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Sunday 23 February 2014

Chad

The Chadian Basin in Africa has been inhabited by agricultural and sedentary people for more than 2,000 years, Called Kanem when settled by Arabs in the 7th–13th centuries, the area later became known as Bornu and in the 19th century was conquered by Sudan.

Lake Chad was first seen by European explorers in 1823.  It is a shallow lake (depth does not exceed 16–26 ft), with the northern part being completely dry and the southern area being densely vegetated, with swamps and open pools. It is the second largest wetland in Africa.

N'Djamena, now the capital of Chad, was founded as Fort-Lamy by French commander Émile Gentil on May 29, 1900. It was named after Amédée-François Lamy, an army officer who had been killed in the Battle of Kousséri a few days earlier

France conquered the territory by 1920 and incorporated it as part of French Equatorial Africa.

Chad was the first French colony to join the Allies during the Second World War under the administration of Félix Éboué, France's first black colonial governor.

In 1960, Chad obtained independence under the leadership of François Tombalbaye.

The blue, gold and red flag was adopted on November 6, 1959 for the autonomous republic and retained on Chad's independence in 1960, and in the constitution of 1962.


Chad President François Tombalbaye changed Fort-Lamy's name to N’Djamena on April 6, 1973. Its name was taken from the Arabic name of a nearby village, Niǧāmīnā, meaning "place of rest." 

Idriss Déby became the president of Chad in December 1990, after leading a rebellion that overthrew the previous government. During his time in power, he faced several challenges, including coup attempts and a civil war. He was also involved in regional and international efforts to combat terrorism and stabilize the region. 

On April 20, 2021, Déby was killed during a rebel offensive in the northern part of the country, leaving behind a complicated political and security situation in Chad.

In 2003 Chad became the world's newest oil producer and in 2004 an oil pipeline was built to Cameroon. Despite this new source of wealth, Chad remains one of the world's poorest countries.

Due to the country's distance from the sea and largely desert climate, Chad is sometimes called the "Dead Heart of Africa.”

Its official languages are Arabic and French.

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