Baguida is a canton and city of the suburbs of

Lomé Lomé is the capital and largest city of Togo. It has an urban population of 837,437

, the capital of

Togo Togo (), officially the Togolese Republic (french: République togolaise), is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Ghana to the west, Benin to the east and Burkina Faso to the north. It extends south to the Gulf of Guinea, where its c ...

. It was itself once the capital. Baguida is located approximately 13 kilometers east of Lomé. It is situated between the neighborhoods of Damavo, Kagomé, Avépozo and the

littoral The littoral zone or nearshore is the part of a sea, lake, or river that is close to the shore. In coastal ecology, the littoral zone includes the intertidal zone extending from the high water mark (which is rarely inundated), to coastal a ...

, on national highway 5 leading to Cotonou,

Benin Benin ( , ; french: Bénin , ff, Benen), officially the Republic of Benin (french: République du Bénin), and formerly Dahomey, is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Togo to the west, Nigeria to the east, Burkina Faso to the nort ...

History

The village of Baguida was created at the end of the 17th century, by a hunter named Sani, a former resident of

Bè Bè is a canton and neighborhood of Lomé, Togo, located on the lagoon, east of the city. It contains a number of hotels and bars. Notable people *Agbagli Kossi (1935-1991), sculptor References

Neighborhoods of Lomé ...

, today one of Lomé's neighborhoods. This region being located along the Atlantic shore, was at the time completely lush with vegetation and featured numerous game animals and fertile lands. Then, the river Zio ran nearby. Sani and his brethren lived in this natural area, cultivating

cereals A cereal is any grass cultivated for the edible components of its grain (botanically, a type of fruit called a caryopsis), composed of the endosperm, germ, and bran. Cereal grain crops are grown in greater quantities and provide more food ...

tubers Tubers are a type of enlarged structure used as storage organs for nutrients in some plants. They are used for the plant's perennation (survival of the winter or dry months), to provide energy and nutrients for regrowth during the next growing s ...

and fabaceae plants. The village became very populated and prosperous, attracting colonisers who founded the capital of Togo between 1884 and 1887. The city's influence stretched towards nearby villages: Avépozo, Kpogan, Noudokopé and Dévégom attracting new migrants from the neighborhoods of Adrométi, Hédzé and Apéyémé. German, French and British colonisers stayed there during their conquering of the territory. On 5 July 1884, the signature of the treaty of Baguida made this settlement the first capital of

Togoland Togoland was a German Empire protectorate in West Africa from 1884 to 1914, encompassing what is now the nation of Togo and most of what is now the Volta Region of Ghana, approximately 90,400 km2 (29,867 sq mi) in size. During the period kn ...

, German colony until 1893 (then named ''Bagid''WorldStatesmen- Togo
/ref>). Meanwhile, in 1891, the Togo was under guidance from the Bureau of Colonies, itself linked to the Ministry of German Foreign Affairs. From 1887 on,

Sebe Sebe is a small town in Togo located on the north side of the lagoon near Aného. It was the second capital of the German colony of Togoland from 1887, when it replaced Bagid (present day Baguida) until 1897 when it was replaced by the present c ...

succeeded Baguida as capital, and in turn passed the title on to Lomé in 1897.

References

Populated places in Maritime Region Cantons of Togo {{Togo-geo-stub