History of Togo

The history of Togo traces the societies and political changes of the West African territory through German and French rule, independence in 1960, and the modern republic.

Ewe people: A West African people living chiefly in southeastern Ghana, southern Togo, and neighboring parts of Benin. Ewe-speaking communities became central to the settlement and politics of southern Togo.
German Togoland: The German colony established in 1884 over territory that later became Togo and part of Ghana. German rule began the colonial period and established institutions later inherited by Togo.
Sylvanus Olympio: A Togolese politician who became the country's first president after independence in 1960. Olympio led Togo into independence and was killed in the 1963 coup.
Togo's independence: The end of French trusteeship and establishment of the Togolese Republic as an independent state on April 27, 1960. Independence created the republic whose subsequent political struggles define modern Togo.
British Togoland: The western portion of former German Togoland, administered by Britain after World War I and later incorporated into Ghana. Its union with Ghana contrasts with French Togoland's path to independence as Togo.
Kabye people: A people native to northern Togo, with communities also in neighboring countries. Kabye communities shaped northern Togo's history and later national politics.
Partition of Africa: The late nineteenth-century division of African territory among European powers, chiefly through conquest and diplomacy. European rivalry placed the territory under German control.
Nicolas Grunitzky: A Togolese politician who served as prime minister before independence and president from 1963 to 1967. Grunitzky governed after the first coup and was ousted by another military takeover.
1963 Togolese coup d'état: A military coup in Togo on January 13, 1963, that killed President Sylvanus Olympio and installed Nicolas Grunitzky. It was the first successful military coup in independent sub-Saharan Africa.
Ghana: A West African country that became independent from Britain in 1957. Ghana's earlier independence and union with British Togoland offer a neighboring comparison.

Linked from 2 pages

History of Burkina FasoCompared with: Togo’s partitioned colonial past offers a contrast to Upper Volta’s shifting French borders.