The capital of Sierra Leone, Freetown has a population
of 2.5 million residents (2002 estimate), up from approximately 1 million just a decade earlier, a result of mass immigration to the city during the nation’s civil
war. This seaport city is located on the northern tip of
the country’s Western Province, four miles from the
estuary of the Sierra Leone River. It has a tropical climate, with temperatures averaging 80 degrees Fahrenheit (27 degrees Centigrade) and rainfalls totaling 150
inches (381 centimeters) a year. Initially comprising
freed slaves, Maroons, Nova Scotians, and liberated
Africans, Freetown’s population now includes large
numbers of other ethnic groups from the provinces as
well as foreigners.
In 1779 two Scandinavians, Carl Bernhard Wadström
and Anders Johansen, initiated the idea of building a
refuge for freed black slaves in Freetown. However,
Granville Sharp, an English philanthropist and abolitionist, became the first person to implement such a plan when he settled about 400 freed slaves on land
where Freetown now stands. The settlers suffered from
hunger, disease, and warfare, and the settlement almost
perished. In 1791 Wadström and Johansen decided to
work with the British-owned Sierra Leone Society and
took part in its second attempt to establish a functioning settlement in Freetown. The town plan for that second try was drawn by the two Scandinavians, who also
calculated the cost of the houses to be built.
In September 1794 the Freetown settlement was
attacked and destroyed by a French naval squadron.
After it was rebuilt, it was again attacked in 1801 and
1802 by the neighboring Temne in alliance with some
dissident Nova Scotians.
of 2.5 million residents (2002 estimate), up from approximately 1 million just a decade earlier, a result of mass immigration to the city during the nation’s civil
war. This seaport city is located on the northern tip of
the country’s Western Province, four miles from the
estuary of the Sierra Leone River. It has a tropical climate, with temperatures averaging 80 degrees Fahrenheit (27 degrees Centigrade) and rainfalls totaling 150
inches (381 centimeters) a year. Initially comprising
freed slaves, Maroons, Nova Scotians, and liberated
Africans, Freetown’s population now includes large
numbers of other ethnic groups from the provinces as
well as foreigners.
In 1779 two Scandinavians, Carl Bernhard Wadström
and Anders Johansen, initiated the idea of building a
refuge for freed black slaves in Freetown. However,
Granville Sharp, an English philanthropist and abolitionist, became the first person to implement such a plan when he settled about 400 freed slaves on land
where Freetown now stands. The settlers suffered from
hunger, disease, and warfare, and the settlement almost
perished. In 1791 Wadström and Johansen decided to
work with the British-owned Sierra Leone Society and
took part in its second attempt to establish a functioning settlement in Freetown. The town plan for that second try was drawn by the two Scandinavians, who also
calculated the cost of the houses to be built.
In September 1794 the Freetown settlement was
attacked and destroyed by a French naval squadron.
After it was rebuilt, it was again attacked in 1801 and
1802 by the neighboring Temne in alliance with some
dissident Nova Scotians.
Due to its excellent natural harbor, the Freetown
port was seen as an easy target by ships plying the west
coast of Africa at the height of the transatlantic slave
trade. After the British Parliament made the slave trade
illegal in 1807, it declared the Sierra Leone peninsula
(Freetown and its environs) a British Crown Colony
the following year. Freetown was used by the British
naval squadron as its base of operations against slave
ships as well as the seat of the British Mixed Commission Courts.
The Vice-Admiralty Court, which was set up in Freetown in 1808, tried the captains of slave
ships captured by the British naval squadron patrolling
the west coast of Africa. The squadron’s operations
were hampered because it could not legally examine
foreign ships for slaves, unless permitted by treaty
with the foreign countries involved. Nonetheless, it did
manage to free many slaves from the slave ships of
many nations and settled the recaptives in the colony.
During the second half of the nineteenth century,
Freetown was gloriously described as the “Athens of
The glorious image of Freetown was drastically
altered in January 1999 when a contingent of rebels
from the Revolutionary United Front (RUF), which had
engaged in a protracted civil war with various Sierra
Leonean civilian and military regimes for eight years,
attacked the city. The attack resulted in more than 5,000
deaths, about 7,000 newly registered refugees in neighboring Guinea, and tens of thousands being prevented from crossing into Guinea and Liberia by troops from
regional governments of the Economic Community of
West Africa (ECOMOG) and by the RUF rebels. An
estimated 65 to 85 per cent of the capital was destroyed
after the slaughter, looting, and arson that took place
port was seen as an easy target by ships plying the west
coast of Africa at the height of the transatlantic slave
trade. After the British Parliament made the slave trade
illegal in 1807, it declared the Sierra Leone peninsula
(Freetown and its environs) a British Crown Colony
the following year. Freetown was used by the British
naval squadron as its base of operations against slave
ships as well as the seat of the British Mixed Commission Courts.
The Vice-Admiralty Court, which was set up in Freetown in 1808, tried the captains of slave
ships captured by the British naval squadron patrolling
the west coast of Africa. The squadron’s operations
were hampered because it could not legally examine
foreign ships for slaves, unless permitted by treaty
with the foreign countries involved. Nonetheless, it did
manage to free many slaves from the slave ships of
many nations and settled the recaptives in the colony.
During the second half of the nineteenth century,
Freetown was gloriously described as the “Athens of
West Africa” for its highly westernized buildings, services, enterprises, educational institutions, and civic life. And in both World War I (1914–1918) and World
War II (1939–1945), Freetown was utilized as a major
naval base by the British.
War II (1939–1945), Freetown was utilized as a major
naval base by the British.
The glorious image of Freetown was drastically
altered in January 1999 when a contingent of rebels
from the Revolutionary United Front (RUF), which had
engaged in a protracted civil war with various Sierra
Leonean civilian and military regimes for eight years,
attacked the city. The attack resulted in more than 5,000
deaths, about 7,000 newly registered refugees in neighboring Guinea, and tens of thousands being prevented from crossing into Guinea and Liberia by troops from
regional governments of the Economic Community of
West Africa (ECOMOG) and by the RUF rebels. An
estimated 65 to 85 per cent of the capital was destroyed
after the slaughter, looting, and arson that took place
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