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Prior to French colonisation of central Africa around the 1880s, many tribes fled to the area in order to escape the slave
trade. In 1910, the area known as Ubangi-Chari became incorporated into French Equatorial Africa and turned over to a number
of concessionaires who ran their separate fiefdoms as commercial operations with little or no regard for the indigenous people.
Numerous unsuccessful revolts were launched against the concessionaires until, immediately after World War II, the territory
was granted its own assembly and representation in the French National Assembly. Internal self-government followed in 1958
with the leading nationalist politician, Barthélemy Boganda, serving as Prime Minister. Boganda died the following year and
it was left to his nephew, David Dacko, to steer the country to full independence in 1960. Following the common practice of
the day, Dacko established a one-party state. However, in 1965, with the country facing bankruptcy and political chaos, Dacko
was overthrown by army chief Jean-Bedel Bokassa.
The already impoverished country was further damaged by the disastrous and profligate rule of the self-styled ‘Emperor’ Bokassa.
(His 1977 ‘coronation’ alone is estimated to have used up over a quarter of the country’s annual income. The country was renamed
the ‘Central African Empire’.) And despite his well-documented abuses, Bokassa was consistently tolerated by the French who
continued to wield huge influence over the country.
Bokassa was finally deposed in 1979 by Dacko and exiled to France (he returned unexpectedly in 1986 and, after trial, was
sentenced to 20 years of imprisonment). The country now reverted to its original title but experienced little improvement
in its fortunes. The two dominant figures in the country’s recent history have been André Kolingba, another former army commander
who took over after ousting Dacko in a 1981 military coup, and Ange-Félix Patassé, who later emerged as Kolingba’s principal
opponent. During the 1980s, Kolingba consolidated his rule as leader of the country’s sole legal political party, Rassemblement Démocratique Centrafricain (RDC). In the early 1990s, as democracy swept through Francophone Africa, violent domestic protests and heavy French pressure
forced Kolingba to concede the introduction of a multi-party system.
Patassé won the first election held under the new democratic constitution in 1993, defeating both Kolingba and Dacko. In December
1998, elections to the National Assembly returned the MLPC as the largest party but short of an absolute majority. In September
the following year, Patassé and Kolingba once again competed for the Presidency, and again Patassé won a comfortable victory.
The last few years have seen a series of attempted coups by Kolingba and his principal supporter, army chief Francois Bozizé:
first in May 2001, then in October 2002, and finally in March 2003. On the third occasion, Patassé was out of the country
and, despite the intervention of French troops, the coup was successful and Bozizé proclaimed himself President.
Following a transitional period which led to presidential and parliamentary elections in May 2005, François Bozizé was elected
as President. He chose Elie Doté as Prime Minister.
Following the coup in March 2003, order has been restored in the capital but outside of Bangui, the situation remains unstable
and potentially dangerous. Order has yet to be restored to much of the country and armed groups are present, particularly
in the north. Street crime is common in downtown Bangui.
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Overview 
