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Togo (p.12)

History : Before the German acquisition, German merchants, mostly from Bremen, had taken up residence at the Slave Coast. On July 7th 1884 the German flag was hoisted by Gustav Nachtigal (who died on April 20th 1885). Armed conflicts of larger scale with the indigenous have rarely occurred in this colony.

Borders : The German-French treaty dated July 23rd 1897 determines the colony's borders to the north and east (only minor points of ambiguity); the border to the west, except a short stretch, was determined via the exchange of notifications between Berlin and London in 1904. It was finally fixed in 1912. The total area of the protectorate has been calculated at about 87,200 square km (larger than Bavaria, more than doeble the size of the province of Silesia).

Population : January 1st 1910 : 372, 1909 : 330 Europeans, of whom 237 Germans and 62 adult women. 1911 : 363 whites, among them 327 Germans and 58 adult women. 1912 : 345 whites, 316 Germans, 61 women. According to both census and estimates, the black population is given as 1,032,000. In the various districts live : Lome Town 11,500; Lome Area 119,000; Anecho 112,000; Misahohe 140,000; Atakpame 80,000; Kete-Kratschi 20,000; Sokode 300,000; Mangu 225,000.
The south is inhabited by Ewe-Negroes, among them splinters of other tribes, partially related to tribes of the Gold Coast, particularly those living in the mountains. Their languages, by and by, are replaced by Ewe. Middle Togo is inhabited by tribes different from the Ewe, of unclear origin. The northeast is inhabited by the Tim, Kabure and related tribes, the west by the Dagomba, Gurma and Konkomba tribes. Trade is mostly dominated by the Haussah.

Irrigation and Morphology : Strong surf along the 52 km long coast; disembarkation and loading/offloading of cargo difficult. The peer completed in 1905 at Lome and restored in 1912 after it collapsed in 1911 has greatly improved the situation; now persons can disembark,goods be offloaded without loss or damage. The estuary of the Volta river, navigable in it's lower stretch, is located on British territory. To the south of the 7th degree of latitude, the the Monu forms the border to French Dahomey. The estuary is located on French territory. The Haho River, entirely located on German territory and emptying into the Togo Lagoon, is navigable only for light shipping (canoes) and only in the vicinity of it's mouth. Not navigable, but stronger than the Haho are the Todschie and the Sio, both of which have water year round in normal years. The lower stretch of the first is on British territory, the latter, just as the Haho, completely German and empties into the Togo Lagoon. Also the Ori, which empties into the Volta not far from Kete-Kratschi, should be mentioned.
In the central area of the protectorate, a clearly structured and forested mountain range stretches in S-N direction, the average altitude is 600 to 700 m, in the Daji region 800 m, a number of peaks reach 900 to 1,000 m. The highest point of the colony is the Agu Massive, reaching 1,025 m.

Climate : In the coastal area the average annual temperature is 26 degrees Celsius, in the interior 23 degrees Celsius. Along the coast two rainy seasons from April to July, from September to November, clearly separated by dry seasons, the latter rainy season sometimes fails to materialize (drought years). The further into the interior, the shorter the dry season. In northern Togo the main dry season is very marked, less so in southern and central Togo. In the north, the fall rainy season brings more rain than the spring rainy season, in the south the other way round. Average annual precipitation along the coast 600-700 mm, in the interior 1,200-1,300 mm. In the Togo Mountains betweeb Amedschovhe and Kuma annual rainfall reaches 1,500-1,600 mm, the protectorate's maximum. During December and January, the Harmattan (dry, dust-carrying continental wind) is blowing.

Flora : along the coast palms, along the lagoon Mangrove forests. In the coastal stretch the characteristic tree is the cocos palm tree. In the hinterland tree and grass savannahs, in southern and middle Togo with rich, in southern North Togo with little, in the northern part of the colony without tree growth. Forests only in middle and southern Togo, along the rivers and in the central Togo mountains. Economic plants (in cultivation or semi-cultivation) : oil palms, cocos palms, cautchouk trees, maize, peanuts, yams, cassada, cotton, cocoa, timber, schibutter tree, rice, beans, bananas, pineapple, mango, strophanthus, capoc tree etc. Hitherto all the exported cautchouk (nat'l rubber) was tapped from lianas growing wild; only recently some plantations cultivate Manihot culture. These plantations cover a total area of 11,000 ha, one tenth of which is under cultivation.

Fauna : in the coastal area there are few large animals. In the interior there are many species of monkey, antilope, larger predators (lions, cheetahs, hyenas), hippopotami, a few elephants, wild boars. A rich avifauna, many species of snakes, among them the giant boa and puff adder. Alligators. Domesticated animals : sheep, goats, pigs (except in the north), dogs, cats; chicken, guinea fowl, pigeons, ducks, rarely horses (more in the north then in the coastal area); cattle more frequent in the north than at the coast (in Mangu about 50,000, in Sokode 4,000 to 6,000).

Minerals : Near Banjeli and in Buem deposits of iron ore, hitherto only exploited by the indigenous. In the Ssola Mountains graphite deposits. (p.13) Alluvial gold in the Monu river. An important calcium deposit in the Anecho district near Tokpli.

Trade : Export : main products : palm oil, palm seeds, maize, rubber, cotton; of minor importance : ivory, cocoa, coffee, peanuts, copra, pepper, live animals and hides. - Import : cotton products, spiritualia, iron, iron tools, wood, wooden tools, tobacco, cigars, gunpowder, material goods. Values of imports and exports see table on page 10.

Traffic and Infrastructure : navigation : 1905 : 247 ships with a total tonnage of 491,000 tons, 1906 : 194 ships / 269,000 tons, 1907 : 251 ships / 348,000 tons, 1908 : 260 ships / 471,000 tons, 1909 : 369 ships / 690,000 tons, 1910 : 327 ships, 577,000 tons, 1911 : 273 steamers / 677,000 tons. 1912: 258 ships with 572.000 register tons.
Railways : coastal line Lome-Anecho (44 km) opened on July 18th 1905, Lome-Agome-Palime (119 km) opened Jan. 27th 1907, the costs of 7,8 million M. are paid for in rate by the protectorate. Lome-Atakpame (167 km) opened April 1st 1911. Projects to be noted are the extension of the railway line into the oil palm districts north of Anecho and another one into the Kpandu district. The revenues of the transportation facilities (coastal line, pier and line Lome-Palime) amounted to 305,000 M during the period April 1907-March 1908 and 317,000 M April 1908-March 1909, 401,000 M during the respective period 1909/1910, 834,000 M in 1910, 886,000 M in 1911; 918,000 M. in 1912; the Line Lome-Atakpame brought in revenues 1911 : 314,000 M., 1912 : 360,000 M.
Post and Telegraph Service : By the end of 1913 there were 23 post offices, all with telegraph service, 5 with local telephone service; 1140 km of overland telegraph lines. 1912 : 489,000 letters, 25,047 postal money orders over a total amount of 3,395,854 M, 15,106 parcels, 113,296 newspaper issues, 39,695 telegrams, 54,285 telephone calls. Postal delivery (Germany-Togo) : 5 times per month. Time for delivery Berlin-Lome 17 to 31 days. Telegram fee per word 3,65 M. In addition radio telegraph station in Kamina.

Schools : In Togo there are 147 schools of the protestant and 181 schools of the catholic missions, as well as one secondary school and one teacher's seminar each. Governm ent schools in Lome, Sebewi near Anecho and Sokode. Schools for white children do not exist.

Administrative Districts : seat of the governor is Lome. Governor Duke Adolf Friedrich of Mecklenburg. District offices : Lome Town, Lome Countryside, Anecho, Misahohe, Atakpame, Kate-Kratschi, Sokode and Sausane Mangu.

GM (digitalisation) and AG (translation) 
posted on the web for psm-data; many thanks to

Staatsbibliothek zu Berlin / Preußischer Kulturbesitz 

Kartenabteilung

Dokument in deutscher Sprache