The History Files

Gabon: an overseas territory, the region became a French autonomous republic on 28 November 1958, before achieving full independence on 17 August 1960 as the Gabonese republic.

Central African Republic: this modern state with its capital at Bangui has one of the world's poorest populations thanks to continued instability since it achieved restored independence in 1979.

Churches of Devon: St Anthony's Roman Catholic Church (Mill Street) is the result of Catholicism returning to Ottery St Mary in 1927, with this church being built in 1935.

Empire of Central Africa: control of the country was effectively seized in 1966 by Jean Bedel Bokassa and, just a decade later, he had himself declared emperor with the republic as his own empire of Central Africa.

Central African Republic: full independence was achieved in 1960, incorporating many of the area's former sultanates, but the republic was short-lived as it was seized in 1966.

Churches of Kent: the Church of St Nicholas, Ash, probably replaced a Saxon wooden building when it was erected in the twelfth century, with its tower becoming a navigation aid for boats using the low-lying coastal network of trading waterways.

French Equatorial Africa: France on 15 January 1910 formed the 'Federation of French Colonies' out of all of its Central African colonial possessions, along with many later revisions.

Now running a 2026 funding campaign for the History Files website to recoup some of the intense hosting costs, with the site now holding over 4,100 pages and with more being produced each and every week amid the usual frenzy of research and writing.

Zobeir Dynasty: this was a short-lived power of two generations which formed through extreme violence in territory to the east of Lake Chad, much of which had only recently belonged to the fading Bornu empire.