg und die Kolonialpolitik des Deutschen Reiches |others= [Hamburg and Colonial Politics of the German Empire]|year=1968 |publisher=Hans Christians Verlag |location=Hamburg }}

==External links==
{{Commons category|German Togo}}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20080626102856/http://www.deutsche-schutzgebiete.de/webpages/Togo_Karte_1912.jpg Map of Togoland]
* [https://www.crwflags.com/fotw/images/d/de!tgl13.gif Proposed flag of Togoland]

{{Former_German colonies}}
{{Togo topics}}
{{Authority control}}

{{Coord missing|Ghana|Togo}}

[[Category:Togoland| ]]
[[Category:German West Africa]]
[[Category:History of Togo]]
[[Category:Former colonies in Africa]]
[[Category:Former German colonies]]
[[Category:German colonisation in Africa|Togoland]]
[[Category:Former protectorates|Togoland]]
[[Category:States and territories established in 1884]]
[[Category:States and territories disestablished in 1914]]
[[Category:1884 establishments in Africa]]
[[Category:1914 disestablishments in Africa]]
[[Category:1884 establishments in the German colonial empire]]
[[Category:1914 disestablishments in the German colonial empire]]