Collection: Central African Republic CAMO Products

The Central African Republic (République centrafricaine) was originally inhabited by tribes speaking Adamawa and Bantu languages. The region was largely free of European intrusion, but in the early 19th century Muslim traders began arriving. Initially amiable and peaceful, after 1850 the region began to see an influx of armed slave traders. Between 1860 and 1910 most of the eastern population was forcibly exported. During the Scramble for Africa, France won out over Belgium, Germany and Great Britain for control of the region, incoporating it into what was then called French Congo. Meanwhile the slave trade continued among Africans, with the more powerful tribes subjugating the weaker ones, although it gradually began to decline after 1920. On 1 December 1958 the region of Ubangi-Shari became an autonomous territory within the French Community and took the name Central African Republic; it was granted full independence on 30 August 1960.