Chad

A bit longer history:
The first inhabitant of Chad whose remained have been preserved is Abel, discovered in January 1995 by the French paleontologist Michel Brunet. Abel even predates the famous Lucy, found in Ethiopia. Lucy's "father" Yves Coppens admitted that the centre of early appearance of modern humans must now be considered to be Chad. Rock paintings and engravings found in the Tibesti and the Ennedi demonstrate a more recent but still very ancient populating of the area. Chad has been for centuries a contact zone between the Arabs from Northern Africa and the inhabitants of subSaharan Africa. Therefore, the history of Chad is characterized by ethnical and religious disputes which are not solved yet. Chad was not only a crossroad of transSaharan commercial trails, but had also its own wealth, mainly salt and copper mines.

The oldest known kingdom in Chad was found in Kanem by the Sefawad dynasty in the XIth century. Around 1100, the rulers ("mai") were converted to Islam, which spread all over the area. The kingdom had a big army, a powerful administration and a flourishing economy. However, internecine quarrels and religious dissenssions undermined the Sefawad power. The Boulala, vassals of Kenam, revolted. In the XIVth century, the Sefawad fled from Kanem because of repeated attacks by Arab tribes. The Sefawad restored their power in Bornou, west of lake Chad, in the XVth century. Mai Idris (1497-1519) invaded Kanem and incorporated it to his kingdom, which stretched from Kano (now in Nigeria) to Darfour. Other kingdoms were founded in the area, namely Ouaddai (XIVth century) and Baghirmi (XVIth century), which were vassals of Kanem-Bornou. The main resource of this kingdom was slave trade with Arabia, which motivated conquest wars.

In the middle of the XIXth century, the Fulani ruler Ousman dan Fodio founded the Caliphate of Sokoto (now in Nigeria) and called for jihad. Fodio attacked the kingdom of Kanem-bornou but was repelled by Prime Minister Muhamad Amin al-Kanemi. The Prime Minister modernized the monarchy and confiscated the power, which he transmitted to his son Umar. He built a new capital city, Kouka (now in Niger). During the troubles, Ouaddai regained its autonomy and annexated Baghirmi. At the same time, the Sinussi confrery became very popular in the area. In 1860, all these rival kingdoms had fallen into decline. In 1879, Rabah, a slave merchant from Sudan, conquered Ouaddai. He ruled over the east of Chad and maintained an army of 35,000. Commerce of ivory and slaves allowed him to buy modern guns and ammunition and to found a vast empire.

In the middle of XIXth century, European explorers such as Heinrich Barth, Clapperton and Nachtigal visited central Sudan. In 1891, Monteil reached lake Chad from Senegal. France then decided to conquer Chad in order to connect its other possessions in Africa. On the pretext that Rabah was an esclvagist, France sent three missions from Algeria, Niger and Congo in order to get rid of him. The three missions joined near the lake Chad in 1899, and Rabah was defeated and killed in Kousseri in 1900. Rabah's empire disappeared but the Senussi resisted the French "pacification" until 1917. In 1900, a Decree created the "Territoire militaire de