Free History Lesson On Africa

Hi all,

Illustrated is a set of stamps received as a free gift with my copy of Stamp News Australasia.
I thought that instead of just shoving them in the 'other stuff' box, I should find out something about them.
Having spent time in Zambia I tend to keep an eye on the African continent.
I was aware of the Central African Republic but not of the 'Empire'
The stamps were also interesting for us because Eunice is interested in the stamps issued regarding the Aswan Dam and Saving the Nubian Monuments and also in Egypt and its history.
Her little collection can be seen at
-/nubia.html


The Central African Empire (French: Empire centrafricain) was a short-lived one-party absolute monarchy, that replaced the Central African Republic and was, in turn, replaced by the restoration of the Republic. The empire was formed by and under the command of Jean-Bédel Bokassa, military dictator and President of the Republic, who declared himself Bokassa I, Emperor of the Empire, on 4 December 1976.

Bokassa spent the equivalent of over 20 million United States dollars, a third of the country's government annual income, on his coronation ceremony. The monarchy was abolished and the name "Central African Republic" was restored on 21 September 1979, when Bokassa was ousted with French support. His palace was neglected

For anyone interested there is much more information on the Wikipedia site at

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Centr...rican_Empire

So there you go, another slice of information I would have known nothing about if I had not received those stamps.

Philately lives!

Regards

Ron.

edit. Incorrect
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