Atakpamé

{{Infobox settlement  | official_name = Atakpamé | other_name = | native_name =  | nickname = | settlement_type =  | motto =  | image_skyline = Atakpame view.jpg | imagesize = 250px | image_caption = Atakpamé in 2006 | image_flag = | flag_size = | image_seal = | seal_size = | image_shield = | shield_size = | image_blank_emblem = | blank_emblem_type = | blank_emblem_size = | image_map = | mapsize = | map_caption = | image_map1 = | mapsize1 = | map_caption1 = | image_dot_map = | dot_mapsize = | dot_map_caption = | dot_x = | dot_y = | pushpin_map = Togo | pushpin_label_position = bottom | pushpin_map_caption = Location in Togo | pushpin_mapsize = 250 | subdivision_type = Country | subdivision_name = {{flag|Togo}} | subdivision_type1 = Region | subdivision_name1 = Plateaux Region | subdivision_type2 = | subdivision_name2 = | subdivision_type3 = | subdivision_name3 = | subdivision_type4 = | subdivision_name4 =  | government_footnotes = | government_type = | leader_title = | leader_name = | leader_title1 =  | leader_name1 = | leader_title2 = | leader_name2 = | leader_title3 = | leader_name3 = | leader_title4 = | leader_name4 = | established_title =  | established_date = | established_title2 =  | established_date2 = | established_title3 =  | established_date3 =  | area_magnitude = | area_footnotes = | area_total_km2 =  | area_land_km2 =  | area_water_km2 = | area_total_sq_mi = | area_land_sq_mi = | area_water_sq_mi = | area_water_percent = | area_urban_km2 = | area_urban_sq_mi = | area_metro_km2 = | area_metro_sq_mi = | area_blank1_title = | area_blank1_km2 = | area_blank1_sq_mi =  | population_as_of = 2006 | population_footnotes = | population_note = | population_total = 84979 | population_density_km2 = auto | population_density_sq_mi = | population_metro = | population_density_metro_km2 = | population_density_metro_sq_mi = | population_urban = | population_density_urban_km2 = | population_density_urban_sq_mi = | population_blank1_title = Ethnicities | population_blank1 = | population_blank2_title = Religions | population_blank2 = | population_density_blank1_km2 = | population_density_blank1_sq_mi =  | timezone = GMT | utc_offset = +0 | timezone_DST = | utc_offset_DST = | coordinates = {{coord|7|31|37|N|1|7|36|E|region:TG_type:city|display=inline,title}} | elevation_footnotes =  | elevation_m = 400 | elevation_ft =  | postal_code_type =  | postal_code = | area_code = | blank_name = | blank_info = | blank1_name = | blank1_info = | website = | footnotes = }}

'''Atakpamé''' is the fifth largest city in Togo by population (84,979 inhabitants in 2006), located in the Plateaux Region of Togo.<ref name="Atakpamé">{{cite web|title=Atakpamé|url=http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/40371/Atakpame|publisher=Britannica Encyclopaedia|accessdate=24 January 2013}}</ref> Cotton production was fostered in the area during German colonial rule.

==History== {{Main|Ana people}} The Oyo Empire controlled Atakpamé in the 1700s.{{sfn|Akinjogbin|1966|p=455}} Dahomey attacked Atakpamé during the reign of Adandozan.{{sfn|Kea|1969|p=35}} Atakpame was a major source of ivory in the 1870s.{{sfn|Strickrodt|2015|p=219}}

In 1898, the Atakpamé district was established in Togoland and it was the last district established under German rule. Colonial Governor Hans Georg von Doering established a district office in Atakpamé that was similar to a manor from East Prussia.{{sfn|Habermas|2014|p=67}} The Colonial Council attempted to boost cotton production in Atakpamé in 1900.{{sfn|Habermas|2014|p=69}} Christian missionaries were barred from going north of Atakpamé in 1913.{{sfn|Zimmerman|2010|p=124}}

In the 1920s, the Atakpamé Orange Lodge was established by Anglophone merchants and Protestant teachers who moved north from Lomé and Palimé. The lodge spread the Protestant faith in the town, and eduated the locals about the history of the Orange Order. It is overseen by the Grand Orange Lodge of Togo.<ref>{{Cite news |date=2015-08-30 |title=Orange Order on the equator: Keeping the faith in Ghana |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-northern-ireland-34088527 |access-date=2026-01-09 |work=BBC News |language=en-GB}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=The Orange Order in Africa – History Ireland |url=https://historyireland.com/the-orange-order-in-africa/ |access-date=2026-01-09 |website=historyireland.com}}</ref>

the Atakpamé Orange Lodge is notable among historians because its original records were kept in English, even though the town was under French rule. These records show that by the mid-1920s, the lodge was fully functional as a social and religious center for the town's people.<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Orange Order in Africa – History Ireland |url=https://historyireland.com/the-orange-order-in-africa/ |access-date=2026-01-09 |website=historyireland.com}}</ref>

Agbaba, despite being in the Krachi District, was administered from Atakpamé during French rule due to the similar languages in the areas.{{sfn|Bening|1983|p=197}}

It was during this campaign that Alhaji Grunshi fired the first shot by anyone in British service during the war. Most native residents of the city are the Ana subgroup of the Yoruba people.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4G7Xv-wapEMC&q=atakpame+yoruba&pg=PA36|page=36|title=Yoruba Culture: A Philosophical Account|author=Kola Abimbola|publisher=iroko academic publishers|year=2006|isbn=9781905388004}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MdaAdBC-_S4C&q=yoruba+in+atakpame&pg=PA28|title=The Peoples of Africa: An Ethnohistorical Dictionary (ABC-Clio ebook)|author=James Stuart Olson|publisher=Greenwood Publishing Group|year=1996|page=28|isbn=9780313279188}}</ref>

==Demographics== The Ewe language is spoken in Atakpamé.{{sfn|MacDougald|1944|p=13}} During German rule the area had a permanent Muslim population of 50.{{sfn|Norris|1984|p=182}}

==Infrastructure== A railway between Atakpamé and Lomé was completed in 1911.{{sfn|Amenumey|1969|p=635}} It is known as Lomé–Atakpamé railway, also known as the Hinterlandbahn (Hinterland Railway) or the Baumwoll-Bahn (Cotton Railway).

==Climate== Atakpamé has a tropical savanna climate (Köppen ''Aw'') characterised by a short dry season with the northeasterly harmattan trade winds from November to February and a lengthy though not intense wet season between March and October.<ref name="WMONormals"/> {{Weather box |location = Atakpamé (1991-2020) |metric first = yes |single line = yes |width = auto |Jan record high C = 38.8 |Feb record high C = 39.5 |Mar record high C = 40.0 |Apr record high C = 39.3 |May record high C = 38.5 |Jun record high C = 35.6 |Jul record high C = 33.2 |Aug record high C = 33.0 |Sep record high C = 35.0 |Oct record high C = 37.0 |Nov record high C = 37.0 |Dec record high C = 36.9 |year record high C = 40.0 |Jan high C = 33.4 |Feb high C = 34.6 |Mar high C = 34.5 |Apr high C = 33.3 |May high C = 32.1 |Jun high C = 30.4 |Jul high C = 28.8 |Aug high C = 28.5 |Sep high C = 29.5 |Oct high C = 31.1 |Nov high C = 33.0 |Dec high C = 32.9 |year high C = |Jan mean C = 27.9 |Feb mean C = 29.1 |Mar mean C = 28.9 |Apr mean C = 28.0 |May mean C = 27.2 |Jun mean C = 26.0 |Jul mean C = 25.0 |Aug mean C = 24.7 |Sep mean C = 25.3 |Oct mean C = 26.3 |Nov mean C = 27.5 |Dec mean C = 27.7 |year mean C = |Jan low C = 22.3 |Feb low C = 23.0 |Mar low C = 23.0 |Apr low C = 22.6 |May low C = 22.3 |Jun low C = 21.6 |Jul low C = 21.2 |Aug low C = 20.9 |Sep low C = 21.1 |Oct low C = 21.4 |Nov low C = 21.9 |Dec low C = 22.3 |year low C = |Jan record low C = 15.2 |Feb record low C = 16.6 |Mar record low C = 18.1 |Apr record low C = 18.0 |May record low C = 17.8 |Jun record low C = 17.4 |Jul record low C = 16.5 |Aug record low C = 16.1 |Sep record low C = 18.0 |Oct record low C = 17.9 |Nov record low C = 16.0 |Dec record low C = 14.4 |year record low C = 14.4 |precipitation colour = green |Jan precipitation mm = 6.8 |Feb precipitation mm = 25.2 |Mar precipitation mm = 65.7 |Apr precipitation mm = 116.7 |May precipitation mm = 161.8 |Jun precipitation mm = 189.8 |Jul precipitation mm = 231.7 |Aug precipitation mm = 208.8 |Sep precipitation mm = 204.8 |Oct precipitation mm = 132.5 |Nov precipitation mm = 13.6 |Dec precipitation mm = 10.1 |year precipitation mm = 1367.5 |unit precipitation days = 1.0 mm |Jan precipitation days = 0.9 |Feb precipitation days = 2.5 |Mar precipitation days = 7.1 |Apr precipitation days = 9.6 |May precipitation days = 12.3 |Jun precipitation days = 14.5 |Jul precipitation days = 17.3 |Aug precipitation days = 18.2 |Sep precipitation days = 16.2 |Oct precipitation days = 11.4 |Nov precipitation days = 1.9 |Dec precipitation days = 0.9 |year precipitation days = |Jan humidity = 51 |Feb humidity = 58 |Mar humidity = 67 |Apr humidity = 75 |May humidity = 79 |Jun humidity = 84 |Jul humidity = 88 |Aug humidity = 88 |Sep humidity = 87 |Oct humidity = 83 |Nov humidity = 71 |Dec humidity = 57 |year humidity = 74 |Jan sun = 231.6 |Feb sun = 219.6 |Mar sun = 213.2 |Apr sun = 200.9 |May sun = 218.4 |Jun sun = 171.1 |Jul sun = 114.1 |Aug sun = 98.8 |Sep sun = 124.3 |Oct sun = 203.4 |Nov sun = 252.8 |Dec sun = 245.4 |year sun = 2293.6 |source 1 =NOAA (sun 1961-1990)<ref name="WMONormals">{{cite web |url = https://www.nodc.noaa.gov/archive/arc0216/0253808/2.2/data/0-data/Region-1-WMO-Normals-9120/Togo/CSV/ATAKPAME_65376.csv |title = World Meteorological Organization Climate Normals for 1991-2020 — Kara |publisher = National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration |access-date = January 10, 2024}}</ref><ref name = NOAA> {{cite web | url = ftp://ftp.atdd.noaa.gov/pub/GCOS/WMO-Normals/TABLES/REG__I/TG/65376.TXT | title = Atakpame Climate Normals 1961–1990 | publisher = National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20201031175200/ftp://ftp.atdd.noaa.gov/pub/GCOS/WMO-Normals/TABLES/REG__I/TG/65376.TXT | archive-date = 2020-10-31 | url-status = dead | accessdate = 18 December 2018}}</ref> |source 2 = Deutscher Wetterdienst (humidity 1961-1990)<ref name = DWD> {{cite web | url = https://www.dwd.de/DWD/klima/beratung/ak/ak_653760_kt.pdf | title = Klimatafel von Atakpamé / Togo | work = Baseline climate means (1961–1990) from stations all over the world | publisher = Deutscher Wetterdienst | language = German | accessdate = 18 December 2018}}</ref> }}

==International relations== {{See also|List of twin towns and sister cities in Africa#Togo|l1=List of twin towns and sister cities in Togo}}

===Twin towns — Sister cities=== Atakpamé is twinned with: * {{flagicon|FRA}} Niort, France

==Sources== *{{cite book |author=Fage, J.D. and Roland Oliver |title=The Cambridge History of Africa Volume 4 c. 1600 - c. 1790 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |location=Cambridge |year=1975 |pages=811 |isbn=0-521-20981-1}}

==References== {{Reflist}}

==Works cited== {{refbegin|30em}} ===Books=== * {{cite book|last=MacDougald |first=Duncan |title=The Languages and Press of Africa |publisher=University of Pennsylvania Press |date=1944 |url=https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctv5qdh9z}} * {{cite book|last=Strickrodt |first=Silke |title=Afro-European Trade in the Atlantic World: The Western Slave Coast, c. 1550- c. 1885 |publisher=Boydell & Brewer |date=2015 |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.7722/j.ctt7zst5n |isbn=9781782044284}} * {{cite book|last=Zimmerman |first=Andrew |title=Alabama in Africa: Booker T. Washington, the German Empire, and the Globalization of the New South |publisher=Princeton University Press |date=2010 |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctt24hrmw |isbn=9781400834976}}

===Journals=== * {{cite journal |last=Akinjogbin |first=I. |title=The Oyo Empire in the 18th Century: A Reassessment |journal=Journal of the Historical Society of Nigeria |publisher=Historical Society of Nigeria |date=1966 |volume=3 |issue=3 |pages=449-460 |doi=10.2307/41856706 |jstor=41856706 |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/41856706 |url-access=subscription}} * {{cite journal |last=Amenumey |first=D. |title=German Administration in Southern Togo |journal=The Journal of African History |publisher=Cambridge University Press |date=1969 |volume=10 |issue=4 |pages=623-639 |doi=10.2307/179902 |jstor=179902 |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/179902 |url-access=subscription}} * {{cite journal |last=Bening |first=R. |title=The Ghana-Togo Boundary, 1914-1982 |journal=Africa Spectrum |publisher=Sage Publishing |date=1983 |volume=18 |issue=2 |pages=191-209 |doi=10.2307/40174115 |jstor=40174115 |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/40174115 |url-access=subscription}} * {{cite journal |last=Habermas |first=Rebekka |title=Lost in Translation: Transfer and Nontransfer in the Atakpame Colonial Scandal |journal=The Journal of Modern History |publisher=University of Chicago Press |date=2014 |volume=86 |issue=1 |pages=47-80 |doi=10.1086/674380 |jstor=674380 |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.1086/674380 |url-access=subscription}} * {{cite journal |last=Kea |first=R. |title=Akwamu-Anlo Relations, c. 1750-1813 |journal=Transactions of the Historical Society of Ghana |publisher=Historical Society of Ghana |date=1969 |volume=10 |issue= |pages=29-63 |doi=10.2307/41406349 |jstor=41406349 |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/41406349 |url-access=subscription}} * {{cite journal |last=Norris |first=Edward |title=The Hausa Kola Trade Through Togo, 1899-1912: Some Quantifications |journal=Paideuma |publisher=Frobenius Institute |date=1984 |volume= |issue= |pages=161-184 |doi=10.2307/23076627 |jstor=23076627 |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/23076627 |url-access=subscription}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Atakpame}} Category:Populated places in Plateaux Region, Togo Category:Cities in Yorubaland