Togo: Map & History

History

Archaeological finds indicate that societies were able to produce pottery and process iron. The name Togo is translated from the Ewe language as "behind the river". During the period from the 11th century to the 16th century, the Ewé entered the area from the west, and the Mina and Gun from the east. Most of them settled on the coast. The Atlantic slave trade began in the 16th century, and for the next two hundred years the coastal region was a trading centre for Europeans in search of slaves, earning Togo and the surrounding region the name "The Slave Coast".

In 1884, a paper was forcibly signed at Togoville with King Mlapa III, whereby Germany claimed a protectorate over a stretch of territory along the coast and gradually extended its control inland.

Government

The president is indirectly elected for a double term of four years, and is the commander-in-chief of the armed forces and has the right to initiate legislation and dissolve parliament. Executive power is exercised by the council of ministers and its president which is the head of government and is also a position that was formerly known as the prime minister. The president appoints the president of the Council of Ministers.

President Gnassingbé Eyadéma, who until 1993, ruled Togo under a one-party system, died of a heart attack on 5 February 2005. Under the Togolese Constitution, the President of the Parliament, Fambaré Ouattara Natchaba, should have become president of the country, pending a presidential election to be called within 60 days.

Economy

The country possesses phosphate deposits and an export sector based on agricultural products such as coffee, cocoa bean, and peanuts (groundnuts), which together generate roughly 30% of export earnings. Cotton is a cash crop. The fertile land occupies 11.3% of the country, most of which is developed. Some crops are cassava, jasmine rice, maize and millet. Some other sectors are brewery and the textile industry. Low market prices for Togo's major export commodities coupled with the volatile political situation of the 1990s and 2000s had a negative effect on the economy.

It is listed in the least developed country group. It serves as a regional commercial and trade centre.

Culture

Togo's cultural life reflects traditions of its major groups: Ewe/Mina in the south and Kabye/Tem in the north, notably the regional use of Ewe and Kabiye as widely spoken languages, Ewe-Mina religious practices centred on the creator god Mawu and associated vodun, and among the Kabye the Evala wrestling initiation rite, while the Guin community (linked historically to the Mina on the southeast coast) marks the new year with the Epé-Ekpé "taking of the stone" ceremony at Glidji.