History
More than six centuries ago, tribes from the African interior decided to settle in the virgin forest, where they would be protected by the mountains on one side and the sea on the other. They were probably the ancestors of the Limbas, the oldest ethnic group in Sierra Leone, the coastal Bulom (Sherbro), Tine, the Mande-speaking people including Vai, Loko and Mende.
Portuguese sailors were among the first Europeans to discover the site of what is now Freetown. As foreign influence increased, trade commenced between the locals and Europeans in the form of a barter system. The British began to take interest in Sierra Leone and in 1672 the Royal African Company established Forts on the Islands of Bunce and York for trading. With the emergence of the slave trade, human being became the major commodity in the market. Indigenes were sold as slaves. In fact, Bunce Island became a prime spot for the transporting of slaves to Europe and America.
Through the efforts of some British philanthropists, slavery was abolished in England. A naval base was established in Freetown to intercept slave ships and also to serve as settlement for freed slaves in 1787. This settlement was called the ‘Province of Freedom.’ By 1792, 1200 slaves were thereby sent to Freetown from Nova Scotia and a large number from Maroon in the 1800s to join the original settlers from England. Few years later in 1808, the colony officially became a British Crown Colony. Trade commenced between the indigenes and the settlers. This paved the gateway for the British to infiltrate the protectorate- the need to extend their rule became necessary. In 1896, a protectorate was declared. The country then became a single entity with a shared history, culture and language called krio which evoked out of the fatua and mixed languages of various other settlers and traders. English became the official language.
During British colonialism, Sierra Leone served as the seat of Government for other British colonies along the West Coast of Africa. The first college for higher education south of the Sahara was established in 1827. The country is well known for its early achievements in the fields of medicine, law and education earning the name ‘the Athens of West Africa’.
