Bangui - History

The Central African Republic (CAR)  borders Chad to the north, Zaire and Congo to the south. Tribes fleeing the slave trade settled here during the 19th century. The French colonized the area in 1894, and CAR achieved full autonomy in 1960. Coups have typified national politics since then. Despite promising signs, such as Ange-Fιlix Patassι's free election as president in 1993, civil unrest in the country continues.

About 90 percent of Central African Republic people are subsistence farmers. Petroleum, as well as the mining of uranium and diamonds, are main national industries. Timber, coffee, cotton and tobacco are staple cash crops. 

The Central African Republic, including a vast savanna and southern tropical forests, used to be known as one of the world's premier wildlife habitats, but poaching has tarnished that reputation. The nation's eastern desert is growing, and scarcity of potable water in the countryside is an ongoing concern. The black people which account for 85% of the population are called Bantu types, but it is not sure that is correct from the anthropological or ethnological point of view. This country, however, was the watershed between the Oubangui types blacks that lived mainly in the rain forest areas and the Sudan types blacks that lived mainly in the savanna areas.

At that time, these two peoples probably lived peacefully without problems. This country is said to have played an important role then in the African history, judging from its geographic situation.

The history of the country changed, however, into a history of terror because of the slave trade started in the 18th century. Since 7th century, this country was under the control of a powerful empire whose bases and centers were Lake Chad, strategic point which leads to the Red Sea and the Mediterranean Sea, and the upper reaches of the Nile.

The slave traders influenced by the Arabs or the Moslems probably considered Oubangui areas (southern part of the Central Africa along the Oubangui River) as the important sources of slaves. Then, from the middle of the 18th century on, they organized a slave trading system, caught slaves in the southern and eastern parts of the current Central African Republic and sent them to Egypt or the North Africa via the Sahara Desert. That was called "the East Slave Trade".

On the other hand, European people did "the West Slave Trade" during the same period.

European people, especially Portuguese merchants, bought slaves from the black slave brokers. These slaves were transported on the Oubangui River and the Congo River from Bangui to Brazzaville, then to the ports near current Pointe Noire by land, and sent to the American Continent across the Atlantic. Large-scale racial migrations arose in the 19th century because of the large scale of slave trades. Various peoples moved into this area from east, west, and north and settled down. They were put under the control of Egypt in 1875. Then, the Europeans who had already started to invade Africa before, brought about another tragedy in this area in 1885. French people who had controlled the Congo Basin began invading the northern parts of the area that year, and put Bangui under their rule. France's advancement, however, then clashed with Germany and Belgium, and finally faced with the most powerful Egypt.

Egypt organized defense troops but France invaded it from Algeria, Nigeria and Bangui, and crushed the Egyptian Army on April 22nd, 1900. Then, for several years, wars and one-sided negotiations continued, and on December 29th, 1903, France came to control completely this area as Oubangui-Chari. It was in 1906 that the French Oubangui-Chari was officially born as a member of AEF (Afrique Equatoriale française). But, Germany, which had ruled Cameroon, occupied the western half of the country from 1911-1914. Then in 1919, the country got back officially to the French territory.

At the beginning of the 20th century, 17 companies sanctioned by the French government came to possess a half of the land, and a taxation system was introduced here. After this, the administration intervened in various ways in problems related to the rapidly expanding population.

Agriculture, like rubber, cotton and coffee cultures, was also introducedAfter World War II, as the ethnic liberation movements arose in different parts of Africa, Barthelemy Boganda, the first parliamentarian as Oubangui people (Central African) founded the Black African Social Labor Party in 1949.

In 1957, a year after the basic law of autonomy was enacted, the first government by Oubangui people was established. It was made up of six persons. Borboge was in charge of Agriculture. Boganda was then, the President of the Conference of AEF based in Brazzaville.

According to the plebiscite held on September 28th, 1958, 98 % of the population were for the French Constitution. The country became the fifth autonomous province, and the Franco-African Community was founded. On December 8th, a new-government, led by Boganda was formed. The Parliament had established the Central African Republic own constitution, which respected freedom. This parliament directly became the national assembly and the first election for assembly members was held on April 5th. Boganda, who had played an important role for the Independence, was not able to see the realization of the completely independent government, because he had been killed in a plane accident on March 29th, 1959.

Gumba succeeded Boganda and became the President. Then, Dacko was selected President by the Parliament. On August 13th, 1960, the Independence was declared and on April 14th, the Parliament approved a law to appoint Dacko the head of the nation. He was reelected with 100 percent support. On December 31st, 1965, Dacko Government was overthrown in a revolution led by one of his cousins, Colonel Bokassa of the General Headquarters of the National Army. The committee of revolution led by Bokassa was established on January 3rd, 1966.
Among the members, there were three officers and two high officials. One of the High officials was the current President Patasse. Bokassa system was based on two articles of the Constitution.
One of them is that, it gives the head of the nation substantial rights to save the nation established on January 4th, and then fallen into crisis. The other article is that the constitution gives the absolute right to the President established on January 8th.

After that, the Army and the public attempted coups d'etat quite often to resist Bokassa, who was indulging in luxury and becoming authoritarian, but in vain.
On December 4th, 1976, Bokassa decided to make the Central African Republic monarchical and on December 4th, 1977, he became the Emperor of the Central African Empire. Because of his bad politics and waste of money, the economic situations and the finance of the country kept worsening, and in July 1978, Prime Minister Patasse resigned. Henry Maidou succeeded him. During the strikes of students in 1979, the Army killed many people because of a thorough oppression. France frozen the financial assistance on September 21st based on the report from a fact-finding mission about the regime already accused by Amnesty International.
Then, France committed its Special Forces to protect French people there. It helped the establishment of the Dacko regime and resumed the financial assistance on September 26th. France and Central African Republic jointly drew up the reconstruction plan.

Dacko won the election in March 1981, but the opposition Camp declared the result invalid. There were strikes one after another in every social and economic field. Dacko took the responsibility for the social unrest on September 1st, and handed his power over to Andre Kolingba, then Chief of Staff of the National Army, to restore the social order. The Kolingba regime made a lot of efforts to form strong soldiers between 1981 and 1984 and stayed in power 12 years.
He transferred his regime to a civil government on November 21st, 1986, and appointed himself as Chief of the Nation.

He introduced again the Prime Ministership in March 1991, legalized the multiparty system in April and released almost all-political prisoners. Then, after ups and downs, Patasse was elected President in the election of September 27th, 1993.

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