Togo, a West African nation on the Gulf of Guinea, is known for its palm-lined beaches and hilltop villages.  Lomé, the capital, is situated in the southwest of the country and is the largest city and port.

 

Until 1884 what is now Togo was an intermediate zone between the states of Asante and Dahomey, and its various ethnic groups lived in general isolation from each other.

In1884 it became part of the Togoland German protectorate, which was occupied by British and French forces in 1914.

In 1922 the League of Nations assigned eastern Togoland to France and the western portion to Britain.

In 1946 the British and French governments placed the territories under United Nations trusteeship (see Trusteeship Council).

Ten years later British Togoland was incorporated into the Gold Coast, and French Togoland became an autonomous republic 

within the French Union.

Togo gained independence in 1960.

The economy rests largely on agriculture, although the country’s extensive phosphate reserves are also significant.