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Location of French Equatorial Africa

French Equatorial Africa (French: Afrique Équatoriale Française, AEF) was the federation of French colonial possessions in Middle Africa, extending northwards from the Congo River to the Sahara Desert.

Established in 1910, the federation contained four territories — Gabon, Middle Congo (now the Republic of the Congo), Oubangui-Chari (or Ubangi-Shari, now the Central African Republic) and Chad, although the last was not organized as a separate entity until 1920. The governor-general was based in Brazzaville with deputies in each territory.

In 1911 France ceded parts of the territory to German Cameroon as a result of the Agadir Crisis. The territory was returned after Germany's defeat in World War I, but Cameroun, a League of Nations mandate, was not reintegrated to the AEF.

During World War II the federation rallied to the Free French Forces under Félix Éboué (August 1940, except for Gabon which was Vichy French between 16 June 1940 – 12 November 1940) and became the centre for their activities in Africa.

Under France's Fourth Republic (1946–58), the federation was represented in the French parliament. When the territories voted in the September 1958 referendum to become autonomous within the French Community, the federation was dissolved. In 1959 the new republics formed an interim association called the Union of Central African Republics, before becoming fully independent in August 1960.

The postal administrations of the four territories were separate until 1936, each issuing its own stamps. In that year, stamps of Gabon and Middle Congo were overprinted AFRIQUE / ÉQUATORIALE / FRANÇAISE. A definitive series for the colony followed in 1937, featuring local scenes and key (French) figures in the formation of the colony, with various color and value changes each year through 1940.

The 1937 series was overprinted AFRIQUE FRANÇAISE / LIBRE or just LIBRE in 1940 by the Free French, and in 1941 they issued a series depicting a phoenix rising from the flames.

A new definitive series, featuring local scenery and people, was issued in 1946, and another twenty-odd stamps came out during the 1950s, with the last being the omnibus Human Rights issue on 10 December 1958.

• Pakenham, Thomas (1991) The scramble for Africa, 1876-1912, London : Weidenfeld and Nicolson, 738 p., ISBN 0-29-781130-4
• Petringa, Maria (2006) Brazzà, A Life for Africa, Milton Keynes : AuthorHouse, 276 p., ISBN 1-4259-1198-6

• French colonial empire

v • d • e French overseas empire

Former v • d • e Former French colonies in Africa and the Indian Ocean Mahgreb Algeria · Morocco (Arguin Island) · Tunisia French West Africa Côte d'Ivoire · Dahomey · French Sudan · Guinea · Mauritania · Niger · Senegal · Upper Volta   French Togoland · James Island French Equatorial Africa Chad · Gabon · Middle Congo · Oubangui-Chari Comoros Anjouan · Grande Comore · Mohéli   French Somaliland (Djibouti) · Madagascar · Ile de France · Seychelles v • d • e Former French colonies in the Americas New France  (Acadia • Louisiana • Canada • Terre Neuve) 1655 – 1763 Inini · Berbice · Saint-Domingue (Haiti) · Tobago · Virgin Islands · France Antarctique · France Équinoxiale French West India Company v • d • e Former French colonies in Asia and Oceania French India Chandernagor · Coromandel Coast · Madras · Malabar · Mahé · Pondichéry · Karaikal · Yanaon French Indochina Cambodia · Laos · Vietnam (Annam • Cochinchina • Tonkin) Other Asian Alaouites · Alexandretta-Hatay · Ceylon · Kwangchowan Oceania New Hebrides (Vanuatu) French East India Company Present v • d • e Overseas departments and territories of France Overseas departments1 French Guiana · Guadeloupe · Martinique · Réunion Overseas collectivities Mayotte2 · Saint Barthélemy · Saint Martin · Saint Pierre and Miquelon · Tahiti · Wallis and Futuna Special status New Caledonia Uninhabited lands Clipperton Island French Southern and Antarctic Lands  (Amsterdam Island • Saint Paul Island • Crozet Islands • Kerguelen Islands • Adélie Land Scattered islands in the Indian Ocean:  Bassas da India3 • Europa Island3 • Glorioso Islands2, 3, 4 • Juan de Nova Island3 • Tromelin Island5) 1 Also known as overseas regions • 2 claimed by Comoros • 3 claimed by Madagascar • 4 claimed by Seychelles • 5 claimed by Mauritius

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