THE CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC LIES AT THE VERY HEART OF THE AFRICAN CONTINENT, just north of the equator.
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CLIMATE |
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The Central African Republic has an equatorial climate moderated by its height above sea level. The rainy season lasts from June to September in the north but is longer and heavier in the south.
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The Ancient Heartland
Little is known about the early history of the region that today forms the Central African Republic, but archaeological evidence points to ancient settlement of the area. Megaliths (large standing stones) at Bouar (BWAHR), in the far west, were probably erected over 2,500 years ago.
The eastern part of the country lay on the borders of Sudan’s Meroë (MEH-roe-wae) Empire (ca. 750 B.C.E.–350 C.E.; see SUDAN). By the 1500s C.E. two states governed the region: the kingdom of Gaoga (gah-OH-ga) ruled the north, while that of Anzica (AHN-zi-kah) ruled the south. The states lived by trading the fine craft work of the region, such as tools, spears, and carvings, and raiding neighboring territories for slaves.
Soon, however, they themselves were under attack from European and Arab slave raiders. Countless thousands were marched off in chains to the Atlantic ports to be shipped overseas or to the slave markets of Egypt. By the 1850s large areas of land had been depopulated. Azande, Banda, and Baya peoples moved in to occupy these areas.
Under French Rule
The Berlin Conference of 1884 to 1885, which decided how the European powers would seize African lands as colonies, set the region aside for the French. In 1899, France licensed seventeen private companies to exploit the region’s rubber, timber, cotton, and mineral resources. Many of the people were forced into labor and treated little better than slaves.
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FACTS AND FIGURES |
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Official name: République Centrafricaine Status: Independent state Capital: Bangui Major towns: Berbérati, Bouar, Bossangoa Area: 241,240 square miles (624,812 square kilometers) Population: 4,300,000 Population density: 18 per square mile (7 per square kilometer) Peoples: 33 percent Baya; 27 percent Banda; 13 percent Mandja; 10 percent Sara; 17 percent others, including Babinga (or Aka), Zande, Yakoma, Banziri, and Burak Official language: French Currency: CFA franc National days: Boganda Remembrance Day (March 29); Independence Day (August 13) Country’s name: The country’s name is a description of its geographical location.
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The territory was named Ubangi-Shari (oo-BON-gee SHA-ree) in 1894 and sixteen years later was joined with Chad, Middle Congo, and Gabon to form an official colony, French Equatorial Africa. These were unhappy years, with famine and constant rebellions. French troops fought a brutal war against the Baya people between 1928 and 1931.
During World War II (1939–1945), the country became a base for the Free French, exiled forces who fought with the Allies against the Germans who were then occupying France. After the war, calls for independence arose, and Barthélemy Boganda founded the Movement for the Social Evolution of Black Africa. When independence came in 1960, David Dacko, a pro-French candidate, became president.
