Key Facts
- Administration period
- 1916–1957
- Predecessor territory
- German protectorate of Togoland
- 1956 plebiscite result
- 58% voted to merge with Gold Coast
- UN resolution
- General Assembly resolution 1044 (13 Dec 1956)
- Successor territory
- Volta Region of Ghana
Imperial Zenith Metrics
Historical Trajectory
Phase I: Rise
British Togoland emerged in 1916 when British and French forces partitioned the German protectorate of Togoland during the First World War. The western portion came under British administration and was formally recognised as a League of Nations Class B mandate in 1922, placing the territory under British rule with an obligation to administer it in the interests of its inhabitants.
Phase II: Zenith
Under British administration, the territory was governed with its capital at Ho and was administered alongside the neighbouring Gold Coast. After the Second World War its status shifted from a League of Nations mandate to a United Nations Trust Territory, still under British oversight, as African decolonisation accelerated and questions about its long-term political future became pressing.
Phase III: Decline
A UN-organised plebiscite in May 1956 saw 58% of voters choose union with the Gold Coast over awaiting developments in French Togoland. The UN General Assembly endorsed this outcome in December 1956, and the Ghana Independence Act 1957 formally annexed British Togoland to the new independent state of Ghana on 6 March 1957, ending its separate existence.