History of Sierra Leone

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The history of Sierra Leone began when the land was inhabited by native Africans at least 2,500 years ago. The dense tropical rain forest partially isolates the region from other West African cultures, and serves as a refuge for people who escape violence and jihad. Sierra Leone was named by the Portuguese explorer Pedro de Sintra, who mapped the area in 1462. Freetown Estuary provides a good natural harbor for ships to shelter and refill drinking water, and gains more international attention as coastal and trans-Atlantic trade replaces trans - Trade Sahara.

In the mid-16th century, the Mane invaded, subjugated almost all indigenous coastal communities, and destroyed Sierra Leone. The tribe of Mane immediately chime in with the locals and the various kingdoms and kingdoms remain in a state of continuous conflict, with many prisoners being sold to European slave merchants. Atlantic slave trade had a significant impact on Sierra Leone, as this trade grew in the 17th and 18th centuries, and was then the center of anti-slavery efforts when trade was abolished in 1807. The English abolitionist had organized a colony for Black Loyalists in Freetown, the city of British West Africa. The naval squadron was headquartered there to intercept the slave ships, and the colony quickly grew as liberated Africans were liberated, followed by Indian and West African soldiers who had fought for England in the Napoleonic Wars. The descendants of black settlers are collectively referred to as Creole or Krios.

During the colonial era, Britain and Creole increased their control over the surrounding area, securing peace so that trade would not be disturbed, suppressing slave trade and war between wars. In 1895, the British withdrew the border for Sierra Leone which they claimed to be their protectorate, leading to armed resistance and the 1898 War Hut War. Thereafter, there were disagreements and reforms when the Creole people sought political rights, trade unions formed against colonial masters, and farmers seeking greater justice from their leaders.

Sierra Leone has played an important role in the freedom of politics and modern African nationalism. In the 1950s, a new constitution united the Crown Colonies and the Protectorate, which had previously been arranged separately. Sierra Leone gained independence from Britain in 1961 and became a member of the Commonwealth of Nations. Ethnic and linguistic divisions remain an obstacle to national unity, with Mende, Temne and Kreoles as rival power blocks. Approximately half a year since independence has been marked by autocratic rule or civil war.

Video History of Sierra Leone

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Archaeological findings show that Sierra Leone has been inhabited continuously for at least 2,500 years, inhabited by successive movements of people from other parts of Africa. The use of iron was introduced to Sierra Leone in the 9th century, and at the end of the 10th century agriculture was practiced by coastal tribes.

The dense Sierra Leone heavy rainforests partially isolated the soil from other pre-colonial African cultures and from the spread of Islam. This made it a sanctuary for people who fled from conquest by the Sahel kingdoms, violence and jihad.

European contacts with Sierra Leone were among the first in West Africa. In 1462, the Portuguese explorer Pedro de Sintra mapped the hills around what is now called Freetown Harbor, named the strange-shaped formation of Serra Lyoa (Lioness Mountain).

At this time the country is populated by many politically independent indigenous groups. Several different languages ​​are spoken, but there are religious similarities. In the coastal rainforest belt there is a Bulom speaker between the mouths of Sherbro and Freetown, Loko's spokesman north of the Freetown estuary to Little Scarcies River, Temne-speakers found at the mouth of the Scarcies River, and Limba-speakers farther from the Scarcies. In the hilly meadows in the north of all these lands are the tribes of Milk and Fula. The Milk traded regularly with coastal people along the river valley route, carrying salt, clothes woven by Fula, ironwork, and gold.

Maps History of Sierra Leone

European Contacts (15th century)

The Portuguese ships began to visit regularly at the end of the 15th century, and for a while they defended a fortress on the northern shore of Freetown estuary. This estuary is one of the world's largest deepwater seas, and one of the few good harbors on the "Windward Shore" (Liberia to Senegal) in the African windswept. It soon became a favorite destination for European sailors, to take refuge and refill drinking water. Some Portuguese sailors live permanently, trade and intermarry with the locals.

Slavery

Slavery, and in particular the Atlantic slave trade, had a major influence on the region - socially, economically and politically - from the late 15th century until the middle of the nineteenth century.

There has been a profitable trans-Saharan slave trade in West Africa from the 6th century. At its peak (c.1350) the Mali Empire circumnavigated Sierra Leone and modern Liberia, although the slave trade may not have significantly penetrated the coastal rainforest. People who migrated to Sierra Leone from now on will have greater contact with the indigenous slave trade, either practicing it or fleeing.

When the Europeans first arrived in Sierra Leone, slavery among Africans in the area was believed to be rare. According to historian Walter Rodney, Portuguese sailors keep detailed reports, and it is quite possible that slavery is an important local institution that will be described by the reports. There are some very specific types of slavery in the region:

The troubled person in one kingdom can go to another and place himself under the protection of the king, where he becomes the "slave" of the king, obliged to give free and responsible labor for sale.

According to Rodney, such a person is likely to retain some rights and have several opportunities to rise in status as time passes.

If Africans were not interested in getting slaves, the Portuguese - like the Dutch, French, and English who arrived - of course. Initially, their method is to explore the beach, do a quick abduction attack when an opportunity arises. However, soon, they find locals willing to partner with them in this matter: some leaders are willing to part with some less desirable tribe members for a price; others enter into the war business - a large group of prisoners of war can be sold at high prices in European rum, fabrics, beads, copper or muskets.

This early slave was basically an export business. The use of slaves as laborers by local Africans seems to have grown subsequently. This may first occur under the coastal head at the end of the 18th century:

The slave owners were initially white and strangers, but at the end of the 18th century the emergence of strong slave trade leaders emerged, which had many "domestic slaves".

For example, at the end of the 18th century, the head of William Cleveland had a large "slave city" on land across the Banana Islands, whose inhabitants were "employed in the vast rice fields, described as the largest in Africa at the time." The existence of an indigenous slave city was recorded by a British tourist in 1823. Known in Fula as "rounde", it is connected with Sulima Capital of Milk, Falaba. The people work on the farm.

Rodney has postulated two ways in which slaves for export can lead to local practice of using slaves to work to develop:

1. Not all prisoners of war offered for sale will be purchased by the Portuguese, so their captors must find something else to do with them. Rodney believes that their execution is scarce and that they will be used for local labor.
2. There is a lag between the time a slave is arrested and when he is sold. So there is often a pool of slaves waiting for the sale, which will be employed.

There may be additional reasons for the adoption of slavery by local people to meet their labor requirements:

1. The Europeans set an example for imitation.
2. After any hard work is accepted, it can destroy the moral barrier to exploitation and make its adoption in other forms seem relatively small.
3. Export dilution requires the construction of coercive devices which may then turn to other objectives, such as overseeing the captive labor force.
4. Sales of local products (eg, coconut seeds) to Europe opens up new spaces of economic activity. In particular, it creates an increase in demand for agricultural labor. Slavery is a means of mobilizing the agricultural labor force.

This local African slavery is much more violent and brutal than the slavery done by Europeans, for example, plantations in the United States, West Indies, and Brazil. Local slavery has been described by anthropologist M. McCulloch:

[S] keel placed near the fresh ground they cleaned for their master. They are considered part of the owners' household, and enjoy limited rights. It is not unusual to sell them except for serious offenses, such as adultery with the wife of a freeman. Small fields are given to them for their own use, and they may retain the crops they plant in these patches; by this means it is possible for a slave to be the owner of another slave. Sometimes a slave marries his master's household and rises to a position of trust; there is an example of a slave who took over the tribal chief during the minority of the testator. The descendants of slaves are often practically distinguished from free men.

Slaves are sometimes sent out for business outside their master's kingdom and return voluntarily. Speaking specifically about the era of around 1700, historian Christopher Fyfe recalled that, "Boys who are not taken away war are usually criminals. In the coastal areas, at least, there are rarely people who are sold without being accused of committing crimes."

A voluntary dependence reminiscent of what is described in the early Portuguese document mentioned earlier is still present in the 19th century. It's called mortgage ; Arthur Abraham describes the distinctive variations:

A very debt free person, and facing the threat of a penalty for sale, will approach a rich man or a head with an appeal to pay [his debt] while I sit on your lap '. Or he can give boys or other people who depend on 'for you', the man or the head of the rich. This holds true that the automatically controlled person is reduced to a dependency position, and if he is never redeemed, he or his children eventually become part of the master's extended family. At this time, children are practically indistinguishable from the original children of their masters, because they grow up about each other as brothers.

Some observers consider the term "slave" to be more misleading than informative when describing local practice. Abraham said that in many cases, "subject, servant, client, slave, pawn, dependent, or follower" would be more accurate. Domestic slavery was abolished in Sierra Leone in 1928. McCulloch reported that at that time, among the largest ethnolinguistic groups of Sierra Leone, Mende, which then had about 560,000 people, about 15 percent of the population (ie, 84,000) were domestic slaves. He also said that "the slightest change followed the decree of 1928: large numbers of slaves returned to their homes, but the vast majority remained in villages where their previous master placed them or their parents."

Export slavery remains a major business in Sierra Leone from the late 15th century until the mid-19th century. According to Fyfe, "it was estimated in 1789 that 74,000 slaves were exported each year from West Africa, about 38,000 by British companies." In 1788, a European apologist for the slave trade estimated an annual total that was exported from between the Nunez River (110 km north of Sierra Leone) and Sherbro as 3,000. The Atlantic slave trade was banned by Britain in 1807, but the illegal slave trade continued for decades after that.

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Mane's invasion of the mid-16th century had a major impact on Sierra Leone. The Mane (also called Mani), a member of the southern Mande group of languages, are well-knit, well-organized and well-knit fighters, living in the east and perhaps somewhat north of Sierra Leone today, occupying the belt on the north coast. people. Sometime in the early 16th century they began to move south. According to some Mane who spoke to a Portuguese (Dornelas) at the end of the 16th century, their journey began as a result of the expulsion of their head, a woman named Macario, from the imperial city of Mandimansa, their homeland. Their first arrival on the beach is east of Sierra Leone, at least as far as the Cess River and possibly further afield. They marched northwest along the coast to Sierra Leone, conquering as they went. They included a large number of people they conquered into their troops, with the result that by the time they reached Sierra Leone, their rank and army consisted mostly of coastal people; Mane is his commanding group.

Mane uses a small bow, allowing Manes to reuse their enemy's arrows against them, while the enemy can not use Manes short arrows. Rodney explains the rest of their equipment thus:

The rest of their arms consist of large shields made of reeds, long enough to provide complete cover to the user, two knives, one tied to the left arm, and two quivers for their arrows. Their clothes consist of loose cotton shirts with wide neck and long sleeves that reach their knees to be tight pants. One of the features of their appearance is the amount of fur sticking to their clothes and their red hats.

In 1545, Mane had reached Cape Mount, near the southeastern corner of Sierra Leone today. Their conquest of Sierra Leone occupied the next 15 to 20 years, and resulted in the conquest of all or nearly all indigenous coastal communities - known collectively as Sapes - as far north as the Scarcies. Demographics of Sierra Leone today are largely a reflection of these two decades. The extent to which Mane replaces the natives varies from place to place. Temne partially defended against Mane's attack, and defended their language, but was ruled by the ranks of the kings of Mane. Currently Loko and Mende are the result of a more complete immersion of the original culture: their language is similar, and both are essentially Mande. In their oral tradition, Mende portrays themselves as a mixture of two nations: they say that their original members are hunters and fishermen who inhabit the area rarely in small peaceful settlements; and that their leaders came later, in recent historical periods, brought with it the art of war, and also built a larger and more permanent village. This history receives support from the fact that their population consists of two different kinds of races, and their language and culture show signs of coating two different forms: they have a matrilineal and patrilineal heritage, for example.

Mane's invasion of the militarization of Sierra Leone. The Sapes did not fight, but after the invasion, until the end of the 19th century, Mane's bow, shield, and knife had become ubiquitous in Sierra Leone, just like Mane's battle techniques using archer squadrons fought in formation, carrying a shield great style. The villages are fortified. The usual method of constructing two or three concentric palisades, each 4-7 meters (12-20 feet) in height, creates a great obstacle to attackers - especially since, as some Britishs observed in the nineteenth century, thick thighs of wood planted to the earth to make the palisade often rooted in the lower part and grow the foliage at the top, so the defenders occupy the living wooden walls. An English officer who observed one of these castles around the time of the 1898 Tax Hut war ended his description of it as follows:

No one who has not seen this fence can realize the great power of them. The outer fence in Hahu I was measured in several places, and found it from 2 to 3 feet thick, and most of the wood, or rather the trees, it had formed, had taken root and discarded leaves and buds.

He also said that British artillery could not penetrate the three fences. At that time, at least between Mende, "the typical settlement consists of walled towns and open villages or surrounding towns."

After the invasion, the sub-chiefs of the Mane tribe that among them the country had divided began to fight among themselves. This pattern of activity became permanent: even after Mane mingled with indigenous peoples - a process completed in the early seventeenth century - various kingdoms in Sierra Leone remained in a state of continuous flux and conflict. Rodney believes that the desire to take prisoners for sale as slaves to Europe was a major motivation for this battle, and may even have been the driving force behind the original Mane invasion. Historian Kenneth Little concludes that the ultimate goal in the local war, at least among Mende, is looting, not territorial acquisition. Abraham warned that the slave trade should not be exaggerated as a cause: Africans have their own reasons for fighting, with territorial and political ambitions. Motivation tends to change over time over a 350 year period.

The war itself is not deadly. Set-piece wars are rare, and fortified cities are so strong that their arrests are rarely done. Often the battle consists of a small ambush.

In recent years, the political system is that every major village along with satellite villages and settlements will be headed by a tribal chief. The head will have a private soldier soldier. Sometimes some leaders will group themselves into confederations, recognizing either of them as kings (or tribal chiefs). Each pays the king of loyalty. If a person is attacked, the king will come to his aid, and the king can adjudicate local disputes.

Despite their many political divisions, the people of the country are united by cultural similarities. One component of this is Poro, an organization common to many kingdoms and ethnolinguistic groups. Mende claims to be the originator, and nothing contradicts this. Maybe they import it. The Temne claims to have imported it from Sherbro or Bulom. Dutch geographer, Olfert Dapper, learned of it in the 17th century. It is often described as a "secret society", and this is partially true: the rite is closed to non-members, and what happens in the "Poro bush" is never disclosed. However, his membership was extensive: among Mende, almost all men, and some women, were initiates. In recent years it has not (as far as is known) a central organization: autonomous branches exist for every village or village head. However, it is said that in pre-Protectorate times there was a "Grand Poro" with a cross-war power to make war and peace. It is widely agreed that he has an influence that impedes the power of leaders. Led by a frightening main spirit, Gbeni , it plays a major role in the ritual of male diversion from puberty to maturity. It instilled some education. In some areas, it has oversight powers over trade, and the banking system, which uses iron bars as a medium of exchange. This is not the only important community in Sierra Leone: Sande is an analog only female; there is also a Humoi that regulates sex, and Njayei and Wunde . The Kpa is a collegium of healing art.

The impact of Mane's invasion on Sapes is obviously great, as they lose their political autonomy. There are other effects too: trade with interrupted interiors, and thousands sold as slaves to Europe. In industry, tradition develops in fine ivory carvings over; However, improved ironworking techniques are introduced.

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1600-1787

In the seventeenth century, Portuguese imperialism waned and, in Sierra Leone, Europe's most significant group became British. In 1628, they had a "factory" (trading post) around Sherbro Island, about 50 km (30 mi) south-east of Freetown at this time. At that time the island was easily accessible from the beach, and the elephants still live there. One of the commodities they buy is hardwood, hardwood, which can also be obtained by red dye. The Portuguese missionary, Baltasar Barreira, left Sierra Leone in 1610. The Jesuits, and later in the century, the Capuchins, continued their mission. By 1700 it had been closed, though the priests were sometimes visited.

A company called Royal Adventurers of England Trading to Africa received a charter from Charles II of England in 1663 and then built a fort at Sherbro and at Tasso Island at the mouth of Freetown. They were looted by the Dutch in 1664, France in 1704, and pirates in 1719 and 1720. After the Dutch attack, Tasso's fort was moved to nearby Bunce Island, which was more defensible.

The Europeans made payments, called Cole , for rent, tribute, and trade rights, to the king of a region. At present, local military superiority is still on the side of Africans, and there are 1714 reports of kings who captured the Company's goods in retaliation for protocol violations. Local Afro-Portuguese often act as intermediaries, Europeans are advancing their goods to be traded to local communities, most often for ivory. In 1728, an overly aggressive corporate governor united Africans and Afro-Portuguese in enmity to him; they burned the fortress of Bunce Island and it was not rebuilt until about 1750. The French destroyed it again in 1779.

During the 17th century the ethnolinguistic Temne group developed. Around the year 1600, a Mani still ruled the kingdom of Loko (north of Port Loko Creek) and the other controlled the upper shore south of Freetown estuary. The northern coast of the estuary is under the king of Bullom, and the area east of Freetown on the peninsula is held by non-Mani by the name of Europe, Dom Phillip de Leon (who may have been subordinate to his neighbor Mani). By the mid-17th century this situation had changed: Temne, not Bullom was spoken on the south coast, and ships stopped for water and firewood had to pay customs to the Temne king from Bureh who lived in Bagos town at the point between Rokel Sungai and Port Loko Creek. (The king may consider himself a Mani - to this day, the head of Temne has a title descended Mani - but his men are Temne.) King Bureh in place in 1690 was called Bai Tura, Bai to form Mani. Temne has thus grown into a wedge towards the sea in Freetown, and now separates Bulom in the north from the Mani and Mande-speakers to the south and east.

In this period there were several reports of women occupying high positions. The southern coastal king usually leaves one of his wives to rule when he is absent, and in Sherbro there is a female head. At the beginning of the 18th century, a Bulom named Seniora Maria had his own town near Cape Sierra Leone.

During the 17th century, Fula Muslims from Upper Niger and the Senegalese river moved to an area called Fouta Djallon (or Futa Jalon) in the northern mountains of Sierra Leone today. They have an important impact on the people of Sierra Leone as they increase trade and also generate secondary migration to Sierra Leone. Although the first Muslim Fula lived peacefully together with those already in Fouta Djallon, around 1725 they began a war of domination, forcing the migration of many Milk, Yalunka, and non-Muslim Fula.

Milk - some already converted to Islam - came south to Sierra Leone, in turn displacing Limba from the northwest of Sierra Leone and pushing them to Sierra Leone in the middle-north where they continue to live. Some Milk moved as far south as the town of Temne in Port Loko, just 60 km (37 mi) upstream from the Atlantic. Finally a Milk Muslim family named Senko replaced the ruler of the town of Temne. The other milk moved west from Fouta Djallon, eventually dominating Baga, Bulom, and Temne north of the Scarcies River.

Yalunka at Fouta Djallon first accepted Islam, then rejected it and was expelled. They went to Sierra Leone in the north-central and established their capital in Falaba in the mountains near the Rokel source. It is still an important city, about 20 km (12 mi) south of the Guinea border. Other Yalunka go some distance south and settle between Koranko, Kissi, and Limba.

In addition to these groups, which are the lesser emigrants, a large number of Muslim adventurers came out of Fouta Djallon. A Fula called Fula Mansa ( mansa which means king ) becomes the ruler of the Yoni state 100 km (62 mi) east of Freetown today. Some of his Temne subjects fled south to the Banta state between the middle of the river Bagu and Jong, where they are known as Mabanta Temne.

In 1652, the first slaves in North America were brought from Sierra Leone to the Sea Islands off the coast of the southern United States. During the 18th century, there was a slave trade that flourished from Sierra Leone to plantations in South Carolina and Georgia where their rice farming skills made them extremely valuable.

British and British sailors - including Sir Francis Drake, John Hawkins, Frobisher and Captain Brown - played a major role in the transatlantic trade in Africa captured between 1530 and 1810. The 1713 Utrecht Agreement, which ended the Spanish War of Succession (1701-1714) has an additional clause (Asiento) that grants exclusive rights to the UK (among other things) for the sending of Africans who are captured across the Atlantic. More than 10 million captured Africans were sent to Caribbean and American islands and many more died during the attacks, long marches to the beach and in the central part renowned for inhuman conditions on slave ships. Britain banned the slave trade on March 29, 1807 with the Trade Act of the Slave 1807 and the British Navy operating from Freetown taking active action to stop the Atlantic slave trade.

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Freedom Province (1787-1789)

Consensus of the Province of Freedom (1787)

In 1787, a plan was established to complete part of London's "Black Poor" in Sierra Leone in the so-called "Province of Freedom". It is organized by the Committee for the Assistance of the Poor Black, founded by British abolitionist Granville Sharp, who preferred it as a solution to continue their financial support in London. Many Black Poors are African-Americans, who have been given freedom after seeking refuge with the British Army during the American Revolution, but also include other West Indian, African and Asian populations in London.

Establishment, demolition and re-establishment (1789)

The area was first inhabited by 400 formerly enslaved Black Britons who arrived off the coast of Sierra Leone on May 15, 1787, accompanied by British merchants. They established the Freedom Province or Granville City on land purchased from the local sub-mono Koya Temne, King Tom and the Naimbana district head, a purchase that the Europeans understood to hand over the land to the new settlers "forever". The established arrangement between Europeans and Koya Temne does not include provisions for a permanent settlement, and some historians question how well the Koya leaders understand the agreement. The dispute soon erupted, and King Tommy's successor, King Jimmy, burned the settlement to the ground in 1789. Alexander Falconbridge was sent to Sierra Leone in 1791 to gather the remaining Poor Black settlers, and they re-established Granville City (later converted to Kleine City) near Fourah Bay. Although the 1787 settlers did not establish Freetown, which was founded in 1792, the celebration of Freetown's two centuries was celebrated in 1987.

After establishing the Granville City, the diseases and hostility of the native population obliterated the first group of colonists and destroyed their settlements. The second city of Granville was founded by 64 black and white 'old settlers' under the leadership of St. Louis. George Bay Company, Alexander Falconbridge and St. George Bay Company. This settlement is different from the Freetown settlements and colonies founded in 1792 by Lt. John Clarkson and Nova Scotian Settlers under Sierra Leone Company.

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Freetown Colony (1792-1808) <> >

Conception of Freetown settlement (1791)

The basis for the Freetown Colony began in 1791 with Thomas Peters, an African American who has served on Black Pioneers and settled in Nova Scotia as part of the Black Loyalist migration. Peters went to England in 1791 to report the complaints of the Black Loyalists who had been given poor land and suffered discrimination. Peters met with British abolitionists and directors of the Sierra Leone Company. He learned about the Company's plans for new settlements in Sierra Leone. The directors wanted to let the Nova Scotians build settlements there; The London-based and newly formed company had decided to create a new colony but before the arrival Peters had no colony. Lieutenant John Clarkson was sent to Nova Scotia to register immigrants to be taken to Sierra Leone with the aim of starting a new settlement. Clarkson worked with Peters to recruit 1,196 ex-American slaves from free African communities around Nova Scotia such as Birchtown. Most have fled from Virginia and South Carolina plantations. Some were born in Africa before being enslaved and taken to America.

Settlement by Nova Scotians (1792)

The settlers sailed on 15 ships from Halifax, Nova Scotia and arrived at St. George Bay between February 26 and March 9, 1792. Sixty-four settlers were killed on their way to Sierra Leone, and even Lieutenant Clarkson was ill during the voyage. After reaching Sierra Leone, Clarkson and several 'Nova Scotian' captains "were sent on shore to clear or make their way to their landing". The Nova Scotia people built Freetown in the former site of the first Granville City that has been a "jungle" since its destruction in 1789. (Although they built Freetown on the former Granville Town site, their settlement is not the rebirth of Granville City, which has been re-established at Fourah Bay on 1791 by the remaining Old Settlers.) Clarkson tells the men to clear the land until they reach the big cotton tree. After this difficult work was done and the land cleared, all settlers, men and women, descended and marched into dense forests and cotton trees, and their preachers (all African Americans) began to sing:

On March 11, 1792, Nathaniel Gilbert, a white preacher, prayed and delivered a sermon under the large Cotton Tree, and Reverend David George preached the first baptismal service recorded in Africa. The land was dedicated and was baptized 'Free City' in accordance with the instructions of the Director of the Company Sierra Leone. This is the first thanksgiving service in the recently baptized Free Town and is the beginning of Sierra Leone's political entity. Later, John Clarkson will be sworn in as Sierra Leone's first governor. Small huts were set before the rainy season. The Sierra Leone Company surveyors and settlers built Freetown in an American grid pattern, with parallel and wide avenues, with the largest Water Street.

On August 24, 1792, Black Poor or Old Settlers of Granville Town were both incorporated into the new Sierra Leone Colony but remained in Granville Town. It was safely looted by France in 1794, and rebuilt by Nova Scotia settlers. In 1798, Freetown had 300-400 homes with South American-like architecture, with 3- to 4-foot stone foundations and wooden buildings. Eventually this style of housing (brought by Nova Scotians) will be a model for the bodysses of their Creole descendants.

Settlement by Jamaican Maroons and freed slave-in-transit (1800)

In 1800, Nova Scotians revolted and the arrival of 500 Jamaican Maroons which led to the uprising to be suppressed. Thirty-four residents of Nova Scotia were thrown out and sent to Sherbro or a prison colony at Gore. Some of these were eventually allowed back to Freetown. After the capture of the rebels, Maroon was given the rebellious land of Nova Scotia. Finally Maroon has his own district in Maroon Town.

Maroon is a free black community of Trelawny Parish who has been stationed in Nova Scotia after surrendering to the British government. They have petitioned the British government for settlements elsewhere because of the climate in Nova Scotia.

After the abolition of the slave trade in 1807, the West African Squadron Royal Navy stationed in Freetown to intercept and seize ships that participated in the illegal slave trade. Slaves held in ships is released to Freetown and the so-called 'Negro caught', 'Recaptives' or 'Liberated africaans'.

colonial era (1808-1961)

Establishment of the British Crown Colony (1808)

In 1808, the British Crown Colony in Sierra Leone was set up, with Freetown serves as the capital of British West Africa. The townspeople are thriving with free slaves, who set up suburbs on the Freetown Peninsula. They were joined by the Indian Army and West Africa who settled in Sierra Leone after fighting for the British in the Napoleonic Wars.

Intervention and acquisitions inland (1800 -1895)

In the early 1800s, Sierra Leone was a small colony that stretched several kilometers (several miles) from the Freetown peninsula. Most of the territories that make up Sierra Leone today are still the sovereign territories of indigenous peoples such as Mende and Temne, and are little affected by the small population of colonies. During the 19th century, which gradually changed: England and Creole in the Freetown area increased their involvement in - and their control over - the surrounding area by engaging in trade, promoted and enhanced through the making of military agreements and expeditions.

In their agreement with indigenous chiefs, the UK is very concerned with securing local peace so that trade will not be disturbed. Normally, the British government agrees to pay a paymaster in exchange for his commitment to keep peace with his neighbors; Other specific commitments taken from a leader may include keeping the road open, allowing the UK to collect customs duties, and handing over disputes with its neighbors to British courts. In the decades after the British ban of slave trade in 1807, the treaty sometimes also required the heads to quit the slave trade. The suppression of slave trade and the suppression of inter-royal wars goes hand-in-hand as trade thrives (and causes them). Thus, commercial reasons for safeguards can be added to anti-slavery.

When friendly persuasion fails to secure their interests, England is not above (borrowing Carl von Clausewitz's terms) "to continue diplomacy in other ways". At least in the mid-1820s, soldiers and navy went out of the Colonies to attack leaders whose conduct was incompatible with British orders. In 1826, Governor Turner led troops to the Bum-Kittam area, captured two major cities, burned the others, and declared a blockade on the coast as far as Cape Mount. This is partly an anti-slave exercise and partly to punish the head for refusing territory to Britain. Later that year, the action-Governor Macaulay sent an expedition that went to the river Jong and burned Commenda, a city belonging to a related tribal chief. In 1829, the colonial authorities established the Sierra Leone Police Corps. In 1890, this army was divided into CivPol and Border Police.

The British developed a modus operandi characterizing their interventions throughout the century: border troops or police, with naval support if possible, would bombard a city and then usually turn it on after defenders escape or be defeated. If possible, the local enemy of the attacked party is invited by the British to accompany them as an ally.

In the 1880s, British intervention in the interior received an additional boost because of "Contest for Africa": a fierce competition between European powers for the region in Africa. In this case, his rival is France. In order to prevent the French invasion into what they regarded as their own sphere, the British government renewed efforts to finalize the treaty boundary with France and on 1 January 1890 ordered Governor Hay in Sierra Leone to gain from the head in a border area friendship agreement containing a clause banning them to treat with other European powers without British approval.

As a result, in 1890 and 1891 Hay and two traveling commissioners, Garrett and Alldridge, proceeded to an extensive tour of what Sierra Leone is now getting from leaders. Most of this is not, however, the submission agreement; they are in the form of a cooperation agreement between two sovereign powers.

In January 1895, a boundary agreement was signed in Paris, roughly fixing the line between French Guinea and Sierra Leone. The exact line is determined by the surveyor. As Christopher Fyfe notes, "This restriction is almost entirely geographically - river, watershed, alignment - not political." Justice Samu, for example, is divided: the people on the border must choose agriculture on one side or village on the other.

In general, the merging of different indigenous populations randomly into the geographic units decided by the colonial powers has been a source of continuing problems throughout Africa. These geographical units are now trying to function as a state but not naturally countries, which comprise in many cases those who are traditional enemies. In Sierra Leone, for example, Mende, Temne and Creoles remain as rival power blocks among those whose fission lines are easily emerging.

Establishment of British Protectorate and further land acquisition (1895)

In August 1895, an Order-in-Council was issued in Britain that authorized the Colonies to draft laws for the surrounding area, extending to an agreed limit (closely related to the current Sierra Leone). On August 31, 1896, a Proclamation was issued in the Colony stating that the territory was the British Protectorate. The colony remains a distinct political entity; The protectorate is governed from it.

Most of the heads protected by the Protectorate do not enter into it voluntarily. Many have signed a friendly treaty with Britain, but this is expressed as between the power of sovereignty that contracts against each other; no subordination. Only a handful of leaders have signed the delivery agreement, and in some cases it is doubtful whether they have understood the terms. In remote areas there is no agreement at all.

Strictly speaking, a Protectorate does not exist unless the people in it have agreed to be protected. The Sierra Leone Protectorate deepens the nature of the unilateral acquisition of territory by the British.

Almost every tribal chief in Sierra Leone responded to the arrogance of British rule with armed resistance. The Protectorate Act (passed in Colonies in 1896 and 1897) abolished the King's title and replaced it with "Paramount Chief". Previous heads and kings have been elected by prominent members of their own communities; Now all the leaders, even the most important, can be overthrown or installed at the will of the Governor, and most of the judicial powers of the leaders have been abolished and given to a court presided over by the "District Commissioner" of England. The governor decides that house taxes from 5 s to 10 s will be imposed annually on each shelter at the Protectorate. For leaders, their reduction in strength and prestige is unbearable.

Hut Tax War - Temne and Mende rebellion (1898)

When attempts were made to collect house taxes in 1898, leaders and their men rose up: first in the north, led by a dominant Temne leader called Bai Bureh, and later in Mende's country to the south. The two risings together are referred to as the 1898 War Hut War, although they have very different characteristics.

Bai Bureh's forces conducted a disciplined and skilful guerrilla campaign that caused great British difficulties. Hostilities began in February; Bureh's harassment tactics confuse the UK at first but in May they gained ground. The rainy season disrupts hostilities until October, when Britain continues a slow process to eliminate African strongholds. When most of this defense has been removed, Bureh is captured or surrendered (different account) in November.

The Mende War is a mass uprising, planned to somehow start everywhere on 27 and 28 April, where almost all "outsiders" - whether Europeans or Creoles - are captured and executed. Though more daunting than the rising Bai Bureh, it is out of shape, has no definite strategy, and is repressed in most areas within two months. However, some Mende rebels in the center of the country were not beaten until November; and the son of Mende king Nyagua, Maghi, allied with some Kissi, continued to fight in the easternmost part of the Protectorates until August 1899.

The subject of rebellion, Bai Bureh, Nyagua and Be Sherbro (Gbana Lewis), were exiled to the Gold Coast on 30 July 1899; a large number of their subordinates were executed.

Creole differences in high colonial period (1898-1956)

In the early 19th century Freetown served as the residence of the British governor who also ruled the Gold Coast (now Ghana) and the Gambia settlement. Sierra Leone also serves as an educational center in British West Africa. Fourah Bay College, founded in 1827, quickly became a magnet for English-speaking Africans on the west coast. For more than a century, it is the only European-style university in the western part of Sub-Saharan Africa.

After the War of the Hut there was no more large-scale military resistance to colonialism. Resistance and dissent continue, but take another form. Vowel political disagreements come mainly from the Creoles, who have a considerable middle and upper class of European businessmen and professionals such as doctors and lawyers. In the mid-19th century they enjoyed a period of considerable political influence, but by the end of the nineteenth century the government had become less open to them.

They continue to press for political rights, however, and operate newspapers that are considered problematic and demagogical governors. In 1924, a new constitution was enacted, introducing elected representatives (3 of 22 members) for the first time, with the first election held on 28 October. Prominent among the Creoles who demand change is the bourgeois nationalist H.C. Bankole-Bright, General Secretary of the Sierra Leone Branch of the British West Africa (NCBWA) National Congress, and IT.A. Wallace-Johnson, founder of the West African Youth League (WAYL).

The African resistance is not limited to political discussions. Sierra Leone develops an active trade union movement whose strikes are often accompanied by sympathetic riots among the general public.

In addition to colonial entrepreneurs, popular hatred targeted tribal leaders who had been transformed by the British into officials in the indirect governmental colonial system. Their role was to provide police, collect taxes, and obtain a corvee (forced labor demanded of those unable to pay taxes) for the colonialists; in return, the colonialists kept them in a privileged position over other Africans. Leaders who do not want to play this role are replaced by the more obedient. According to Kilson, African attitudes toward their leaders become ambivalent: they often respect the office but hate the orders made by the person in charge. From the leader's point of view, the dilemma of the revered ruler confronted with the British ultimatum could not have been easy.

Throughout the 20th century, there were many riots directed against tribal chiefs. This culminated in the Protectorate-wide unrest of 1955-1956, which was suppressed only by massacre of peasants by the army. After the riots, reforms were introduced: the forced labor system was completely abolished and the reduction was done in the powers of the leaders.

Sierra Leone remains divided into Colonies and Protectorates, with separate and distinct constitutional political systems defined for each. The antagonism between the two entities increased to a heated debate in 1947, when proposals were introduced to provide a single political system. Most of the proposals come from the Protectorate. Krio, led by Isaac Wallace-Johnson, opposed the proposal, the main effect being to reduce their political power. It was because of the astute politics of Sir Milton Margai that the educated elite of the Protectorate was won to join the most important leaders in the face of the rigors of Krio. Later, Margai used the same skills to win opposition leaders and moderate Krio elements for the achievement of independence.

In November 1951, Margai oversaw the drafting of a new constitution, which united the separate and, most importantly, colonial legislation of the Colonial and Protectorate - provided a framework for decolonization. In 1953, Sierra Leone was granted local ministerial powers, and Margai was elected Minister of Sierra Leone. The new Constitution ensures Sierra Leone as a parliamentary system within the Commonwealth of Nations. In May 1957, Sierra Leone held its first parliamentary election. The Sierra Leone People's Party (SLPP), then the most popular political party in the Sierra Leone colony, won the most seats in Parliament. Margai was also re-elected as Chief Minister by a large majority.

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1960 Independence Conference

On April 20, 1960, Sir Milton Margai led the Sierra Leone delegation in negotiations for independence at a constitutional conference held with Queen Elizabeth II and British Colonial Minister Iain Macleod, at Lancaster House in London. All the twenty-four members of the Sierra Leone delegation are prominent and respected politicians including Sir Milton's younger brother Sir Martin Margari, Siaka Stevens union, SLPP-strongman Lamina Sankoh, Creole activist Isaac Wallace-Johnson, Paramount leader Ella Koblo Gulama, educator Mohamed Sanusi Mustapha, Dr. John Karefa-Smart, Professor Kande Bureh, lawyer Sir Banja Tejan-Sie, former Freetown Eustace Mayor Henry Taylor Cummings, educator Amadu Wurie, and Creole diplomat Hector Reginald Sylvanus Boltman.

At the end of the talks in London, Britain agreed to grant Sierra Leone Independence on 27 April 1961. Stevens was the only delegate to refuse to sign the Sierra Leone Declaration of Independence, arguing that there had been a secret defense pact between Sierra Leone. and English; another point of contention by Stevens is the position of the Sierra Leone government that there will be no elections held before independence that will effectively shut down Stevens from Sierra Leone's political process. After they returned to Freetown on May 4, 1960, Stevens was immediately expelled from the National People's Party (PNP).

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Opposition to government SLPP

In 1961, Siaka Stevens, a member of the trade union and a hard critic of the SLPP government, took advantage of dissatisfaction with the ruling SLPP among some prominent politicians from the northern part of Sierra Leone. He formed an alliance with Sorie Ibrahim Koroma, Christian Alusine-Kamara Taylor, Mohamed.O.Bash-Taqi, Ibrahim Bash-Taqi, S.A.T. Koroma and C.A. Fofana, and formed a new political party called All People's Congress (APC) in the opposition government of SLPP, using northern Sierra Leone as their political base.

src: www.sierra-leone.org

Initial independence (1961-1968)

Sir Milton Margai Administration (1961-1964)

On April 27, 1961, Sir Milton Margai led Sierra Leone to Independence from England and became the country's first prime minister. Sierra Leone maintains a system of parliamentary government and a member of the Commonwealth of Nations. In May 1962, Sierra Leone held its first election as an independent state. Sierra Leone People's Party (SLPP) won a number of seats in parliament and Sir Milton Margai was re-elected as prime minister. The years after independence were prosperous, with money from mineral resources used for the development and establishment of Njala University.

Sir Milton Margai was very popular among the SierraLeoneans during his reign. One important aspect of his character is his dismissal; he is not corrupt or he does not display his power or status in a fancy. Its government is based on the rule of law and the idea of ​​separation of powers, with multiparty political institutions and adequate representation structures. Margai uses her conservative ideology to lead Sierra Leone without much disagreement. He appoints government officials with a clear eye to satisfy various ethnic groups. Margai uses the politics of brokers by sharing political power between political groups and the most important leaders in the provinces. Sir EAlbert_Administration_.281964.E2.80.931967.29 "> Sir Albert Administration (1964-1967)

After Sir Milton Margai's death in 1964, his half-brother, Sir Albert Margai, was appointed Prime Minister by parliament. Sir Albert's leadership was challenged by Sierra Leone Foreign Minister John Karefa-Smart, who questioned Sir Albert's succession to the leadership position of SLPP. Kareefa-Smart received little support in Parliament in an attempt to get Margai stripped of the leadership of SLPP. As soon as Margai was inaugurated as Prime Minister, he immediately dismissed some senior government officials who had worked under his sister's government, because he regarded them as traitors and threats to his government.

Unlike his late brother Sir Martin, Sir Albert Margai proved unpopular and took increasingly authoritarian action in response to the protests, including the enactment of several laws against the opposition of the All People's Congress (APC) and failed attempts to establish a single state party. Unlike his late brother Sir Albert opposed the colonial legacy that allowed the country's chief executive power, and he was seen as a threat to the presence of powerful homes across the country - almost all of them strong supporters and keys. allies of the previous administration. In 1967, riots broke out in Freetown against Sir Albert's policy. In response, Margai declared a state of emergency across the country. He is accused of corruption and affirmative action policies that support Mende's own ethnic group

Sir Albert had the opportunity to perpetuate himself in power, but he chose not to do so even when the opportunity arose. He has police and soldiers on his side and nothing can prevent him from achieving his ambition to retain power, but he chooses not to and calls for free and fair elections. Three Three Military Coups (1967-1968)

Three Military Coups (1967-1968) h3>

APC narrowly won a small seat in Parliament over SLPP in the Sierra Leone 1967 general election, and APC leader Siaka Stevens was sworn in as Prime Minister on 21 March 1967 in Freetown. Within hours of taking office, Stevens was ousted in a bloodless military coup led by army commander, Brigadier General David Lansana, a close ally of Sir Albert Margai who raised Lansana to that position in 1964. Lansana puts Stevens under house arrest. in Freetown and insisted the prime minister's determination should await the election of tribal representatives to the house. On March 23, a group of senior army officers in the Sierra Leone Army led by Brigadier Andrew Juxon-Smith ruled out this action by seizing control of the government, arresting Lansana, and suspending the constitution. The group established itself as the National Reform Council (NRC) with Juxon-Smith as its chairman and Governor-General. On April 18, 1968, a group of senior military officers calling themselves the Anti-Corruption Revolution Movement (ACRM) led by Brigadier General John Amadu Bangura overthrew the NRC junta. The ACRM junta arrested many senior members of the NRC. The democratic Constitution was restored, and power was handed back to Stevens, who took over the post of prime minister.

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Under the pressure of several coup attempts - real and perceived - Stevens' powers grew increasingly authoritarian, and his relationships with some of his deteriorating supporters deteriorated. He removed the SLPP from competitive politics in elections, some believe, through the use of violence and intimidation. To maintain military support, Stevens defended the popular John Amadu Bangura as the head of the Sierra Leone Armed Forces.

After returning to civilian rule, elections were made (beginning in autumn 1968) and the all-APC cabinet was appointed. Calm has not fully recovered. In November 1968, riots in the provinces caused Stevens to declare a state of emergency.

Many senior officers in the Sierra Leone army were deeply disappointed by Stevens' policies, but no one could openly face Stevens. Brigadier General Bangura, who succeeded Stevens as Prime Minister, was widely considered the only person who could put the brakes on Stevens. The army is devoted to Bangura and it is believed, in some circles, that this makes it potentially dangerous for Stevens. In January 1970, Bangura was arrested and accused of plotting and planning to stage a coup against the Stevens government. After several months of trial, Bangura was found guilty and sentenced to death. He was hanged on 29 March 1970 in Freetown. Stevens named a junior officer, Joseph Saidu Momoh, as head of the Sierra Leone Military. Major General Momoh is a close ally and very loyal to Stevens.

On March 23, 1971, soldiers loyal to the executed Brigadier John Amadu Bangura held an uprising in Freetown and other parts of the country against the Stevens government. Several soldiers were arrested for their involvement in the uprising, including Corporal Foday Sankoh who was convicted of treason and imprisoned for seven years at Jalan Pademba Prison. At Stevens' request to President Guinean Sekou Toure, a close ally, Guinean soldiers were stationed in Sierra Leone from 1971 to 1973 to help protect the government.

In April 1971, a new republican constitution was adopted in which Stevens became President. In the 1972 general election, the opposition SLPP complained about the intimidation and procedural obstruction by APC and the militia. These problems became so severe that the SLPP boycotted the 1973 elections; as a result, APC won 84 out of 85 seats elected.

In the early 1970s, Siaka Stevens formed his own personal power known as the State Security Division (SSD), to protect it and maintain its power. Many SSD officers are from the province, and are very loyal to Stevens. SSD is very powerful and operated independently under Stevens direct command. SSD officers guided Stevens and deployed across Sierra Leone to stop a revolt or demonstration against the Stevens government.

An alleged plot to overthrow President Stevens failed in 1974. On 19 July 1975, 14 senior soldiers and government officials included Brigadier David Lansana, former cabinet minister. Mohamed Sorie Forna, former cabinet minister and journalist Ibrahim Bash-Taqi and Lieutenant Habib Lansana Kamara were executed after they were convicted of attempting a coup. In March 1976, Stevens was re-elected president, without opposition.

In 1977, a national student demonstration against the government disrupted the politics of Sierra Leone. However, the demonstration was quickly stopped by the army and SSD officers. The elections then called that year in which corruption recurred. APC won 74 seats and SLPP won 15 seats.

In May 1978, Sierra Leone's Parliament, dominated by APC's close ally President Steven, approved a new constitution, which made it a one-party state. On July 12, 1978, official figures released by the government showed 97 percent of Sierra Leone voted for a one-party state. SLPP, other opposition parties and civil rights groups say the vote of the referendum is massively reduced, and voters

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