Title: Dark age
First published: 1997
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.
Subjects: Politics and government, Dictators, History, Heads of state, Biography, Biography: general, Revolutions & coups, Emperor of the Central African Empire,, Bokassa, Central Africa - History, Historical - General, Biography & Autobiography, Biography / Autobiography, Emperor of the Central African, Biography/Autobiography, Central Africa, I,, Political, 1921-1996, Central African Republic, Politique et gouvernement, Dictateurs, Biographies, Chefs d'État
Places: Central African Republic
People: Bokassa I Emperor of the Central African Empire (1921-1996), Bokassa I Emperor of the Central African Empire (1921-)
Time periods: 1966-1979
LC classification: DT546.383.B64 T58 1997