The Fruits of Freedom in British Togoland Literacy, Politics and Nationalism, 1914–2014

The end of World War I saw the former German protectorate of Togoland split into British- and French- administered territories, and by the late 1940s, a political movement known as Ablɔɖe (meaning 'freedom' in the Ewe language) called for the reunification of British and French Togoland into an independent multiethnic state. Despite its efforts, the United Nations trust territory of British Togoland was ultimately merged with the Gold Coast to become part of independent Ghana; three years later French Togoland achieved a separate independence as Togo. Based on interviews with former political activists and their families, access to private papers, and a collection of oral and written propaganda, this book examines the history behind the failed project of Togoland reunification. Kate Skinner challenges the marginalization of the Togoland question from popular and academic analyses of post-colonial politics and explores present-day ramifications of the contingencies of decolonization.