Togo Through History: Who Ruled Its Lands
The land of today's Togo appears on 39 historical border maps from 500 BC to today. Over that time it was held, in whole or in part, by 9 different states, among them Togo, Mossi States, Akan, Dahomey, Togoland.
TogoExplore the history of Togo in the interactive map
Who ruled the land of Togo, map by map
Share of sample points inside today's borders held by each state on each map. Areas with no organised state on the map are left out.
| Map | Main states on this land |
|---|---|
| 1600 | Akan 38% |
| 1650 | Akan 38% |
| 1700 | Akan 38% |
| 1783 | Dahomey 23% · Mossi States 13% |
| 1800 | Dahomey 23% · Mossi States 13% |
| 1815 | Oyo 40% · Fante 2% |
| 1880 | Mossi States 63% · Dahomey 27% |
| 1900 | Mossi States 63% · Dahomey 27% |
| 1914 | Togoland 100% |
| 1920 | Togo 98% · Ghana 2% |
| 1930 | Togo 98% · Ghana 2% |
| 1938 | Togo 98% · Gold Coast 2% |
| 1945 | Togo 98% · Gold Coast 2% |
| 1960 | Togo 98% · Ghana 2% |
| 1994 | Togo 98% · Ghana 2% |
| 2010 | Togo 98% · Ghana 2% |
Questions
Which empires and states ruled the territory of Togo?
On the border maps from 500 BC to today, the largest shares of the territory of modern Togo belonged to Togo, Mossi States, Akan, Dahomey, Togoland, Oyo, along with 3 other states.
What was Togo part of in 1900?
On the border map for 1900, most of the territory of today's Togo lay within Mossi States.
Further reading
Last updated 9 November 2026. Sources: border data from historical-basemaps, land and rivers from Natural Earth; texts written for Chronica Maps from standard reference works. How we make the maps.