Dark age
Subtitle: the political odyssey of Emperor Bokassa
By: Brian Titley.
Publisher: McGill-Queen's University Press
Published: 1997
Place of publication: Montreal
Language: eng
Number of pages: 257
Subjects: Bokassa I, Emperor of the Central African Empire, 1921-1996.; Dictators -- Central African Republic -- Biography.; Heads of state -- Central African Republic -- Biography.; Central African Republic -- Politics and government -- 1966-1979.
Genres: Biography.
Description: Dark Age recounts the turbulent political career of the late Jean-Bedel Bokassa, flamboyant president-for-life and later emperor of the Central African Republic/Empire. Brian Titley examines the myths and legends surrounding the man, probes their origins and veracity, and attempts to provide a more balanced perspective on this controversial and misunderstood figure.

Following a lengthy career in the French army, Bokassa seized power in the Central African Republic in 1966. His excesses soon became legendary: he was accused of cannibalism, feeding enemies to lions and crocodiles, and beating schoolchildren to death. Bokassa's tendency for self-aggrandizement culminated in 1977 when he named himself emperor and orchestrated a coronation based on Napoleon's.

He was overthrown by French paratroopers in 1979 and went into exile, but returned to his homeland in 1985 to face a sensational trial.

Titley interprets Bokassa's authoritarian and self-aggrandizing style as an attempt to legitimize his regime in a context devoid of indigenous political structures and explores the troubled relations between France and its former colonies. Combining techniques of historical inquiry and investigative journalism, he has produced a fascinating account of a pivotal chapter in contemporary African history.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references and index.