Colonial period

Loading of cotton bales (1885)

It was the threats of the British present in the neighboring Gold Coast (now Ghana) to put an end to the unbearable competition that Lomé provoked on their colony, which then provoked the call for the protection of Germany, and thus the creation of Togoland occurred as an entity of international law within the German colonial empire on 5 July 1884, by the Treaty of Togoville signed by Gustav Nachtigal and King Mlapa III.

Lomé continued freely to prosper as a centre of import, thus becoming the main gateway to the North, whose major axis of penetration was then the Volta Valley; it was to access it that the construction of the first real road in the country, Lomé-Kpalimé, was undertaken from 1892. It was this major economic role that led the German administration to transfer the capital of the territory to a city that already had more than 2,000 inhabitants.^[5]

Stamp of the German colony Togogebiet cancelled in Lomé in 1902.

Alley leading to the Governor's Palace (1904).

Lomé benefited from 1904 from a port that made it the only maritime contact point of Togo, ruining without recourse its rival of Aného, until then much more important. From this development, a network of railways could be deployed: to Aného in 1905, to Kpalimé in 1907 and to Atakpamé in 1909. All the "useful Togo" was now organized in a funnel around Lomé, whose preponderance on the Togolese urban network was definitively established and growth assured; The city reached a population of 8,000 in 1914. But, if the infrastructure set up by the Germans, which were a post office in 1890, the telephone in 1894, the cathedral in 1904, a bank in 1906 and the intercontinental telegraph in 1913 could benefit everyone, a system of discriminatory patents and licenses gradually ousted African traders from the most lucrative activities, that is to say, the trade or the import-export activities.

Apart from the rich Octaviano Olympio, with his large Cocoterais, the first in the city, his herds, his brickyard and his construction company, most Togolese merchants had to put themselves at the service of foreign firms as managers of their agencies in other cities, or enjoying more autonomy as buyers of agricultural export products in the interior. The smallest had been hired in large numbers as clerks in the main factories (headquarters of the offices of a trading company abroad). Firms in other African territories looked with envy at Togo, which had an abundant skilled workforce, while elsewhere, it was necessary to entrust all positions to expatriates, much more expensive for the employer.

The First World War completely spared the city, but in 1916, it led to the eviction of German companies, gradually replaced by British and French firms. Many Togolese traders returned to Lomé. Their flourishing businesses, their vast coconut groves, their land patrimony made them a bourgeoisie with which the new French colonial authorities had to reckon, this was the meaning of the council of notables created in 1922 (elective from 1925), which gave Lomé a remarkably early political life in French-speaking Africa. It is also quite exceptional that an African capital has been so marked by its indigenous bourgeoisie (originally from the France), both in the production practices of urban space, so original in Lomé, and in the singularities of its popular architecture.

The French renewed the infrastructure left by the Germans; the repair of railways, multiplication of roads, construction of a new quay, etc. They added electrification in 1926 and drinking water supply in 1940), which their predecessors had not been able to achieve. However, they took years to fill the void left in the schools by the German verbist missionaries when they left. The level of students enrolled in 1945, at the death of Jean-Marie Cassou, reached that of 1914.

In the 1920s, a policy of systematic low taxation allowed for a long prosperity. In January 1923, a Révolte des femmes de Lomé took place against the arrest of two Duawo leaders and allowed their release.^[6]

• Map of the city of Lomé in 1931
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  Left part
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  Right part

Lomé reached 15,000 inhabitants around 1930. But the global economic crisis of the early 1930s led to a brutal recession. Many commercial firms closed, or had to consolidate. Investments stopped, like the Northern Railway, definitively stopped in Blitta in 1934. A plan for a sharp tax increase, while the people's resources were falling, provoked the riots of January 1933, which were undoubtedly a major political break in the history of Togo. It was only after the Second World War, after a decade of economic stagnation, that the boom resumed in Lomé where everything was bubbling with vitality.

Independence

Independence Monument

The population of the city increased rapidly in the second half of the twentieth century. It had only a population of 30,000 in 1950, which increased to 80,000 in 1960, the year when Togo became independent. A decade later, it stood at 200,000 people, in 1970. Within two decades, the population of Lomé increased by seven-fold. The city, as throughout the country, the very high prices of export products operate the markets, the significant investments of the colonial administration (the "FIDES" plan created a large number of roads, bridges, schools, hospitals) ensured full employment. The constructions were rapidly expanding at the expense of the old coconut groves, the hope animated each of an imminent take-off.

From the mid-1970s, investments became more and more gigantic, but not always in well-targeted areas, Togo, a small open country and hub of trade between its powerful neighbors, did not have the protected market that would have been needed for the large industries that were built for it, nor the stable tourism potential for the luxurious hotels that were coming up.^[7] At the same time, the railways were allowed to deteriorate, even though they had an important role, especially for serving the outlying districts of the city.

But, the economic activity of an African city is not just an accumulation of large companies, banks and factories. There is also the very vast field of the popular economy, these innumerable activities of production, exchange, service, repair, which are in fact the livelihood of the majority of the population, and the only way for it to access services commensurate with its modest resources. Difficult to grasp in the statistical tools of economists, the informal sector is increasingly affecting the real economic life of African city dwellers. In addition, the development of market gardening around the city, stimulated by growing unemployment, arose rural exodus and demand for vegetables. Market gardening, first extended to the north, is mainly on the beach (as the sand is too less salty), planting protective hedges. The various studies of the city's land market indicate that the neighborhoods are relatively heterogeneous, mixing opulent villas and modest housing, without social and spatial division of the city. This is explained by the fact that Lomeans are very attached to their plot of land and what they call their "home" (their home). This, therefore, led to a land freeze. However, if the city is not a socially divided city, the fact remains that Lomé is experiencing more and more problems related to the collection of household waste, the fight against urban insalubrity has become one of the priorities of the city and its inhabitants.

Climate change

A 2019 paper published in PLOS One estimated that under Representative Concentration Pathway 4.5, a "moderate" scenario of climate change where global warming reaches ~2.5–3 °C (4.5–5.4 °F) by 2100, the climate of Lomé in the year 2050 would most closely resemble the current climate of Managua in Nicaragua. The annual temperature would increase by 1 °C (1.8 °F), the temperature of the warmest month by 1.6 °C (2.9 °F), and of the coldest month by 2.1 °C (3.8 °F).^[11][12] According to Climate Action Tracker, the current warming trajectory appears consistent with 2.7 °C (4.9 °F), which closely matches RCP 4.5.^[13]

Moreover, according to the 2022 IPCC Sixth Assessment Report, Lomé is one of 12 major African cities (Abidjan, Alexandria, Algiers, Cape Town, Casablanca, Dakar, Dar es Salaam, Durban, Lagos, Lomé, Luanda and Maputo) which would be the most severely affected by the future sea level rise. It estimates that they would collectively sustain cumulative damages of USD 65 billion under RCP 4.5 and USD 86.5 billion for the high-emission scenario RCP 8.5 by the year 2050. Additionally, RCP 8.5 combined with the hypothetical impact from marine ice sheet instability at high levels of warming would involve up to 137.5 billion USD in damages, while the additional accounting for the "low-probability, high-damage events" may increase aggregate risks to USD 187 billion for the "moderate" RCP4.5, USD 206 billion for RCP8.5 and USD 397 billion under the high-end ice sheet instability scenario.^[14] Since sea level rise would continue for about 10,000 years under every scenario of climate change, future costs of sea level rise would only increase, especially without adaptation measures.^[15]

Lomé Convention

The Lomé Convention is a trade and aid agreement between the European Union (EU) and 71 African, Caribbean, and Pacific (ACP) countries. It was first signed on 28 February 1975, in Lomé.^[7]

Lomé Peace Accord

The Lomé Peace Accord between the warring parties in the civil war in Sierra Leone was signed in Lomé. With the assistance of the international community, Sierra Leone President Ahmad Tejan Kabbah and Revolutionary United Front leader Foday Sankoh signed the Peace Accord on 7 July 1999. However, the agreement did not last and the war continued for two more years.

Road

For urban transport, there are a few taxis, but it is the motorcycle taxis (zémidjans) which are most used.

Rail

The city, which had no rail service since 1997, has seen since 2014, the return of trains, with a new station: those of Blueline Togo, constructed by the French international firm, Bolloré.^[20] The inaugural train on 26 April 2014 ran on the short distance Lomé to Cacavéli.^[21] The under-construction of the Lomé-Cotonou link, as part of a rail loop project from Lomé, Cotonou, Niamey, Ouagadougou and to Abidjan, is expected to be completed by 2024.^[22]

Air

The city is served by Lomé-Tokoin International Airport, located 5 km (3.1 mi) northeast from the city centre. ASKY Airlines, a subsidiary of Ethiopian Airlines, and itself, operates at the airport.

Water

The city has the Port of Lomé, which is the only commercial port of Togo that carries out trade and export-import activities in the country. It also has a cruise terminal where passengers are also served.

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  Taxis
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  Port of Lomé
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  Lomé–Tokoin International Airport