# Abiras

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For the creator in Antioquia mythology, see [Abira](/source/Abira_(disambiguation)).

**Abiras** (French: *les Abiras*) is a former settlement that was located on the northern bank of the [Ubangi River](/source/Ubangi_River) at its source, the confluence of the [Mbomou](/source/Mbomou_River) and [Welle](/source/Uele_River) rivers. It was located opposite from the [Congolese](/source/Democratic_Republic_of_the_Congo) city of [Yakoma](/source/Yakoma,_Democratic_Republic_of_the_Congo) in the area of the present-day [Central African Republic](/source/Central_African_Republic).

It was not until 1882 or ’83 that the [German](/source/German_Empire) explorer [Wilhelm Junker](/source/Wilhelm_Junker) established that the Welle flowed into the Mbomou; the [Belgian](/source/Kingdom_of_Belgium) agent [Alphonse Vangele](/source/Alphonse_Vangele) established the Yakoma post in 1890. The Frenchman [Gaston Gaillard](/source/Gaston_Gaillard) then received a grant from the [Yakoma](/source/Yakoma_(people)) leader Inkesse on the north bank[1] and established Abiras on September 7, 1891.[2] During the initial French settlement of central Africa, Abiras served as the capital of the [French Congo](/source/French_Congo)'s territory of Upper Ubangi (**Haut-Oubangui**) and then as the first capital of the colony of [Ubangi-Shari](/source/Ubangi-Shari) (**Oubangui-Chari**).[3] It was replaced in 1906 first by [Fort de Possel](/source/Fort_de_Possel) and then by Bangi, the present-day [Bangui](/source/Bangui).[4]

Coordinates are based on aerial photographs; a statement that in 1894, "a large French expedition had massed at Abiras (junction of the Wellé and Mbomu Rivers)";[5] and a statement "Elsewhere we learn that Abiras, at the mouth of the Mbomu...".[6] There are a number of villages in the area in the present day, such as [André](/source/Andr%C3%A9,_CAR).

## References

1. Kalck, Pierre and trans. by Xavier-Samuel Kalck. [*Historical Dictionary of the Central African Republic*, 3rd ed., p. 81: "Gaillard, Gaston"](https://books.google.com/books?id=tbDFlvQeps0C&pg=PA81). Scarecrow Press ([Lanham](/source/Lanham,_Maryland)), 2005. Accessed 30 Mar 2014.

1. *The World at War*: "[Ubangi-Shari 1870–1960](http://www.schudak.de/timelines/ubangi-shari1870-1960.html)". Accessed 30 Mar 2014.

1. "[Chad and Ubangi-Shari to 1922](http://www.sandafayre.com/atlas/chadia.htm)[dead link]".

1. *World Statesmen*. "[Central African Republic](http://www.worldstatesmen.org/Central_African_Republic.html)". Accessed 29 Mar 2014.

1. [*Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine*](https://books.google.com/books?id=Y_kKxB7PPDkC). Vol. 156. W. Blackwood. July 1897. p. 146.

1. Samarin, William J. (1989). "The Colonial Heritage of the Central African Republic". *The International Journal of African Historical Studies*. **22** (4): 697–711. Boston University African Studies Center. [doi:10.2307/219060](https://doi.org/10.2307/219060). [hdl:1807/67618](https://hdl.handle.net/1807/67618). [JSTOR 219060](https://www.jstor.org/stable/219060)

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Abiras](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abiras) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abiras?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.