The History of Sierra Leone

Early History

• European contacts in West Africa

• Portuguese explorers mapped area-giving the name Serra Lyon

• Thriving slave trade to US

Later part of the 1800’s…Provinence of Freedom

• Plan implemented by the British to relocate many freed African slaves to Africa.

• Returned Africans from all parts of Africa

• Joined previous settlers

• Flourishing trading post on W.A. coast

• One of Britain’s first colonies in W.A.

Independence 1961

• 1961-Sir Milton Margai He was the main architect of the post-colonial constitution of Sierra Leone

• In 1949 he founded the nationalist Sierra Leone People’s Party

• guided his nation to independence in 1961.

– Country’s first prime minister

– Series of military coups-conflict between the SLPP and APC (All People’s Congress).

Civil WarThe brutal civil war in neighboring Libiera influences the outbreak of fighting in Sierra Leone. Charles Taylor——reportedly helped form the Revolutionary United Front (RUF) under the command of former Sierra Leonean army corporal Foday Sankoh a British trained former army corporal who had also undergone guerrilla training in Libya.

RUF Rebellion

• Rebel war in eastern part of country-Captain Foday Sankoh

• Aided by Liberia Charles Taylor-exchange for diamonds

• First attack in eastern Sierra Leone from Liberia

The RUF

• Aggressive attacks 1991 at Liberian border

• RUF-physical mutiliation– Amputation of arms, legs,

lips, fingers hands-all with machetes and axes

W/in few months-RUF has control over the diamond mines in KONO District

Child Soldiers

• 10,000 child soldiers• Ripped from their

homes-given drugs-mostly amphetamines

• Proud to be effective killers

• Female captives- “soldier wives/sex slaves”

Results

• After a decade of civil war-RUF controlled diamond industry and the people of Sierra Leone the poorest on earth.

• UN troops eventually bring peace to Sierra Leone

Memoirs of a Child Soldier

Ernest Bai Koroma

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tiqHKFMPhHw

http://http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y3hAE9icRJs

www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ik-7iJR_cA

Early history

-Afro-European colony founded by a British organization for freed American slaves on March 11, 1792. -Later other liberated slaves were also settled at Freetown. The people in this area developed as an ethnic group known as Krios, always a minority in the territory, which was dominated by the Temne and Mende peoples