The colonial administration of Togo was carried out with the collaboration of local chiefs, whose power was institutionalized. Put at the bottom of the hierarchical structure of the colonial administration, traditional power had a mission of administrative policing in the territory. The exercise of the administrative police mission by local chiefs is the concern of this study. The exploitation of archival documents, periodicals, and bibliography on the colonial system in Togo has made it possible to note that the traditional chiefs were invested with the power to maintain order. The German (1884-1914) and French (1919-1960) administrations in Togo used authoritarian, energetic, and active chiefs to impose colonial order on the populations, even those who were far from administrative centers. Under the German administration, chiefs administered justice and had disciplinary powers. The French administration, on the other hand, had entrusted them, namely with missions of general police, rural police, and judicial police for the maintenance of “colonial peace.”
Keywords: Maintenance of order, colonial peace, general police, judicial police
