Historical Dictionary of the Central African Republic 0810813602, 9780810813601

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Historical Dictionary of

THE CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC by Pierre Kalck translated by Thomas O'Toole

AFRICAN HISTORICAL DICTIONARIES Edited by Jon Woronoff 1. Cameroon, by Victor T. LeVine and Roger P. Nye. 1974 2. The Congo {Brazzaville), by Virginia Thompson and Richard Adloff. 1974 3. Swaziland, by John J. Grotpeter. 1975 4. The Gambia, by Harry A. Gailey. 1975 5. Botswana, by Richard P. Stevens. 1975 6. Somalia, by Margaret F. Castagno. 1975 7. Dahomey, by Samuel Decalo. 1975 8. Burundi, by Warren Weinstein. 1976 9. Togo, by Samuel Decalo. 1976 10. Lesotho, by Gordon Haliburton. 1977 11. Mali, by Pascal James Imperato. 1977 12. Sierra Leone, by Cyril Patrick Foray. 1977 13. Chad, by Samuel Decalo. 1977 14. Upper Volta, by Daniel Miles McFarland. 1978 15. Tanzania, by Laura S. Kurtz. 1978 16. Guinea, by Thomas O’Toole. 1978 17. Sudan, by John Voll. 1978 18. Rhodesia/Zimbabwe, by R. Kent Rasmussen. 1979 19. Zambia, by John J. Grotpeter. 1979 20. Niger, by Samuel Decalo. 1979 21. Equatorial Guinea, by Max Liniger-Goumaz. 1979 22. Guinea-Bissau, by Richard Lobban. 1979 23. Senegal, by Lucie A. Colvin. 1980 24. Morocco, by William Spencer. 1980 25. Malawi, by Cynthia A. Crosby. 1980 26. Angola, by Phyllis Martin. 1980

Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data Kalck, Pierre. Historical dictionary of the Central African Republic. (African historical dictionaries ; no. 27) Bibliography: p. 1. Central African Republic—History—Dictionaries. L Title. IL Series. DT546. 35. K353 967’. 41’00321 80-21199 ISBN 0-8108-1360-2

Copyright © 1980 by Pierre Kalck Manufactured in the United States of America

CONTENTS

Editor's Foreword (Jon Woronoff) Abbreviations and Acronyms

V

vii

Introduction

xi

Maps

xvi

Heads of Government

xxi

Chronology

xxiv

A Note on Spelling

xlii

THE DICTIONARY

1

Bibliography

137

iii

EDITOR’S FOREWORD

When the French colony of Ubangui-Shari was pro¬ claimed the Central African Republic in 1958, it could hardly be predicted that within two decades it was to become Africa's only empire. Once an unknown and uncared for member of the club of poorest nations, its name was suddenly carried on headlines around the world thanks to one of the most grotesque ceremonies ever witnessed, a garish reproduction of Napoleon's coronation on the dusty streets of Bangui. Emperor Bokassa I went on to provide the press with other newsworthy events, most of which his people could well have been spared, but which gave the nation a definite notoriety. For, each step on the rise from colony to republic to empire was really a descent into ever greater poverty, loss of liberty, and oppression. From the days of Boganda, its promising dynamic head of state who suddenly "disappeared" on a flight, to Dacko, to Bokassa, any increase in glory has been verbal or financed by the liberal use of the country's main resource--diamonds. Then, in September 1979, a mys¬ terious coup brought David Dacko back to power after a lapse of thirteen years. In this interval the economic wealth had been squandered, the social infrastructure dilapidated, the population terrorized, and the nation's fragile unity under¬ mined. Once again a republic, it will have to work hard and benefit from considerable support to rise to the rather mod¬ est level it enjoyed on independence day. No one could tell the story of Africa's "most tragic" country, as he called it, better than Pierre Kalck. As a French administrator, he served in Ubangui-Shari from 1949 to 1959, only to continue on in various important capacities in the new independent state, where he was a friend of Presi¬ dent Boganda and adviser to the first head of government, Dr. Abel Goumba. At various times until 1967 he acted as eco¬ nomic adviser and then the Central African Republic's perma¬ nent representative to GATT and ECOSOC. All this time he v

Editor's Foreword

vi

contributed to enriching the limited literature on the country with historical, economic and political studies, theses, and books. The only major work in English, Central African Re¬ public: A Failure in Decolonization, is a fruit of this labor. This Historical Dictionary is the first major work on the country in a decade and would doubtlessly be welcomed for that reason alone. But it goes much further than a brief summary, providing a wealth of detailed information available in no other English-language source and not even readily available in French. The French original was translated for us by Profes¬ sor Thomas E. O'Toole, a leading American Africanist and au¬ thor of the Guinea dictionary.

Jon Woronoff Series Editor

ABBREVIATIONS AND ACRONYMS

AEF

Afrique Equatoriale Franpaise

ANECA

Association nationale des gtudiants centrafricains

ATOC

Assemble Territoriale de l'Oubangui-Chari

BDPA

Bureau pour le Dfiveloppement de la Pro¬ duction Agricole

BEPC

Brevet d'etudes du premier cycle

BIT

Bureau International du Travail

BM1 et BM2

Bataillon de Marche 1 et 2

CEM

Compagnie Equatoriale des Mines

CENTRAMINES

Soci6t6 Centrafricaine des Mines

CFA

Colonies franpaises d'Afrique, then Communautg financi£re Africaine

CFDT

Compagnie franpaise pour le d6veloppement des fibres textiles

CMOO

Compagnie minifere de l'Oubangui oriental

COTONFRAN

SociStg Cotonni&re franpaise

COTOUBANGUI

Socifitg cotonniSre du haut-Oubangui

COTOUNA

Compagnie cotonniere de l'Ouham-Nana

CTRO

Compagnie de transport routier de l'Oubangui vii

de l'AEF

Abbreviations and Acronyms viii DDI

Diamond Distributors Incorporated

ECA

Economique cooperation administration, pour la realisation du programme de recon¬ struction europeenne; "Marshall Plan"

ECA

Empire Centrafricain

EMPROCAF

Entente professionnelle des producteurs de cafe

ENERCA

Energie Centrafricaine

FAC

Fonds d'Aide et de Cooperation

FED

Fonds Europeen de Developpement

FIDES

Fonds d'investissement pour le developpe¬ ment economique et social

FLO

Front de liberation des Oubanguiens

FLPC

Front de liberation du peuple centrafricain

FPO

Front patriotique oubanguien

ICAT

Industrie Centrafricaine du textile

ICCA

Industrie Cotonniere Centrafricaine

ICOT

Industrie Cotonniere (de l'Oubangui)

ILO

Intergroupe liberal oubanguien

MEDAC

Mouvement pour revolution democratique de l'Afrique centrale

MESAN

Mouvement pour revolution sociale de l'Afrique noire

MSA

Mouvement Socialiste Africain

OMS

Organisation mondiale de la Sante

OUA

Organisation de 1'Unite Africaine

PRA

Parti du Regroupement Africain

ix

Abbreviations and Acronyms

RCA

RSpublique Centrafricaine

RDA

Rassemblement d£mocratique africaine

RGR

Rassemblement des gauches r^publicaines

RPF

Rassemblement du Peuple Franpais

SAB

Soci£t£ Anonyme beige

SAFA

SociStS agricole et foresti&re africaine

SAM

Society africaine des mines

SAP

Socigte africaine de prdvoyance

SCED

SociSte centrafricaine d'exploitation diamantifere

SEITA

SociSte d'exploitation industrielle du Tabac et des Allumettes

SIP

Soci6te indigene de pr£voyance

SMDR

Soci6te mutuelle de dSveloppement rural

SMEO

Soci£t£ Mini&re de l'Est Oubangui

SNEA

Society nationale d'exploitation agricole

SOCOULOLE

Soci£t£ cooperative de 1'Oubangui-LobayeLessg

UDEAC

Union douaniere des Etats de l'Afrique Centrale

UGTCA

Union G6n6rale des Travailleurs Centrafricains

UNELCO

Union des soci£t£s electriques coloniales

URAC

Union des Rgpubliques d'Afrique Centrale

'

INTRODUCTION

Today's Central African Republic (former French colony of Ubangui-Shari) presents itself as a vast quadrilat¬ eral having the form of an ax-head stretching over a 623, 000square-kilometer area between 16°H' and 27°7' east longi¬ tude and 2° 12' and 10° 57' north latitude. The actual Central African boundaries, like those of other states on the continent, are a colonial inheritance and can be characterized as arbitrary. They were, nonetheless, like other frontiers, made permanent by the Addis Ababa African Conference in 1963. In this Central African space lives a small widely scattered population. Estimates vary between 1, 465, 000 per¬ sons (1968) and nearly 3, 000, 000 (an excessive figure taken from some official declarations). In 1979 the population can be considered to be a little more or less than 2, 000, 000. The history of Central Africa, little known and little studied, is one of the world's most tragic. Contrary to what has been written, the region has been settled for a very long time. Diamond digs in the river flats of Central African rivers have permitted the discovery of innumerable chipped and polished stone implements. The oldest of these date to the late paleolithic era. The so-called "Pygmies" (named Tvides by French Africanists) secluded in the forest of Lobaye and upper Sangha, in all likelihood constitute the relic of prehistoric or protohistoric populations. These people were already known to the Egyptians of the third millennium before Christ and re¬ discovered by the West at the end of the nineteenth century. The precolonial history of Central Africa is very diffi¬ cult to reestablish. The region remained unexplored for a long time, and in 1890 it constituted the last blank space on xi

Introduction

Xll

the maps of the continent The work of Africanists is only beginning to allow a real exploration of Central African time. Historians of Africa attribute Central Africa's back¬ wardness to the three worst centuries of the slave trade (sixteenth, seventeenth, and eighteenth centuries). More pre¬ cisely, one can speak of a regression into which all Central African civilizations must have fallea Among these cen¬ ters of civilization was Kush, the prestigious kingdom on the upper Nile, right next to Central Africa. Sixteenth-century Central Africa was made up of nu¬ merous nations divided among many prestigious states, most of which were condemned to disappear. One can find a few traces of an ancient kingdom of Gaoga cited by Leo Africanus. Its center was at the very door of Central Africa, in the mountains of Darfur. The large confederation of Anzica peoples that caused the Christian kingdom of the Congo to tremble in the sixteenth century also seems to have in¬ cluded Central Africa. The Atlantic slave trade in the seventeenth century and certainly its intensification in the eighteenth century pro¬ voked a great displacement of peoples in the interior. The Central African crossroads was the most harmed by these displacements. At the beginning of the nineteenth century the Sabanga, Kreich, Banda, Baya, and Zandg peoples were notable proprietors of the Central African soils. Slave hunters, first from the north then the west and east, struck their deadly blows among these groups. The fortunes of the Baguirmi, Wadai', and Darfur states were based on trade in men and women of the country--its major "raw material. " From the middle of the century the FulbS states of Adamawa, then the well-armed merchant lords of the upper Nile, in their turn, threw themselves into the hunt for Cen¬ tral African slaves. Rabih built his power at the end of the century at the price of exterminating whole groups. AsSanusi followed him. After 1890 Europeans began to intervene in this rav¬ aged country. The Central African territory became a stake in the European powers' scramble for Africa. With limited means France was able to ensure its possession of Central Africa through the audacity of its young explorers. The most remarkable of these explorers was Paul

xiii

Introduction

Crampel, who died on the present-day Chad and Central Afri¬ can border in 1891. The Crampel plan for a single united French Africa from Algiers to Dakar to Brazzaville appeared as a national program. A little later France thrilled to the audacious raid by the Marchand column at Fashoda on the Nile. In 1900 the Crampel plan was fulfilled by three mili¬ tary columns from Algeria, Senegal, and Bangui after combat with Rabih near Lake Chad. Even before Rabih's fall, while the military conquest of Chad was proving to be long and costly, the French gov¬ ernment decided to activate the exploitation of the Congo and Ubangui regions. Even before they had been fully exploited the major parts of the present-day Congolese and Central African territories were divided among 27 concessionary companies. These companies, without financial standing, were endowed, in return for fees, with legal rights over the conceded regions. After the scandals denounced by Brazza and the French anticolonialists, little serious effort was undertaken to re¬ form the system. The population succumbed to the con¬ straints of forced labor as porters, paddlers, and others. The local population were also forced to pay taxes. From 1910 to 1912 the French had to conquer the country valley by valley. In 1911 France accepted the secession to Germany of an important part of its Congolese and Ubanguian possessions in exchange for liberty of action in Morocco. From 1913 to 1939, a period during which the French empire was shaken first by World War I and its aftermath then by the world eco¬ nomic depression, French Equatorial Africa, and more par¬ ticularly Ubangui-Shari, merited the nickname of "Cinderella of the French Empire. " After new years of excessive ex¬ ploitation a large part of population revolted (the Kongo Wari War of 1928 to 1930). Like the other French Equatorial African colonies Ubangui-Shari joined forces with General de Gaulle and par¬ ticipated in the war effort with the Allies. In 1946 the lib¬ eral measures of the French government ran up against the private-sector French, who held all real power in the colony. Barthglemy Boganda, the first Ubanguian priest, elected deputy November 10, 1946, took control of the battle for equal rights in the heart of an "Equatorial France. " In

Introduction

xiv

1958 he asked for independence but, considering that UbanguiShari, heavily afflicted by history, could not constitute a vi¬ able state, he came out for a large Central African Republic made up of French Equatorial Africa, Cameroon, the Belgian Congo, Angola, Rwanda, and Burundi. Boganda termed this proposed entity the United States of Latin Africa in his speeches. This vast project rapidly ran up against the internal state of affairs in the three other colonies of French Equa¬ torial Africa. Boganda's plan was checked. Thus Balkanized, French Equatorial Africa announced its independence in a disastrous condition. On December 1, 1958, a heartsick Boganda proclaimed a Central African Republic, closely tied to the French community but limited to only Ubangui-Shark The March 29 disappearance (and maybe assassination) of Boganda was a very hard blow for the Central African people. The first 20 years of independence have proved to be a hard test for this people already so mistreated by his¬ tory. In 1960 David Dacko established a single-party regime and began the first blows against liberty. In spite of a pa¬ thetic letter addressed to General de Gaulle, Doctor Abel Goumba was dismissed from power and imprisoned. During the night of December 31, 1965, to January 1, 1966, a burnt-out Dacko prepared to abandon his post to the head of the Gendarmerie, Jean Izamo. However, the Army Chief of Staff, Jean-Bedel Bokassa, a relative of Boganda, after having assassinated Izamo took over the administrative center and had Dacko turn all power over to him. The Cen¬ tral African people were informed of this at dawn. For 13 years this people, reduced to a greater pauperism than that which they had suffered during the colonial period, were the unhappy victims of this alcoholic and psychotic former colon¬ ial troop sergeant. In 1969 Bokassa had his military rival, Colonel Alex¬ ander Banza, shot. Banza had been the veritable organizer of the Saint-Sylvestre coup. While installing the most sinister of dictatorships in¬ side the country, Bokassa used all sorts of blackmail vis & vis France and the West The greatest share of foreign aid was turned toward his personal ends. Central African offi-

XV

Introduction

cials, of necessity, and foreigners, for their own ends, ac¬ cepted all the fantasies of this demented head of state. He proclaimed himself a partisan of scientific marxism, con¬ verted to Islam, and returned to the Catholic religion; then in 1976, having miraculously escaped an attempt on his life, he decided to proclaim himself emperor. He imposed on the world, and most particularly on the Central African and French taxpayers, the burlesque and expensive comedy of a coronation, the smallest details of which were copied from that of Napoleon L Under the pre¬ text of respect for the principles of sovereignty of states and the law of noninterference in their internal affairs, the in¬ ternational community seemed to accommodate itself to this tragicomedy. Bokassa was not the only madman who re¬ mained in power as the beneficiary of such clemency, or so much accommodation. It is necessary only to cite Duvalier in Haiti, Amin Dada in Uganda, and Macias Nguema in Equa¬ torial Guinea as examples. The May 14, 1979, revelation by Amnesty Interna¬ tional of a massacre of children at the Ngaragba prison, with the personal participation of the mad emperor, finally, in the middle of the International Year of the Child, upset world opinion. The August 16, 1979, confirmation that these atrocities had taken place, following the publication of the report by a commission of experts established by the African heads of state, equalled a condemnation of the tyrant At the beginning of September new massacres at the Bangui prison and Bokassa's project to cede a base to the Libyan army led the French government to intervene. The night of September 20-21 French troops took over, with no resistance, the airport and the city of Bangui. Dacko announced that he was retaking the post that he had aban¬ doned during the night of December 31, 1965. After 19 years of neocolonial regime, 13 of which were a bloody dictatorship, were the Central African people finally to know a democracy? We wish them this better destiny.

xvi

CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC

xviii

XIX

XX

HEADS OF GOVERNMENT Lieutenant Governors of Ubangui-Shari-Chad April 4, 1906: Emile Merwart, 3rd Class Colonial Gov¬ ernor February 28, 1909: Lucien Fourneau, Chief Administrator (interim) August 5, 1910: Paul Adam, Chief Administrator (interim) June 10, 1911: Frgd§ric Estebe, 3rd Class Colonial Governor October 12, 1916: Victor Merlet, 3rd Class Colonial Governor July 17, 1917: Auguste Lamblin, Chief Administrator (interim) May 16, 1919: Auguste Lamblin, 3rd Class Colonial Gov¬ ernor Lieutenant Governors of Ubangui-Shari August 31, 1920: Alphonse Diret, Chief Administrator (in¬ terim) December, 1921: Auguste Lamblin, 2nd Class Colonial Governor (interim) August 7, 1923: Pierre Franpois, Chief Administrator (interim) November, 1924: Auguste Lamblin, 1st Class Colonial Governor July 1, 1926: Georges Prouteaux, Chief Administrator (interim) July, 1928: Auguste Lamblin, 1st Class Colonial Governor October 22, 1929: Georges Prouteaux, Chief Adminis¬ trator (interim) October 30, 1930: Alphonse Deitte, 3rd Class Colonial Governor March 8, 1933: Pierre Bonnefont, Chief Administrator (interim) February, 1934: Alphonse Deitte, 2nd Class Colonial Governor xxi

Heads of Government

xxii

Governor General's Delegates at Bangui August 17, 1934: Alphonse Deitte, 2nd Class Colonial Governor May 21, 1935: Richard Brunot, 3rd Class Colonial Gov¬ ernor May 30, 1935: Pierre Bonnefont, Chief Administrator (interim) October 24, 1936: Max Masson de Saint- F61ix, 3rd Class Colonial Governor Heads of Ubangui-Shari Territory March 28, 1939: Pierre de Saint-Mart, Chief Adminis¬ trator (interim) July 15, 1941: Pierre de Saint-Mart, 3rd Class Colonial Governor May 30, 1942: Andrg Latrille, Chief Administrator (in¬ terim) July 30, 1942: Henri Sautot, 3rd Class Colonial Governor April 3, 1946: Jean Chalvet, 3rd Class Colonial Governor May 24, 1946: Henri Latour, Chief Administrator (in¬ terim) October, 1946: Jean Chalvet, 3rd Class Colonial Gover¬ nor April 25, 1948: Jean Mauberna, 1st Class Administrator (interim) December 1, 1948: Auguste Even, 1st Class Adminis¬ trator (interim) January 27, 1949: Pierre Delteil, 1st Class Governor of Overseas France January 4, 1950: August Even, 1st Class Administrator (interim) March 1, 1950: Ignace Colombani, 3rd Class Governor of Overseas France July 9, 1951: Pierre Raynier, Chief Administrator (in¬ terim) October 19, 1951: Aim6 Grimald, 3rd Class Governor of Overseas France February 16, 1954: Louis Sanmarco, Chief Administrator (interim) March 23, 1955: Louis Sanmarco, 3rd Class Governor of Overseas France January 29, 1958: Paul Bordier, 3rd Class Governor of Overseas France

xxiii

Heads of Government

Government Council of Ubangui-Shari May 14, 1957: Doctor Abel Goumba, Vice President, French High Commissioner remaining President July 26, 1958: Doctor Abel Goumba, President

the

Government of the Central African Republic December 1, 1958: Barthglemy Boganda, President March 30, 1959: Doctor Abel Goumba, President May 1, 1959: David Dacko, President Presidency of the Central African Republic August 13, 1960: David Dacko, Head of State and of Government January 1, 1966: Colonel Jean-Bedel Bokassa, Head of State and of Government, named general then Marshal March 4, 1972: Marshal Bokassa named President for Life by a congress of the single party January 2, 1975: The President for Life named Prime Minister; Elisabeth Domitien, Vice President of the single party June 8, 1976: Government dissolved and a Council of the Revolution was designated, presided over by Ange PatassS Central African Empire December 4, 1976: President Bokassa had himself named Emperor under the name of Bokassa I by a congress of the single party. He crowned himself December 4, 1977 December 14, 1976: Ange Patassg was named Prime Min¬ ister of the Central African Empire with broad powers (in theory) July 17, 1978: Henri Mai'dou replaced Ange Patassg in the post of Prime Minister Presidency of the Central African Republic September 21, 1979: David Dacko proclaims the downfall of Emperor Bokassa I and the reestablishment of the Republic, of which Dacko takes the presidency. Henri Mai'dou is named Vice President of the Republic and Bernard-Christian Ayandho Prime Minister.

CHRONOLOGY

ca.

1800

Ngoura,

ca.

1800

N'Dounga founds the Bandia kingdom of the Nzakara.

ca.

1820

The Baya people establish themselves on Central African soil due to attacks by the Fulbg of Adamawa.

ca.

1825

The Mandjia people establish themselves to the north of the Ubangui.

ca.

1830

Beginning of the migration of the Banda people from Ferra toward the south and west

ca.

1830

In the northeast part of the Central African ter¬ ritory the Baguirmian prince, Omar, called Djougoultoum, founds the Wadian province of Daral-Kuti.

ca.

1850

Apogee of the Zande nation with the Angoura dynasty.

ca.

1850

Apogee of the Bandia nation with the Abaya dynas¬ ty.

Kogobili leader, founds the Zande nation.

1854-64

The commercial confraternity of merchant lords of the upper Nile (Bahara) multiply their slaving op¬ erations in the eastern part of the Central African territory.

1867-72

Zubayr (Ziber) makes himself a master of a vast territory from Darfur to Mbomou, then recognizes the authority of Egypt over his domain.

1877

Suleyman ben Zubayr--successor of his father, xxiv

XXV

Chronology

who is arrested in Cairo—revolts against Egypt The Zande sultans disassociate themselves from him. 1879

Rabih quits Suleyman ben Zubayr, who submits to the Sudanese authorities. Rabih installs himself in Dar Fertit.

1882

Rabih installs his capital at Gribindji at the head¬ waters of the GribinguL

1883

Nzakara sultan Bali defeats Rabih at Fodg.

1884

(February 20) "Discovery" of the Ubangui River by the English pastor George Grenfell from Kin¬ shasa.

1885

Mandjia defeat of Rabih at Kaga Kazomba.

1887

(April 29) Franco- Leopoldian convention recog¬ nizes the French rights to the north bank of the Ubangui.

1889

(June 25) gui

1890

Coup d'Stat in Dar-al-Kuti Rabih removes Sultan Kober and replaces him with Kober's nephew, Muhammad as-Sanusi.

1890

(September 24) Paul Crampel, head of the ex¬ ploration mission of the Committee of French Africa, arrives at Bangui, designated by Brazza as "delegate of the Commission general in Uban¬ gui "

1891

(April 8) Paul Crampel, in march toward Chad, is killed, not far from the Aouk, by Muhammad as-Sanusi’s men.

1891-94

French exploration missions in the Central Afri¬ can territory led by Dybowski, Maistre, Fourneau, Brazza, and Clozel. Protectorate treaties with the leaders of central Ubangui and the upper Sangha.

1891-94

Leopoldian mission in Mbomou and upper Kotto in

Foundation of the French post at Ban¬

Chronology

xxvi defiance of the April 19, 1887 convention. Pro¬ tectorate treaties with the Bandia sultans Bangassou and Rafai and the Zand6 sultan, Zemio.

1894

(March 15) The Franco-German convention fixes the limits of the French Congo and the German Cameroons.

1894

(August 28) The Franco-Leopoldian convention recognizes the French rights to the regions situ¬ ated north of the Mbomou. Evacuation of this zone by Leopold's agents and French project of progression toward the Nile.

1894

(October) Invasion of Dar-al-Kuti by Wadian army of Cherfeddine. As-Sanusi’s flight

1896

(April 17) Occupation of Dem Ziber in Bahr-elGhazal by Victor Liotard, government commis¬ sioner in upper Ubangui.

1896

(June 30) Victory at BouarS, won by the Baya and the Banda- Yaguerg, commanded by the French administrator Alphonse Goujon, against the army of the FulbS lamido of Ngaound6r6.

1897

(April 6) Arrival at Bangui of the French CongoNile mission led by Captain Marchand.

1897

(November 1) After signing an accord with the sultan of Baguirmi, Emile Gentil comes to the shores of Lake Chad in Rabih's empire.

1897

(December 12) As-Sanusi accepts a French pro¬ tectorate over Dar-al-Kuti and undertakes the devastation of upper Kotto.

1898

(July 10) Arrival of the Marchand mission at Fashoda on the Nile.

1898

(July 16) Creation at Paris of a commission of high officials charged with the partition of the French possessions in the Congo and Ubangui among 39 concessionary companies bestowed with regal rights.

1899

(March 21)

A Franco-British convention attributes

xxvii

Chronology

Bahr-el-Ghazal, occupied by the French of Ubangui, to the Anglo-Egyptian Sudan. This convention places Wadai in the French zone of influence. 1899

(May 24) A circular of the Minister of the Colo¬ nies orders the French colonial administration to support completely the actions of concessionary companies. The concession decrees are put into effect gradually from May to December.

1899

(July 17) Rabih’s troops, after reoccupying Kouno, inflict a severe defeat on the sultan of the Baguirmi, Gaourang, and the French administrator Bretonnet at Togbao.

1900

(April 22) Defeat of Rabih’s army by three French missions coming from Algiers, St. Louis in Senegal, and Bangui. Rabih is killed in the com¬ bat. His empire breaks up in the following months.

1900

(August 13) The French parliament votes a law confirming the abandonment of government sub¬ sidies to the colonies and placing the costs of all equipment and upkeep on the colonial budgets.

1900-04

Wars of the upper Ubangui sultans against neigh¬ boring ethnic groups, wars of as-Sanusi against the Kreich and the Banda of upper Kotto.

1903

(February 18) New protectorate treaty between France and as-Sanusi.

1903

(December 29) Decree creating a new colony made up of the region of upper Ubangui and of the Shari under the name of Ubangui-Shari.

1902-04

Mandjia insurrection against the tax and portage demands.

1904-05

Insurrection of the population against the conces¬ sionary companies. Military occupation of the Lobaye and of the Ibenga.

1905

(May 16) Brazza's arrival in the Congo and Uban¬ gui on an inspection mission.

1906

(February 19-21) French parliament debates the extortions ascertained by Brazza.

Chronology

xxviii

1906-08

New military interventions into the western forest zone.

1907

The Mpoko affair. Discovery of numerous crimes committed by the agents of this company.

1908-11

Military reconquest operations throughout the ter¬ ritory.

1909

(July) Surrender of Baram-Baki6, leader of the Banda insurgents.

1910

The French Congo and its dependencies take the name of French Equatorial Africa (Afrique Equatoriale Franjaise).

1910

(July) As-Sanusi's army takes Ouanda-Djall6. Youlou exodus.

1911

(January 11) As-Sanusi is killed during his ar¬ rest by Lieutenant Griinfelder.

1911

(November 4) France cedes to Germany an im¬ portant part of French Equatorial Africa, notably all of the western part of the territory of presentday Central Africa.

1912

(December 17) Captain Souclier takes OuandaDjall6, defended by Kamoun, son of as-Sanusi.

1914

Discovery of the first Central African diamond near Ippy.

1914

(August-December) Reoccupation by the French military of the regions ceded to Germany on No¬ vember 4, 1911.

1915

Dji and Bangana insurrections.

1916

(May 17) Belgian, French, and British operation against the insurrection of Mopo'f Inguizimo, heir of the Zand 6 sultans.

1918

Bougbou and Mobaye insurrection.

1925

Arrival in Bangui of AndrS Gide, who would re¬ veal the Lobaye and upper Sangha scandals. De-

xxix

Chronology

nunciation by the leader Samba-Ngotto of the Botembdie massacre. 1926

(February) The village of the Bougbou leader Ajou is taken and he is shot.

1928-31

So-called "Kongo-Wara" war, also known as the "Baya War. " A general uprising of the Baya and numerous other groups in French Equatorial Africa against the colonizers.

1928

(December 11) Karinou (Karnou), prophet of the Baya insurrection, is discovered. He is allowed to be massacred.

1929

(June 24) Berandjoko, in rebellion since 1906 against the colonial authorities, is, in his turn, captured and massacred in the Lobaye forests.

1929

Scandals in the construction of the Congo-Ocean rail route, on which numerous Central African laborers died, are revealed by Albert Londres and Robert Poulaine.

1931

Operations against the Karr6, insurgents for 20 years, who have taken refuge in the Pana moun¬ tains.

1934

(November 15) Administrative reorganization of the French Equatorial Africa colony. The UbanguiShari region, including the Sara country, repre¬ sents more than half of the French Equatorial Africa population.

1936

(April 29 and December 28) New administrative reorganization of French Equatorial Africa. De¬ tached from Ubangui-Shari, Sara country is re¬ united with Chad.

1938

(March 27) Ordination of the first Ubanguian Cath¬ olic priest, Bartheiemy Boganda.

1940

(July 20)

1940

(August 28) Gaullist coup d'etat at Brazzaville. Colonel de Larminat takes power.

Defeat of a Gaullist putsch at Bangui.

Chronology

xxx

1940

(August 29-30) Armed French civilians, claiming allegiance to the Gaullist movement, take control of the town of Bangui.

1940

(September 3) Having maintained their position in the military camp and remaining loyal to the Vichy regime, Commander of Arms Cammas and his of¬ ficers surrender to Captain de Roux.

1940

(October 21)

1940

(December 28) The infantry battalions, BMl and BM2, with many Ubanguians, leave for the Free French theaters of operation.

1941

(February 27) Decree on the administration re¬ organization of French Equatorial Africa, which changes it from a unitary colony and defines it as a group of four territories.

1942

(May-June) The Ubanguian rifles became famous in the battles of Bir-Hakeim on Libyan front.

1944

(January 30) Opening at Brazzaville (De Gaulle pres¬ ent) of the conference on the French African Empire.

1945

(December 19) Governor General Bayardelle en¬ visages the division of French Equatorial Africa into three territories: (1) Gabon-Middle Congo, (2) Islamic Area of Chad, (3) upper-river country, with Bangui as its headquarters. The Chambers of Commerce oppose this project.

1946

(April 11) A law suppresses all forms of forced labor still remaining in the French overseas pos¬ sessions.

1946

(June 7) A Bangui Chamber of Commerce motion holds that the measures adopted by the Parliament can only be applied where populations are less backward than in French Equatorial Africa.

1946

(July) Paris meeting of the States General of Coloni¬ zations. The colonialists' representatives criticize the accession to French citizenship of native Africans as well as the suppression of forced labor.

1946

(October 19 and 29)

General de Gaulle is in Bangui.

A new administrative re-

xxxi

Chronology

organization of French Equatorial Africa confirms its division into four territories. 1947

(December 19) Adoption by the Grand Council of French Equatorial Africa, at the proposal of the Ubanguian Antoine Darlan, of the motion that French Equatorial Africa henceforth take the name Equatorial France.

1949

(September 28) Constitutive meeting at Bangui of the Movement for the Social Evolution of Black Africa (Mouvement pour revolution sociale de l’Afrique noire, MESAN), founded by Deputy Boganda.

1950

Constitution in Ubangui of 27 sections of the RPF opposed to MESAN.

1951

(January 10) Bokanga incident in Lobaye in a local products market. Deputy Boganda and his wife are arrested.

1951

(June 17) Reelection of Barthfilemy Boganda, in spite of strong opposition by the administration, colonialists, and the missions.

1952

(March 30) MESAN is assured of control of the new Ubangui-Shari Territorial Assembly.

1953

(March 17) Trip to Bangui of General de Gaulle, who disavows the negative action of RPF sections.

1954

(April 30-May 1) Berb6rati riot. Calm is re¬ established by Deputy Boganda's arrival on the scene.

1956

(January 2)

1956

(June 23) Loi-cadre (enabling law), called the Defferre Law, opens the route of internal autonomy to the overseas territories.

1956

(November 18) of Bangui.

1957

(February 4) Last administrative reorganization of French Equatorial Africa. Each of the four

Reelection of Barth61emy Boganda.

Deputy Boganda is elected mayor

xxxii

Chronology

territories receives its own legal status and finan¬ cial autonomy. 1957

(March 31) MESAN carries all of the seats in the Ubangui-Shari Territorial Assembly. A little later Barth61emy Boganda is elected president of the Grand Council of French Equatorial Africa.

1957

(May 17) Constitution of the first Ubanguian gov¬ ernment directed by Doctor Abel Goumba.

1958

(September 28) At Boganda's call the Ubanguian electors respond "yes" to the constitutional refer¬ endum instituting a French Community composed of France and its overseas territories.

1958

(November 24-25) Conference at Brazzaville of the political leaders of the four territories of French Equatorial Africa. Defeat of Boganda's project to create a large Central African Republic made up of, in the first step, French Equatorial Africa and destined to be the core of the future United States of Latin Africa, from Douala to Rwanda and from Chad to Angola.

1958

(December 1) Since Congo, Gabon, and Chad had opted for membership in the French Community as separate states on November 28, UbanguiShari proclaims a Central African Republic limited to only its territory. Barth61emy Boganda takes charge of the government, seconded by Abel Goumba.

1959

(February 16) The Assembly adopts the demo¬ cratic constitution presented to Boganda.

1959

(March 29) Barth61emy Boganda disappears in an airplane crash.

1959

(March 30) Doctor Abel Goumba takes charge of an interim government.

1959

(May 5) David Dacko is elected President of the government by the Assembly.

1959

(July) ment.

Abel Goumba is excluded from the govern¬

xxxiii

Chronology

1959

(October 7) Menaced by a censure motion filed against him, Dacko has the Assembly surrounded by his partisans. The Assembly rejects the cen¬ sure motion.

1960

(May 9) Pierre Maleombho is ejected from the Assembly's presidency and replaced by Michel Adama-Tamboux, a Dacko partisan.

1960

(June 30-July 14) Belgian Congo.

1960

(August 13) The Central African Republic gains independence. Cooperative agreements are signed with France.

1960

(August 14) state.

1960

(September 25) Dr. Goumba's opposition party (Movement for the Democratic Evolution of Central Africa—Mouvement pour Involution d^mocratique de l'Afrique central, MED AC) achieves relative success in the partial elections for the National Assembly.

1960

(November 25) The Assembly agrees to vote the restrictions of public liberties proposed by David Dacko, who guarantees to the deputies their man¬ date until 1964. MEDAC demonstration against the laws.

1960

(December 24) Arrest of Dr. MEDAC personalities.

1961

(January 1) Central Africanization of the terri¬ torial administration. Nomination of prefects and subprefects.

1961

(June 26) Dacko dissolves the youth committees formed in his own party.

1962

Creation of a Central African national army.

1962

(January-June) Trial, before the correctional tribunal of Bangui, of Abel Goumba and of his friends.

Chaos reigns in the neighboring

David Dacko, provisional chief of

Goumba and other

Chronology

xxxiv

1962

(July 28-August 1) MESAN congress at Bambari. Creation of a MESAN direction committee consti¬ tuted by Dacko.

1962

(November) Dissolution of all political parties other than MESAN. Creation of a single union.

1963

(November 15) A constitutional law installs a presidential regime.

1964

(January 5) Election of the single candidate, David Dacko, as President of the Republic for seven years.

1964

(March 19) Election of a new National Assembly. The single national MESAN slate is elected.

1964

(November 20) Adoption, by the Assembly, of a new constitution proposed by Dacko. Hardening of the presidential regime and the party-state sys¬ tem.

1964

(December 1) Colonel Jean-Bedel Bokassa is named Chief of Staff of the Central African army.

1964

(December 8) Brazzaville Treaty creating and or¬ ganizing an Economic and Customs Union of the central African states (UDEAC) comprising Cameroons, Gabon, Chad, and the Central African Re¬ public.

1965

(May 13) Dacko announces measures against widespread corruption.

1965

(December 31) Flight of David Dacko. The Com¬ mander of Gendarmes Jean Izamo, ready to take power, is lured into an ambush by Chief of Staff Jean-Bedel Bokassa and assassinated.

1966

(January 1) Under the direction of Captain the Central African military take control of gui, the administrative center. Dacko is rested and turns his power over to Colonel kassa.

1966

(January 4-8) Constitutional acts, based on Vichyregime models, install a dictatorship. Abolition of the November 20, 1964, constitution.

Banza Ban¬ ar¬ Bo¬

xxxv

Chronology

1966

(January 6) People's Republic of China diplomats are expelled from Bangui.

1967

(November 10) At Bokassa's request a French paratroop detachment of the 11th Intervention Divi¬ sion is sent to Bangui for a "tropical country ac¬ climatization exercise. "

1968

(December 9) The Central African Republic re¬ turns to UDEAC.

1969

(February) General de Gaulle receives Bokassa on an official visit to Paris.

1969

(April 11-12) Arrest and execution of LieutenantColonel Alexandre Banza, accused of a plot.

1969

(December 24) Following the sending of an im¬ portant delegation to Moscow by Bokassa, the French government assures the Central African head of state of its "fraternal esteem. "

1970

(June) Expulsion of the director of the French Cultural Center.

1970

(July) Cooperative agreements with the USSR and Romania.

1970

(September) technicians.

1970

(December) Missions in Bangui of Jacques Foccart, Secretary General at the ElysSe for African and Malagasy Affairs and of Yvon Bourges, Secre¬ tary of State for Foreign Affairs.

1971

(September 29) At Bokassa's instigation the French Ambassador to Bangui is assailed by demonstrators, who burn the French flag.

1971

(December) The French Minister of Justice asks that proceedings be sought for offending a foreign head of state, against a weekly that had lampooned Bokassa.

1972

(March 4) Bokassa, who has granted himself all the grades of general, is proclaimed President for

Expulsion of 70

French agricultural

xxxvi

Chronology

Life of the Central African Republic and his party by the MESAN Congress. 1972

(August 1) Bastinado at the Bangui prison directed in person by Bokassa. Central Africans are called to march in front of the cadavers.

1972

(August 15) Bokassa speaks abusively in regard to Kurt Waldheim, Secretary General of the United Nations.

1973

(October 18) broken.

1973

(November 8) Ordinance making the diamond trade a free market.

1974

(January 2) Madame Elisabeth Domitien, VicePresident of MESAN, is named Prime Minister.

1974

(April 10)

1974

(May 11) The Central African Cotton Union (Union Cotonni&re Centrafricaine, UCCA, of which the Central African state already possessed 44. 8 percent of the capital) is nationalized.

1974

(May 16) The Central African government closes the French consulate general at Bangui.

1974

(May 20)

1974

(May 27) Bokassa accuses France, and notably the military coop^rants, of having been the insti¬ gators of the April 10 plot attempt.

1975

(January 23) The Equatorial Guinean dictator Francisco Macias Nguema is officially received in Bangui. A friendship and cooperation accord between the two nations is signed.

1975

(March 6-7) The president of the French Republic, Valery Giscard d'Estaing, carries out an official visit to the Central African Republic during a Franco-African conference at Bangui.

1976

(February 3)

Diplomatic relations with Israel are

An attempted plot against Bokassa.

Bokassa names himself marshal.

At the Bangui airport Bokassa's

xxxvii

Chronology

son-in-law, squadron leader Fiddle Obrou, leader of the Central African air force, his brother Mar¬ tin Meya, and another officer attempt to assassinate Bokassa. They are slaughtered during a six-hour fusillade. Some days later the military tribunal pronounces eight death sentences and heavy penal¬ ties against military personnel accused of having participated in this conspiracy. 1976

(March 30) Withdrawal of the Canadian-American Central African mixed private-public company SCED (Soci6t6 Centrafricaine d'exploitation diamantifi&re), of all its bonds and permits and the ex¬ pulsion of its agents.

1976

(May 22) Grant of a diamond purchasing, selling, and mining monopoly to the Soci6t6 Centrafricaine Arabe des mines.

1976

(September 5) Constitution of a new government, called the Council of the Revolution. Ange Patassd, Prime Minister.

1976

(September 17) Ex-President David Dacko is named Bokassa's personal counselor.

1976

(October 17) Official visit of Colonel Khadafi, Libyan head of state.

1976

(October 20) Bokassa announces his conversion to Islam, takes the name Salah Eddine Ahmed Bou-Kassa and invites the Central African popu¬ lace to follow his example.

1976

(end of November) A new attempt on Bokassa's life, of military origin.

1976

(December 4) The extraordinary MESAN Congress, renewed, adopts a new constitution, setting Cen¬ tral Africa up as an empire of hereditary monarchial parliamentary type. Marshal Bokassa, Presi¬ dent for Life of the Central African Republic, be¬ comes Emperor under the name Bokassa I. He abandons the Muslim religion.

1976

(December 14) Constitution of the first imperial government directed by Ange Patassg, Prime

Chronology

xxxviii Minister. Bokassa no longer assumes direct government responsibility. An imperial court is constituted at Berengo, the location of Bokassa's residence.

1977

(August) The Ambassador of the United States to Bangui is recalled following the incarceration of journalists.

1977

(December 4) The ostentatious coronation cere¬ mony at Bangui of Emperor Bokassa I and the Empress Catherine. None of the heads of state invited by Bokassa trouble themselves to come.

1977

(December 6) Suspension of American aid to the Central African Empire.

1978

(March 17) Bokassa attempts to regain control of the army.

1978

(July 14) Emperor Bokassa I dissolves the gov¬ ernment of Ange Patass6.

1978

(July 17) Formation of a new government under the direction of Henry Mai'dou, named Prime Minister.

1978

(August 22) Meeting at Bangui of the heads of state from central Africa in the presence of the President of the French Republic.

1978

(October 6) Bokassa expels his oldest son, Prince Georges, and takes away his Central African citizenship.

1979

(January 19-22) Demonstrations in Bangui of lycfians and students who refuse to wear the oblig¬ atory uniforms sold in Bokassa's stores. A bloody repression is carried out by the Emperor with the aid of a division of Zai'rian paratroopers. Mortar fire on the Malimaka, Boy-Rabe, Fou, and Balabadja sections of Bangui. Several hundred dead. The population strikes back by firing poisoned ar¬ rows at the soldiers.

1979

(January 29) Teachers' strike, which is joined by several high officials.

xxxix

Chronology

1979

(March 1) Arrest of Minister Bartheiemy Yangongo and several high officials after the discovery of tracts calling for insurrection.

1979

(April) life.

1979

(April 17) Bokassa organizes a counter demon¬ stration in the municipal stadium. He is greeted by rock throwing.

1979

(April 18-19) A round-up of young children be¬ tween eight and 16 years of age by the forces of order. Bokassa participates in the massacre of about 100 of them.

1979

(May 14) Amnesty International reveals the Ban¬ gui Children's Massacre to the world.

1979

(May 21-22) Sixth Franco-African summit at Kigali (Rwanda) with the participation of the presi¬ dent of the French Republic. Bokassa accepts the sending of a commission of five African jur¬ ists, charged with looking into the events in Ban¬ gui.

1979

(May 22) Resignation of the Central African Am¬ bassador to Paris, General Sylvestre Bangui, who confirms the children's massacre and calls for the constitution of an "Ubanguian Liberation Front, " against Bokassa's tyranny.

1979

(June 7) Former Prime Minister Ange Patasse, moving force of the Front liberation du peuple centrafricain launches a call for the constitution of a national union committee to overthrow Bo¬ kassa.

1979

(June 13) Arrival in Bangui of the inquiry com¬ mission presided over by the Senegalese jurist Youssoupha Ndiaye.

1979

(June 14) Agreement at Paris of the four opposi¬ tion movements: Dr. Abel Goumba's Front patriotique oubanguien (FPO), Ange Patass6's Front de liberation du peuple centrafricain (FPLC), Sylvestre Bangui's Front de liberation des ouban-

Bokassa escapes another attempt on his

Chronology

xl guiens (FLO), and the Association nationale des 6tudiants Centrafricaines (ANECA).

1979

(July 7-9) The representatives of the four Central African movements meet with former President Abel Goumba at Cotonou to form a common front.

1979

(July 22) Municipal elections with single slates in eight urban centers.

1979

(August 16) African inquiry commission's report published at Dakar contains conclusions that are damning for Emperor Bokassa.

1979

(August 17) The French Minister of Cooperation announces the suspension of aid to the Central African Empire, with the exception of operations relative to health, education, and food that directly affect the lives of the populace.

1979

(August 18) The Commission of the European Economic Community join in the indignation mani¬ fested everywhere by public opinion.

1979

(September 11) Sylvestre Bangui proclaims a Republic of Ubangui at Paris and forms a govern¬ ment in exile.

1979

(September 14) The Ubanguian Patriotic Front (Front patriotique oubanguien--FPO) of Abel Goum¬ ba denounces the new massacres at Bangui.

1979

(September 21) During the night of September 2021 French soldiers occupy, with no resistance, the airport and city of Bangui while Bokassa is absent on a mission to Tripoli.

1979

(September 24) Turned away in France, Bokassa I finds asylum in the Ivory Coast.

1979

(September 27) Dacko constitutes a government in which General Sylvestre Bangui agrees to par¬ ticipate. The Ubanguian Patriotic Front (Front patriotique oubanguien—FPO) of Abel Goumba de¬ mands the organization within six months of presi¬ dential and legislative elections.

xli 1979

Chronology

(September 28) Former Prime Minister Ange Patass§ demands Dacko's resignation and the or¬ ganization of a round table of the diverse political forces.

A NOTE ON SPELLING

There are always problems in writing Arabic and African words in the Roman alphabet. This is especially true when very different spellings of the same words in Eng¬ lish and French have become standard. In most cases the variations are easy to recognize, as with Ubangui-Oubangui, Oudai-Wada'f, and Darfur-Darfour. Any decision as to which form of spelling to use in this Dictionary would be arbitrary, especially since authors in the English language usually opt for the French spelling. The translator of this book simply sought to find a middle ground and used the usual French spellings except when a reasonably common English usage is available. As a matter of principle, spelling has most often followed that used by the American scholar Dennis D. Cor¬ dell, whose works on the Central African Republic are be¬ coming standard references on the country's history.

xlii

THE DICTIONARY

ABATCHOU, RAOUL. Yalinga in 1950. mittee (1962-66).

Head of the Banda Vidri canton at Member of the ME SAN direction com¬

ABAZA. Noble family claiming descent from Bakia (or Baza), the mythical head of the Sabanga in the sixteenth century. In the nineteenth century, under the name of Abandia, this family founded three states: one on the M'Bari River under the leadership of Ndounga, an an¬ cestor of Bangassou; another under Kassanga, an ances¬ tor of Rafai on the Chinko River and; the third under Louzian, an ancestor of Djabir, on the Ouell6. ABDALLAH. Ouellg.

Head of a commercial agency (zeriba) in lower In 1878 he worked for Gnawi-Bey.

ABD EL MENTALIB. Youngest son of Kobur, the sultan of Dar-al-Kuti (deposed in 1890 by Rabih). In March 1900 he led an attempted coup d'etat against as-Sanusi with the aid of Moungasche, a Wada'i official posted at Nd£16. ABEILLE DE LA COLLE, DOCTOR ELZEAR. Chief medical officer and head of the Bangui region in 1900, he was accused by Emile Gentil of negligence in directing the sup¬ ply of the Chad army. ABIRAS (today KEMBA). First French post in Upper Ubangui, founded in September 1890 on the north bank of the river, by the administrator Gaston Gaillard, just opposite Yakoma, a post established by officials of King Leopold of Belgium. ABO BEN AISSA. Lamido of Ngaound6r6. He followed his father, Ax'ssa, who had been killed in a war against the Baya. He helped the French explorer Mizon in his jour¬ ney to the Sangha and entered into relations with Brazza 1

Abougouroun

2

in 1892. His troups were defeated June 30, 1896, by a combined Baya and Banda- Yangu6r6 army commanded by the administrator Goujon. ABOUGOUROUN (or ABD ER RAHMAN). One of the princi¬ pal merchant lords of the upper Nile, he exchanged live¬ stock from Kreich against ZandS slaves. He was allied with the Zand£ sultan Ndorouma. ABOUKA, PAUL. Paul Abouka was Boganda's representative among the Bougbou ( Alindao). A member of the MESAN direction committee (1962-66). ADAMA. Learned person (modibo) of the Vallerbg, a Fulbg group, Adama was chosen by the conqueror Usman dan Fodio to administer the old Hausa province of Fombina in the early nineteenth century. He took the name Adamawa. He conducted a number of slave wars against the Baya and the Mboum. ADAMAOUA (or ADAMAWA). Cameroonian province, base of the FulbS slave expeditions into the present-day Central African Republic (1820-1900). ADAMA-TAMBOUX, MAURICE. Instructor, then councilor at the Territorial Assembly of Ubangui-Shari (MESAN), he was elected president of this Assembly on May 9, 1960, replacing Pierre Maleombho. He kept this post until the Saint-Sylvestre coup d'etat in 1965. ADMINISTRATIVE POSTS. The creation of administrative posts between 1900 and 1914 responded to the double necessity of maintaining order and collecting taxes. It was also motivated by the obligation to watch over the activities of the concessionary companies. Depending on the case, these posts were confided to a military officer or a colonial administrator. Administrative posts be¬ came commercial centers. Gradually schools, dispen¬ saries, and missions were built The most important posts saw a diversification of administrative activities. All of the necessary conditions united to create a popula¬ tion influx in the surrounding areas and the growth of urban agglomerations. The modest Bangui administra¬ tive post created in 1889 gave birth to the present-day Central African town of Bangui. AFRIQUE ET CONGO.

Concessionary company founded in

3

Ajou

1900 by William Guynet, on the concession of the Upper Sangha company. Fondlre, former chief of the Bangui post in 1889, became its president-general-director. AJOU. Leader of the Bougbou insurgents, he submitted to Captain Jacquier in 1912. He led another uprising in 1925. Captured in 1926, he was summarily executed. AL TOUNSY (EL TOUNSY), SHEIK (CHEIK) MUHAMMAD. A Tunisian, A1 Tounsy traveled throughout Wadai and Darfur in the first years of the nineteenth century. His accounts are very important for Central African history. The Sheik described notably the metallurgy of the Banda country and the slave raids conducted by Darfur through¬ out Dar Fertit to Mbomou. His account in Arabic, pub¬ lished in Cairo, was translated into French by Doctor Perron. ALL

Ethnic group constituted in Lobaye by the fusion of Baya elements and various Bantu-speaking groups.

ALI ABOU MOURL One of the three principal merchant lords, called the "Triumvirate of Bahr-el-Ghazal. " He sat in judgment over a vast territory of the Kreich peo¬ ple on the headwaters of the Kosanga around 1860. He was Zubayr (Ziber) Pasha's patron. ALI FENTAML Bornu trader, served as an informant to Nachtigal, during his travels in Wada'i in the areas of the Rounga and Banda populations (1873), ALIKOBO. Head of a commercial company in lower Ouell6, he conducted a war against the Bandia, with his col¬ league Abdullah. The explorer Junker visited his zeriba on February 24, 1883. ALIMA. The name of the Alima River was given to a steam¬ boat of the Daumas trading house. It was utilized by the administrator Albert Dolisie during his travels in the bend of the Ubangui (December 1887). A LIS, HARRY. Pseudonym of Hyppolite Perchet, born in 1857 at Moulins, journalist with Journal des D6bats. Friend of the explorer Paul Crampel, he encouraged the Committee of French Africa (Comity de l'Afrique) be¬ tween 1890 and 1895, which stimulated French explora¬ tion. He was killed by Captain Le Chttelier in a duel on March 1, 1895.

Allah Djabou

4

ALLAH DJABOU. A Banda Marba, who was first a slave, then the principal war leader of as-Sanusi, sultan of Dar-al-Kuti (1890). In December 1910 he seized the Ouanda-Djalie heights, defended by the Youlou leader, Djellab. Allah Djabou was beaten by Captain Modat's troops on February 7, 1911, near Nd616. AMITY, JEAN. Director of the David Dacko cabinet, after the coup d'etat of January 1, 1966, he was retained by then-Colonel Bokassa. ANCIENS COMBATTANTS (OLD SOLDIERS; VETERANS). After the World War II they constituted a group that proved to be politically useful for white territorial councilors against the Bogandist elements in the first college. ANGER. Vice merce, he lege of the March 30,

President of the Bangui Chamber of Com¬ was one of the first elected to the first col¬ Territorial Assembly of Ubangui-Shari, 1952.

ANTONETTI, GOVERNOR GENERAL RAPHAEL. Born in 1872, died in 1949. Named Governor General of French Equatorial Africa July 8, 1924. He directed the work on the Congo-Ocean railway with an iron hand. This rail¬ way cost the lives of numerous Ubanguian workers. In October 1928 Antonetti ordered a severe repression of the Baya revolt. AO UK. Right tributary of the Shari River, this river now constitutes the border between the Republic of Chad and the Central African Republic. ARA. Locality that no longer exists today. Ara was situated to the east of Nd616. It was the capital of Gono, the Banda Ngao leader who was one of the principal adver¬ saries of as-Sanusi. ARMY. The Central African army was created in 1962 by President David Dacko with the assistance of Colonel Marcel Bigeard. Its officers were originally French. During the night of December 31, 1965, and January 1, 1966, its leader, Colonel Jean-Bedel Bokassa, irritated for several months by the preference given to the gen¬ darmerie by the head of state, led this young army in the Saint-Sylvestre coup d'6tat. After the execution of

5

Artisanat

Lieutenant-Colonel Banza a nationally proclaimed decree issued on April 25, 1969, cited the Central African Na¬ tional army and made April 10 each year "a memorial day and day of repose and rejoicing for all the Central African armed forces. " Repressing the attempted coup d’6tat of February 1976, Marshal-President Bokassa had a number of officers, including his own son-in-law, exe¬ cuted. ARTISANAT

see

CRAFTS.

ASSEMBLEE LEGISLATIVE, ASSEMBLEE NATIONALE LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY. ASSEMBLEE TERRITORIALE DE L'OUBANGUI-CHARI TERRITORIAL ASSEMBLY.

see

see

AUBE, ROBERT. Director of the Equatorial Mine Company (Compagnie Equatoriale des Mines, CEM), elected coun¬ cilor of the Republic of Ubangui-Shari, November 14, 1948, on the RGR ticket. He was reelected until 1958, when he left Ubangui and political life. AUGAGNEUR, VICTOR. Born in 1855, died in 1931. Pro¬ fessor of medicine, Governor General of Madagascar and former minister, Augagneur was named in 1920 Governor General of French West Africa, a post he occupied until 1924. In his circular of October 1 he condemned the "active politics" conducted by his predecessor, Martial Merlin, and he forbate the violent methods employed dur¬ ing "police tours, ” notably in Ubangui-Shari. AUGOUARD, MONSIGNOR PROSPER. Apostolic Vicar of Ubangui from 1890. On February 15, 1893, he founded, with Father R6my, the Saint Paul of Bangui Mission in the village of the traditional leader Souguebiou. In 1902 Monsignor Augouard, taking the part of concessionary companies, criticized in the D6p@che Colonial (Colonial Dispatch) the methods of the colonial administration, which he judged "too liberal. " AUTOMOBILE. The first automobiles appeared in UbanguiShari in 1923. In May 1923 Governor Lamblin went from Bangui to Fouroumbala by automobile. The first routes passable by automobile were developed in 1923-24. On March 1, 1924, Administrator Chaumel left France by automobile, reached Bangui and returned in only 132 days.

Aviation

6

On October 28 of the same year the Citroen-African mis¬ sion, called the "Black Cruiser, " led by Audoin-Dubreuil left Algeria for Central Africa. AVIATION. In 1931 Bangui was chosen as the base for the French Equatorial African Flight. Regular ties between North Africa and French Equatorial Africa were ensured by the planes of the Algiers-Congo region. In 1935 Gov¬ ernor General Edward Renard, returning from Brazza¬ ville to Bangui, died in an air accident. World War n allowed the setting up of a number of airports in the Central African Territory. At the end of the war weekly connections with France were established. In 1965 the international airport of Bangui-Mpoko was constructed. The Central African government participates in the AirAfrique Company and has developed some interior lines. AVOUNGARA. Name that appears to have been given to his family by Ngoura at the beginning of the nineteenth cen¬ tury, during the conquest of present-day Zand