Central+African+Republic

In the poem “The White Man’s Burden” by Rudyard Kipling, Kipling uses sarcasm and irony to describe the European colonization of foreign lands. He talks about the Western feeling of superiority and the condescending mannerisms that Europeans possess. Written in 1899, Kipling’s poem was published while much of Africa was being colonized by Europe. As expressed in “The White Man’s Burden”, the Europeans believed it their duty to enlighten and civilize their foreign neighbors. A lot of their focus was poured into the continent of Africa. The Scramble for Africa began in the 1880s and Europe divided up the continent with no regard to where the natives might have had boundaries in place. Britain and France attained the most African territory. France took over most of the northwestern section of Africa and a part of central Africa. The central area of Africa that they were in possession of is what is now known as the Central African Republic. In 1894 the French created a colony that stretched across the Ubangi and Chari rivers. They named it Ubangi-Chari, present day CAR (Central African Republic). France set up companies throughout the Ubangi-Chari colony whose purpose was to stimulate the new economy. However, in the company’s efforts to harvest the lands natural resources, they oppressed the native and African people and forced them into hard labor. In 1940, Ubangi-Chari sent troops to North Africa to aid France in World War II. Because of this act of patriotism and loyalty, they were rewarded French citizenship, the right to send delegates to the National Assembly based in France, and forced labor was abolished. Barthélémy Boganda was one of these delegates. As native of Central Africa, he wished for independence from the French. He proposed that independence be granted to all of the French African territory as a single entity, meaning all of the French territory would be released as one independent state. Boganda settled for remaining a part of the French Union. In 1958 Ubangi-Chari became known as the Central African Republic, Boganda was the Prime Minister and later on was President for a brief stint before his death. In 1960 the Central African Republic became fully independent led by their president David Dacko. France left the CAR gradually and peacefully. First, Ubangi-Chari was granted partial independence and became a part of the French Union. This gave them room to figure out how to govern themselves with less French influence. They officially changed their country’s name in 1958 (from Ubangi-Chari to the Central African Republic) and they soon had their own Prime Minister and President. Slowly but surely, the Central African Republic was an independent country with their own President and their own problems. France left central Africa in the hands of a capable leader, the transition was non violent and seemingly effortless. At first, President David Dacko was supported across the country. He was well liked, and the first few years of his presidency passed smoothly. However, at the start of his second term, the economy crashed. As the economy worsened, Dacko lost his support and he was eventually overthrown in a coup led by Jean-Bedel Bokassa, a military leader. Bokassa became a violent, terrible dictator. “ Moving quickly and decisively, Bokassa abolished both the constitution and the National Assembly and assumed complete control. This began a 13-year reign of terror during which Bokassa used excessive violence and brutality to maintain power. In 1976 he declared himself Emperor Bokassa I and changed the country's name to the Central African Empire,” (Davis). Bokassa was a brutal militaristic leader who wanted nothing but complete control over his people and his country. Bokassa was extremely selfish and throughout his reign managed to throw the CAR into an even deeper economic crisis. Even though Bokassa was clearly an unfit leader, France supported his endeavors in order to gain access to diamond and uranium mines. Greed essentially drove France to support an insane dictator. However, when enough was enough, France ousted Bokassa and reinstated Dacko as president in 1979. The violence lived on in the Central African Republic even after the dismissal of angry Bokassa. In 1981 Dacko was overthrown yet again by General André Kolingba. Kolingba perpetuated the militaristic government until 1985 when he began making moves towards turning the CAR in to a democracy. “The authoritarian military government that followed lasted until 1985, when Kolingba installed a new civilian government. The unrest and violence continued, and in 1991 Kolingba instituted a series of new constitutions that led to gradual democratization,” (Davis). In 1993, under the new democratic government, Ange-Felix Patassé was elected President of the Central African Republic. The Central African Republic proved unable to handle independence. As soon as their economy crashed, their president was overthrown and replaced by a brutal military dictator. It is hard to keep track of how often there was a violent shift of power. This type of instability in government is what leads countries head first into economic distress. The corrupt leaders of the CAR had no interests but their own in mind. “… Political corruption has imposed an even greater burden on the economy, as high government officials have lined their own pockets from the illegal exploitation of natural resources rather than developing them for the national good,” (Davis). The violent military coups contributed to the economic crisis and the economic crisis inspires more violence. The Central African Republic has fallen into a vicious cycle of violence and upheaval. Patassé inherited a nation in severe economic crisis. His people were angry and they wanted change. French troops came in to help control the violent outbreaks in restless country. The damage sustained from this violence plunged the CAR into an even deeper financial crisis. Violence ran rampant through the land despite Patassé’s attempts at achieving peace. French troops were called into the CAR to try and keep the peace; these troops were replaced by United Nations peacekeeper in 1997. The UN soldiers occupied the area for three years. In 2003 another coup was staged that ousted Patassé and replaced him with General François Bozizé, the current president. To this day, the Central African Republic remains a violent, unstable and poor country. The political corruption and turmoil has lead to a great deal of the CAR’s financial crisis, which leads to more violence and anger in the citizens of the republic. The international community did not do much to help the situation in the Central African Republic until it was too late. By the time France and the UN got involved, the violence had been going on for several years. It could no longer be prevented, just treated. The violence in the CAR began in 1976 with the coup led against Dacko. France and the UN did not intervene until 1996, after two decades of violence had passed. “In 1996-97 a series of military-led coup attempts in Bangui were quelled by French troops. The destruction and looting that occurred during these uprisings further damaged the CAR's economy… Late that year French troops were replaced by United Nations' peacekeepers, who remained in the CAR until 2000,” (Davis). France and other countries should have done more to prevent the violence in the Central African Republic instead of letting the violence go on for years until it was too late to stop it. It is clear that the Central African Republic is in a state of unrest and violence. One wonders how a country comes to be in such a terrible state. Did France’s exit from the area throw them in a state of disarray? Or was it their inability to handle independence that threw the country into turmoil? What should the international community have done about the violent new country? France left the country gradually and peacefully. The CAR seemed to be capable of handling their freedom, and for the first few years of independence there was peace throughout the country. France’s exit from the Central African Republic did not contribute to the country’s violent future. They supported the CAR in their efforts to achieve freedom and they had a successful exit from the area. When the CAR’s economy crashed, people panicked, and chaos ensued. Military coup after military coup ousted several leaders from the CAR over a period of 20 some years. It was not necessarily their inability to handle freedom that failed, but their inability to handle a crisis. The violence began in 1976 with the first military coup. Bokassa assumed power and became a brutally violent dictator. He drove his country into debt and oppressed his people. This violence was perpetuated for two whole decades before any foreign countries decided to help. If the international community had acted earlier to prevent the violence from spreading and settling into the country back in 1976, the CAR might not be in such economic and social distress today. The international community failed to support the Central African Republic. France passed, the CAR failed, and the international community failed to create a successful independent country.

Final word count: 1499

Works Cited

Davis, R. Hunt, ed. "Central African Republic, post-independence." //Encyclopedia of African History and Culture: Independent Africa (1960 to Present)//, vol. 5. New York: Facts On File, Inc., 2005. //Modern World History Online//. Facts On File, Inc. Davis, R. Hunt, ed. "Central African Republic during the colonial era." //Encyclopedia of African History and Culture: The Colonial Era (1850 to 1960)//. vol. 4. New York: Facts On File, Inc., 2005. //Modern World History Online//. Facts On File, Inc // The World Book Encyclopedia. // Chicago: World Book, 2008. Print.