The Burkina Faso–Togo border is 131 km (81 m) in length and runs from the tripoint with
Ghana
Ghana (; tw, Gaana, ee, Gana), officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It abuts the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, sharing borders with Ivory Coast in the west, Burkina Faso in the north, and To ...
in the west to the tripoint with
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 north ...
in the east.
Description
The border starts in the west at the tripoint with Ghana, and continues in a straight line orientated to the south-east. A short section then runs southwards along the Sansargou river, before a straight line veers to the north-east up to the
11th parallel north; the border then runs in a straight line immediately north of this parallel eastwards, terminating at the Beninese tripoint.
History
The 1880s saw an intense competition for territory in Africa by the European powers, a process known as the '
Scramble for Africa
The Scramble for Africa, also called the Partition of Africa, or Conquest of Africa, was the invasion, annexation, division, and colonisation of Africa, colonization of most of Africa by seven Western Europe, Western European powers during a ...
'.
Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
began taking an interest in acquiring African colonies in this period, signing treaties with chiefs along the coast of modern Togo in July 1884.
The colony of
German 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 kno ...
was then extended gradually inland.
As a result of the Scramble,
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
had gained control the upper valley of the
Niger River
The Niger River ( ; ) is the main river of West Africa, extending about . Its drainage basin is in area. Its source is in the Guinea Highlands in south-eastern Guinea near the Sierra Leone border. It runs in a crescent shape through ...
(roughly equivalent to the areas of modern
Mali
Mali (; ), officially the Republic of Mali,, , ff, 𞤈𞤫𞤲𞥆𞤣𞤢𞥄𞤲𞤣𞤭 𞤃𞤢𞥄𞤤𞤭, Renndaandi Maali, italics=no, ar, جمهورية مالي, Jumhūriyyāt Mālī is a landlocked country in West Africa. Mali ...
and
Niger
)
, official_languages =
, languages_type = National languages[French Sudan
French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to France
** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents
** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with France ...](_blank)
) was originally included, along with modern Niger and
Burkina Faso
Burkina Faso (, ; , ff, 𞤄𞤵𞤪𞤳𞤭𞤲𞤢 𞤊𞤢𞤧𞤮, italic=no) is a landlocked country in West Africa with an area of , bordered by Mali to the northwest, Niger to the northeast, Benin to the southeast, Togo and Ghana to the ...
(then called Upper Volta), within the
Upper Senegal and Niger
Upper Senegal and Niger () was a colony in French West Africa, created on 21 October 1904 from colonial Senegambia and Niger by the decree "For the Reorganisation of the general government of French West Africa".
At its creation, the "Colony of ...
colony and became a constituent of the federal colony of
French West Africa
French West Africa (french: Afrique-Occidentale française, ) was a federation of eight French colonial territories in West Africa: Mauritania, Senegal, French Sudan (now Mali), French Guinea (now Guinea), Ivory Coast, Upper Volta (now Burki ...
(''Afrique occidentale française'', abbreviated AOF).
France and Germany agreed upon the boundary between German Togoland and French territory on 23 July 1897.
This was then delimited in more detail on 28 September 1912.
In the
First World War
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
German Togoland was
conquered by the Allied powers and then split into
British
British may refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies.
** Britishness, the British identity and common culture
* British English, ...
and
French mandates along a dividing line agreed upon on 10 July 1919.
As a result what is now the Burkina Faso-Ghana-Togo tripoint was shifted eastwards.
As the movement for decolonisation grew in the post-
Second World War
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
era, France gradually granted more political rights and representation for their sub-Saharan African colonies, culminating in the granting of broad internal autonomy to French West Africa in 1958 within the framework of the
French Community
The French Community (1958–1960; french: Communauté française) was the constitutional organization set up in 1958 between France and its remaining African colonies, then in the process of decolonization. It replaced the French Union, which ...
. Eventually, in 1960, both French Togoland and Upper Volta gained independence (British Togoland having been absorbed into Ghana), and their mutual frontier became an international one between two states.
Settlements near the border
Burkina Faso
* Pouniouassankoto
* Dagonkon
* Touekoudouga
Togo
* Timbou
* Nadjouni
* Koundjouare
* Ponio
*
Senkase
Border crossings
The main crossing is located at Senkanse-Bitou.
[James Knight & Katrina Manson (2011) ''Bradt Travel Guide – Burkina Faso'', pgs. 66] At present third party governments generally discourage travel to the border region due to the poor security situation in Burkina Faso.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Burkina Faso-Togo border
Borders of Burkina Faso
Borders of Togo
International borders