History
Archaeological findings show that Sierra Leone has been inhabited for thousands of years. The Bulom people were thought to have been the earliest inhabitants of Sierra Leone, followed by the Mende and Temne peoples in the 15th century and thereafter the Fulani.
The Portuguese were the first Europeans to explore the land and gave Sierra Leone its name, Serra Lyoa which means “lion mountains.” From the 15th century onwards, European traders assembled near the site of the present-day Freetown and exchanged imported manufactured goods for ivory and slaves.
During the American Revolutionary War (1775–83) enslaved Africans were promised freedom if they sided with the British and many did. A group of freed slaves arrived in Sierra Leone from England in 1787 to form a settlement. The ones who finished the voyage and arrived at the Sierra Leone Peninsula bought land from local Temne leaders and established the Province of Freedom near present-day Freetown. Many of the settlers died of disease in the first year. A renewed attempt at settlement was made in 1792, when about 1,100 freed slaves under the leadership of the abolitionist Thomas Clarkson landed on the Sierra Leone peninsula and founded Freetown. They were joined by about 500 free blacks from Jamaica in 1800.
Freetown, Sierra Leone
In 1807, Great Britain outlawed the trade of enslaved Africans, and in early 1808 the British government took over Freetown, using it as a naval base for fighting the traffic in slaves. Between 1808 and 1864 approximately 50,000 liberated Africans settled at Freetown.
In 1808 the coastal area became a British colony, and in 1896 a British protectorate was proclaimed over the hinterland.
The protectorate was ruled “indirectly” (i.e., through the rulers of the numerous small states, rather than by creating an entirely new administrative structure) and a hut tax was imposed in 1898 to pay for administrative costs. The Africans protested the tax in 1898 and fought the British in a war later became known as the Hut Tax War of 1898. The uprisings started on the 27th April 1896 and lasted over two years.
Under the British, little economic development was undertaken in the protectorate until the 1950s, although a railroad was built and the production for export of palm products and peanuts was encouraged.
After World War II, Africans were given more political responsibility, and educational opportunities were enlarged. In the economic sphere, mining (especially of diamonds and iron ore) increased greatly. A constitution adopted in 1951 gave additional power to Africans and in 1961; Sierra Leone became independent from Great Britain under Sir Milton Augustus Margai from the Mende tribe, who became the nation’s first Prime Minister.
Sir Milton Margai, Sierra Leone’s first Prime Minister
A military coup overthrew the civilian government in 1967, which was in turn replaced by civilian rule a year later. The country declared itself a republic on April 19, 1971 and Siaka Probyn Stevens, then prime minister, became the nation’s first president.
Image from Sierra Leone’s Civil War
From 1991 to 2002, the country suffered greatly under a devastating civil war. The Sierra Leone Civil War began in 1991, and resulted in tens of thousands of deaths and the displacement of more than 2 million people (well over one-third of the population) many of whom became refugees in neighbouring countries. The outbreak of war and the subsequent breakdown of all state structures are some of the main reasons why Sierra Leone became the poorest country in the world according to 1998’s Human Development Index.
UN flag
To end the civil war and restore order, UN and British forces disarmed 17,000 militia and rebels, in the largest UN peacekeeping act of the decade. In December 1999, the first of the 6,000-member force began arriving, and the Security Council voted in February, 2000, to increase the UN forces to 11,000 (and subsequently to 13,000).
On 18th January 2002 the civil war was officially declared as over and today, Sierra Leone is slowly facing up to the challenge of rehababilitation.
Next >>
|
Sierra Leone Navigation
Quick Facts
Introduction
History <<
Geography & Climate
Economy
|
