Togo

no one is quite sure what happened in this pencil-thin size country before Portuguese came in the late 15th century.it's an ancient 'big apple'---various tribles from all sides immigrants to Togo.and ALL of them settled down in coast.and when the notorious slave trade began in earnest,some local tribes stared agents for europeans,travelling inland to buy slaves from the north.in 1700s,the coast was occupied by Danes,but in 1884,it became German protectorate.German did put a lot of attention on this colony,they introduced scientific irrigation technich to the country's main export goods(cocoa,coffee and cotton) ,built universities and infrastures.
but the Togolese didn't appreciate German's tighter reins on their lives.so when the WWI broke out, British army came, they opened their arms---it's allies first victory in the war. but the Togo was splited by French and British.
in 1960,they gained independence as the French side declared.but in 1963,when the first president was assassinated,africa came across their first coup.(but coups came more and more frequently lately,say,average at least 2 a year since then,excluding many unsuccessful attempts.)
however,the reality in Togo is its tight dependence on the west. from 1960-1980s,Togo enjoyed a period of economic blooming due to its chemical resources.the president even wanted to build Togo into 'investment and tourist paradise'---without doubt, his plan is overly ambitious.when the recession droped down in the early 1980s, those emerging cities became ruins.since then, the government was plauged by numerous coup attempts. the president himself even shot 13 attackers(!).the whole nation suffered a lot and didn't change much.

* once there's an election, it will be hassled by fraud and considered as 'rigged'.
*LP ranked it as 'small,beachy but generally received rave reviews from travellers who was astonished by its unique village and vivacity of their markets and festivals'.