1 November 2019

Togo

All my life I have been interested in geography. Though I might not know much about physics or engines, when a geographical question comes up in a pub or TV quiz I will generally know the answer. As longtime visitors to this blog may recall, I have occasionally revealed my geographical passion by blogging about obscure countries such as Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan.

Today The Yorkshire Pudding spotlight of geographical curiosity illuminates an African country - namely, Togo. Now there are fifty four countries in Africa and in terms of population, Togo ranks thirty third. Eight million people live there. The country is squeezed between Ghana to the west and Benin to the east.

The map below shows the exact location of Togo in West Africa. As you can see, it is a long, thin country with a short Atlantic coastline. That coastline is only thirty two miles across but it's 320 miles from the Burkina Faso border to the north.
The birth of Togo as a distinct and independent country was a relatively recent occurrence. It achieved independence from France in 1960. Previously, in the late nineteenth century,  it had been a German protectorate and before that, like most West African countries its borders were quite fluid. The very idea of a "country" as we know that concept today is largely a western construct. Once Togo was part of what is sometimes known as "The Slave Coast" for it was from this part of Africa that the brutal slave trade began in the sixteenth century.
Miss Aïda Yombo wins Miss Togo 2019
Ethnically, culturally and religiously, Togo is a veritable bouillabaisse of diversity. A third of all nationals are unapologetic animists and there are some forty distinct ethic groups - each speaking their own language. It must be an exceedingly difficult country to pull together as one with various cultural tensions. The current elected leader is a wealthy fifty three year old fellow called Faure Gnassingbé who does not necessarily appreciate all of the guiding principles of democracy. He certainly has blood on his hands.
Early morning scene in Lomé
Agriculture is vital to the country's economy but mining of phosphates is also an important feature. It ranks 145th in the world in terms of its national wealth. According to Credit Suisse it has a national wealth of just five billion dollars - compared with say Denmark which has a much smaller population but a national wealth of  1,271 billion dollars.

The capital of Togo is the city of Lomé, developed by Europeans as a trading port. It now has an overall population of 1.5 million. Like many African cities, its population continues to grow at an alarming rate year by year. Back in 1950, only thirty thousand people lived there. The burgeoning growth puts enormous pressure on infrastructure and the natural environment.

Until researching this blogpost, the only Togolese person I had ever heard of was the footballer  Emmanuel Adebayor who played for Arsenal, Manchester City and Tottenham Hotspur in The English Premier League. He became African Footballer of the Year in 2008 and this season, at the age of 35 he is still playing the beautiful game over  in Turkey.
Togo is famous for batik art

24 comments:

  1. Colonialism has left some strange situations. With all the different ethnic groups it would be difficult to hold things together.

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  2. Thank you for this very interesting post, Yorkie.

    One never hears much about Togo...and because of that rarely gives it a thought...but your post has altered that...for me, anyway.

    Geography -along with history and English - was a favourite subject of mine during my school days...all three remain favourites to this day.

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    1. PS...I love Togo's flag...so colourful...and, in its own way...denotes "hope".

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    2. If you researched it you would find that each element of that flag has meaning. It was designed by a Togolese artist of international repute.

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    3. And upon your advice I did just now research the origins of the flag...and I discovered I wasn't very far off the mark...not far at all...with my thoughts.

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  3. This is a very interesting and educational post about an African country I admit knowing nothing about other than the name. I enjoy learning about different parts of the world and spend a fair amount of time traveling Google Earth. My brother lived in the Gambia for three years as a missionary. It is an even smaller African country than Togo.

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    1. I don't know anybody who has been to Togo but I know several who have been to Gambia. You used to be able to get package holidays there from Britain.

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  4. That was very interesting.....I don't think I had ever even heard of Togo ! Same population as here in Harpenden ! Though having said that, the rate at which they are knocking down older houses and building several in their place there will soon be 50K !

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    1. According to Google, Harpenden has a population of 30,240. Having never been to Hrpenden, I should consider making a blogpost about it. This would include reference to notable Harpenden residents like Owen Farrell who will captain England to victory over South Africa in The Rugby World Cup Final tomorrow morning.

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    2. Yes indeed....Harpenden is on the media map today rugby wise! My friend's son was a pal of Farrell at school. (My boys went to one of the other secondary schools . ). 4 St. Georges boys in the team...that is amazing!

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    3. Do you play rugby yourself Frances? Perhaps you are a hooker?

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  5. One of my friends is from Togo. Narcisse has come to Germany many years ago. He has studied at university and nowadays works in HR at an international software company. His wife is from my home town; they have two lovely (if a little mischievous) daughters. He taught our group of friends a game widely played in Togo, Oware (see wikipedia). We have played it at the pub a few times when we were not there for the quiz.

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    1. Well that's nice that you actually know someone from Togo. Perhaps the two daughters are almost as mischievous as you and your sister were when you were little! I checked out Oware - it sounds too difficult for me.

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  6. Years ago I had a friend who served in the Peace Corps in Togo. He told me lots of stories and that helped get me fired up to pursue my own Peace Corps service. At the time the president of Togo was Gnassingbe Eyadema, who I believe was the father of the current president. Eight million people seems like a lot for that tiny sliver of land.

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    1. I think that friend did you a huge favour for I know how much your years in Morocco meant to you. In a way, you can thank Togo for that special time in your life.

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  7. Geography does not work in my brain. Or my brain does not work when it comes to geography. I couldn't put the names of the states on a map of the US if I had to. I think this has something to do with spatial abilities of which I have none.
    I am not proud of this.
    I will also say that the women of Togo are incredibly beautiful. At least those three are.

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    1. It is funny how many women do not have much confidence about geography. I could draw a pretty accurate map of the USA from memory. I hope that does not sound like boasting!

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    2. I'm sure it's not boasting but the truth.

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  8. What a smashing picture of Miss Togo and her friends. There's also a smashing post today about walking on the East Leeds Memories blog I follow, which made me think of YPs perambulations. If you follow the example you could walk through Togo.

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    1. God - how I would love to visit Togo. I would even wear a toga!

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  9. A very interesting post. I have learned something new. I am always interested in learning about new places.
    It has been proven most people cannot locate themselves on a map, especially young people. I am amazed at how few people own atlases or a paper map. Just rely on GPS. Lots of lost people here find out GPS is not reliable in our remote area and can end up down a cow trail in ten feet of snow and no cell service. Happens all the time.

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    1. I have twice come across huge trucks stuck up narrowing country lanes because of satnav.

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Mr Pudding welcomes all genuine comments - even those with which he disagrees. However, puerile or abusive comments from anonymous contributors will continue to be given the short shrift they deserve. Any spam comments that get through Google/Blogger defences will also be quickly deleted.

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