Togoland, a German Empire protectorate in West…

Togoland, a German Empire protectorate in West Africa, is established towards the end of the period of European colonization in Africa generally known as the "Scramble for Africa".

Two separate protectorates are established in 1884.

In February 1884, the chiefs of the town of Aného are kidnapped by German soldiers and forced to sign a treaty of protection.

In the Lomé region, the German explorer, medical doctor, imperial consul and commissioner for West Africa Gustav Nachtigal is the driving force toward the establishment of the West African colonies of Togoland as well as Kamerun.

From his base on the Spanish island possession Fernando Po in the Bight of Biafra, he travels extensively on the mainland of Africa.

On July 5, 1884, Nachtigal signs a treaty with the local chief, Mlapa III, in which he declares a German protectorate over a stretch of territory along the Slave Coast on the Bight of Benin.

With the small gunboat SMS Möwe at anchor, the imperial flag is raised for the first time on the African continent.

Consul Heinrich Ludwig Randad, Jr., resident agent of the firm C. Goedelts at Ouidah, is appointed as the first commissioner for the territory.