About Sierra Leone

While the name ‘Sierra Leone’ only emerged in the mid-15 th century when Portuguese explorer Pedro de Sintra mapped the area, the country itself has been inhabited for at least 2,500 years, most notably by West African tribes like the Limba people who sought sanctuary in the dense tropical rainforest.

Its geographic location and natural harbour adjacent to modern-day Freetown meant it soon became popular with ship crews who would stop here to shelter and replenish their stores, eventually becoming an important trans-Atlantic trading point for ivory and slaves in the 17 th and 18 th centuries. The notorious Bunce Island was the point from which slaves were transported to Europe and America.

Following the abolition of slavery, Freetown became a colony for Black Loyalists, settlers and freed slaves – the descendants of which were collectively referred to as the Creoles, or Krios. Freetown also subsequently became the capital of British West Africa. As Britain and the Creoles increased their influence, a protectorate was established comprising small states ruled by the traditional chiefs. When a hut tax was imposed to pay for administrative costs, these chiefs protested and launched an armed resistance which lasted over two years until its protagonist, Bai Bureh, was sent into exile. In 1961, Sierra Leone gained its independence from the United Kingdom and became a member of the Commonwealth of Nations, with Sir Milton Margai appointed as its first prime minister. In the years that followed its independence, a series of coups and counter-coups meant the country grappled with considerable unrest. In 1978, a new constitution was adopted creating a one-party state led by Siaka Stevens who had become the country’s first president in 1971 when Sierra Leone was declared a republic. In 1991, civil war broke out driven by rebels who were said to be disenchanted with government corruption and mismanagement of diamond and mineral resources. A military coup in 1992 forced then President Joseph Saidu Momoh into exile and Captain Valentine Strasser who had led the coup ascended as leader. The unrest continued until peace was restored in 2002, after several years of ECOWAS and British troop activity in the country to disarm the rebels and put an end to the fighting which had killed an estimated 200,000 people and displaced two million people. Since then, Sierra Leone has held several peaceful elections to elect their president and unicameral Parliament. The country now has a multi-party system, with two or three strong parties and is today designated as one of the most peaceful countries in Africa.