British Togoland

British Togoland was a territory in West Africa, administered by the United Kingdom from 1916 to 1956. It was established following the First World War partition of the former German Togoland and was initially a League of Nations Class B mandate. After the Second World War, it became a United Nations Trust Territory under British administration until its integration with the neighboring Gold Coast to form the new nation of Ghana.

History

The territory originated from the Togoland campaign of 1914, a brief operation during the First World War where combined British and French forces invaded and defeated the German colony. The subsequent Occupation of German Togoland led to a provisional Anglo-French condominium. A formal partition was agreed in the Treaty of Versailles and later ratified by the League of Nations, which granted the western third to the United Kingdom as a Class B mandate. This division, formalized by the Milner–Simon Agreement of 1919, split the Ewe and other ethnic groups between the two administrations. Key historical figures involved in its early governance included the first administrator, H. S. Newlands, and the Secretary of State for the Colonies, Alfred Milner.

Administration

British Togoland was administered as an integral part of the adjacent Gold Coast, though it remained a legally distinct entity under international supervision. The chief administrator, based in Ho, reported to the Governor of the Gold Coast in Accra. The territory was divided into districts such as Ho, Kpandu, and Hohoe, overseen by District Commissioners. Key administrative figures included E. O. M. Wilson, the final administrator. The United Nations established a Visiting Mission to the Trust Territories in West Africa to oversee the territory's progress toward self-determination, with significant reports filed in the early 1950s.

Economy and society

The economy was predominantly agrarian, focusing on the cultivation of crops like cocoa, oil palm, and yams for export through the Port of Takoradi. The territory lacked significant industrial development, with most commerce controlled by firms like the United Africa Company. Socially, it was home to ethnic groups including the Ewe, the Akan, and the Gurma. Missionary societies, such as the North German Missionary Society and later the Basel Mission, established schools and churches, influencing education. Cultural institutions like the Ewe Presbyterian Church played significant community roles.

Movement for integration with Gold Coast

A significant political movement, led by organizations like the Togoland Congress and figures such as S. G. Antor, advocated for the reunification of the Ewe people and independence as a separate entity, possibly with French Togoland. However, this was countered by a stronger movement favoring integration with the Gold Coast, championed by the Convention People's Party under Kwame Nkrumah and supported by the All-Ewe Conference. The critical turning point was the 1956 plebiscite, supervised by the United Nations, where a majority voted for union with the soon-to-be-independent Gold Coast.

Transition to Ghana

Following the affirmative plebiscite result, the United Nations General Assembly passed Resolution 1044 in 1956, terminating the trusteeship. The British Togoland (Termination of Trusteeship) Order in Council 1956 legally dissolved the territory. On 6 March 1957, it was formally integrated with the Gold Coast as part of the new independent dominion of Ghana, with Kwame Nkrumah as its first Prime Minister. The former territory initially constituted the Volta Region within the new republic, with Ho remaining its administrative capital.