In 1903, the region of modern-day CAR, known as Ubangi-Shari, became a French colony beginning 57 years of French control under various names and federations. 

With the advent of the fifth French Republic in 1958, Ubangi-Shar achieved self-government when it became an autonomous territory within the French Community on December 1st 1958. 

It was renamed the Central African Republic with Barthelemy Boganda as prime minister. 

Boganda died in 1959, and just one year later in August 1960, CAR gained its independence, with David Dacko, nephew of Boganda, as its president. 

The second president of the CAR, Jean-Bédel Bokassa, wasn’t happy with just being president, so in 1976 he converted the Central African Republic into the Central African Empire; most of the bill for the US$20 million coronation to make him emperor was footed by France.