Central African Empire

Central African Republic, 1976–1979. Draft, not yet reviewed

The Central African Empire was an African monarchical state that was established on 4 December 1976 when the then-President of the Central African Republic, Jean-Bédel Bokassa, declared himself Emperor of Central Africa. His regalia, lavish coronation ceremony, and regime were largely inspired by Napoleon. The coronation ceremony was estimated to cost his country roughly US$20,000,000, one-third of the country's budget and all of France's aid for that year. The empire fell less than three years later when French and Central African forces overthrew Bokassa and re-established the Central African Republic on 21 September 1979.

Seat of power: Bangui

Rulers

Culture

• Bokassa justified his actions by claiming that creating a monarchy would help Central Africa stand out from the rest of the continent, and earn the world's respect.
• Despite invitations, no foreign leaders attended the event.
• In April 1979, students protested against the decree of Bokassa that all school pupils were required to buy uniforms from a company owned by one of his wives. The government violently suppressed the protests, killing 100 children and teenagers.
• In September 1979, France overthrew Bokassa and restored Dacko to power.

Picture

Bokassa seized power in the Saint-Sylvestre coup d'état on 1 January 1966.

Image: unknown, image comes from the National Archives, Attribution, file

Sources

• Central African Empire (Wikipedia)
• Central African Empire (Wikidata)
• About the picture (Wikipedia)

Text adapted from the Wikipedia articles listed as sources, CC BY-SA 4.0.