French Equatorial Africa

Infobox Former Country
native_name= "Afrique équatoriale française"
conventional_long_name= French Equatorial Africa
common_name= French Equatorial Africa
continent= Africa
status= Federation
status_text= Federation of French colonies
empire= France
year_start= 1910
year_end= 1958
event_start=
date_start=January 15
event_end=
date_end=September
p1 = Oubangui-Chari
flag_p1 = Flag of France.svg
p2 = Chad
flag_p2 = Flag of France.svg
p3 = Gabon
flag_p3 = Flag of France.svg
p4 = Middle Congo
flag_p4 = Flag of France.svg
s1 = Central African Republic
flag_s1 = Flag of the Central African Republic.svg
s2 = Chad
flag_s2 = Flag of Chad.svg
s3 = Gabon
flag_s3 = Flag of Gabon 1959-1960.svg
s4 = Republic of the Congo
flag_s4 = Flag of the Republic of the Congo.svg

---

caption_

capital= Brazzaville
official_languages= French
religion= Roman Catholicism
leader1 = Martial Henri Merlin
year_leader1 = 1908-17
leader2 = Paul Louis Gabriel Chauvet
year_leader2 = 1951-57
title_leader = Governor-General
representative1 = Paul Louis Gabriel Chauvet
year_representative1 = 1957-58
representative2 = Pierre Messmer
year_representative2 = 1958
title_representative = High-Commissioner
currency = French Equatorial African franc
CFA franc

French Equatorial Africa ( _fr. "Afrique équatoriale française", "AEF") was the federation of French colonial possessions in Middle Africa, extending northwards from the Congo River to the Sahara Desert.

Established in 1910, the federation contained four territories — Gabon, Middle Congo (now the Republic of the Congo), Oubangui-Chari (or Ubangi-Shari, now the Central African Republic) and Chad, although the last was not organized as a separate entity until 1920. The governor-general was based in Brazzaville with deputies in each territory.

In 1911 France ceded parts of the territory to German Kamerun as a result of the Agadir Crisis. The territory was returned after Germany's defeat in World War I, but Cameroun, a League of Nations mandate, was not reintegrated into the AEF.

During World War II the federation rallied to the Free French Forces under Félix Éboué (August 1940, except for Gabon which was Vichy French between 16 June 1940 – 12 November 1940) and became the centre for their activities in Africa.

Under France's Fourth Republic (1946–58), the federation was represented in the French parliament. When the territories voted in the September 1958 referendum to become autonomous within the French Community, the federation was dissolved. In 1959 the new republics formed an interim association called the Union of Central African Republics, before becoming fully independent in August 1960.

Postage stamps

The postal administrations of the four territories were separate until 1936, each issuing its own stamps. In that year, stamps of Gabon and Middle Congo were overprinted AFRIQUE / ÉQUATORIALE / FRANÇAISE. A definitive series for the colony followed in 1937, featuring local scenes and key (French) figures in the formation of the colony, with various colour and value changes each year through 1940.

The 1937 series was overprinted AFRIQUE FRANÇAISE / LIBRE or just LIBRE in 1940 by the Free French, and in 1941 they issued a series depicting a phoenix rising from the flames.

A new definitive series, featuring local scenery and people, was issued in 1946, and another twenty-odd stamps came out during the 1950s, with the last being the omnibus Human Rights issue on 10 December 1958.

ee also

* French colonial empires

References

* Pakenham, Thomas (1991) " The scramble for Africa, 1876-1912", London : Weidenfeld and Nicolson, 738 p., ISBN 0-29-781130-4
* Petringa, Maria (2006) "Brazzà, A Life for Africa", Milton Keynes : AuthorHouse, 276 p., ISBN 1-4259-1198-6