I noticed in some of my preliminary looking around that there’s deep connections between Togo and its neighbours, particularly Benin. Modern African borders are often relics of European colonialism, made without consideration for the people living there. This quick video above covers how the land that is modern day Togo and Benin (and parts of Ghana) passed between Germany, France, and the UK in the colonial era.

As a German colony, Togo was fought over in WWI, particularly since it was home to novel and powerful radio equipment that was cutting edge at its time. While the radio infrastructure was burned during the war, the exploitative nature of the construction work is remembered by many Togolese. Interestingly, German is still a popular language to learn in Togo, despite it being over a century now since Germany occupied the country.

A bit further detail on the battles in Togo that happened literally in the first few weeks of WWI: