The ancient people were mainly of the Adamawa community. During the same period of migration, some small groups of Bantu speaking people migrated from other regions and settled in the southwestern parts of the Central African Republic. In addition, there were minority groups from Sudan who were Sudanese-speaking. They also moved in and settled in regions such as Oubangi. These people later assimilated in that they were able to speak Adamawa as a common language. Nevertheless, Bantu languages became prevalent in the in the region close to Niger-Congo families. Further advances in language included the occurrence of Nilo-Saharan families and the incoming Arabic communities who were also related to the Hausa.
Sudanic Region
In the late 1790s and the early 1800s, communities in the Central African Republic lived beyond the ever-increasing Islamic frontier that was represented by the Sudanic region. In this respect, the people of Central African Republic usually had very little contact with the communities of the Abrahamic religions of the people from the areas in the northern parts of Africa. Nevertheless, the situation changed in beginning of the 19th century when Muslim traders started venturing into the Central African Republic. The traders cultivated special relations between them and the local leaders, which facilitated trade and their eventual settlement in the region. As mentioned, the initial entry of Muslim traders into the Central African Republic was depended on agreements with local leaders, but later, slave traders came without prior arrangements. The slave traders were accompanied by well-armed soldiers who enabled them to penetrate the interior regions of Central African Republic using force. Consequently, in the period between 1860s and 1910, slave traders originating from a multiplicity of regions such as Chad, Sudan, and Cameroon infiltrated greater regions of the Central African Republic. These traders cooperated with traders from Dar al-Kuti in the northern part of the Central African Republic and Zande region in the southeastern part. The traders captured most of the people in the eastern part of the region and left it with a very scarce population.
Europeans Arrive
The Central African region was penetrated by Europeans during the late 19th century in the era of the scramble for Africa. Savorgnan de Brazza was in charge of the establishment of the French Congo with a capital that was given his name, Brazzaville. He further sent his people to expeditions in the interior of Central Africa. This marked the beginning of colonization of the Central African Territory by the French.
The French reign faced tumultuous times that were characteristic of the opposition by Africans. one of the African opposed to the Frnch rule was Barthélémy Boganda, who led a revolution to free the Africans.He declared a Ushari-Bangi and autonomous region within the French colony an later took the name Central African Republic.
References
Eur, (2002). Africa South of the Sahara 2003. London: Routledge
Iheduru O. M. (2001). Contending Issues in African Development: Advances, Challenges, and the Future. New York: Greenwood Publishing Group,
Mokhtar, G. (1990). General History of Africa. New York: James Currey Publishers.Africa South of the Sahara 2003
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