Two native tribes originally inhabited Sierra Leone. These tribes are the Mende and the Temne, both of which still exist today. The Temne people lived on Sierra Leone’s coast and then the Mende people migrated to Sierra Leone from Liberia. Portuguese sailors first arrived in approximately 1460. The tribes traded timber, cloth, ivory, and slaves with the Portuguese sailors. The Portuguese did not settle the land. It would be other Europeans who first settled the land in the 1700’s.
Many slaves from around the world fled to England during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries because it abolished slavery in 1772. The English government decided to relocate the freed slaves back to Africa for two main reasons. The freed slaves were poor and created social issues, and a group of abolitionist men (later to be named the Sierra Leone Company) wanted to form a community of freed slaves in their homeland of Africa. In February of 1787, a group of 411 freed slaves immigrated to Sierra Leone and arrived on May 15, 1787. These settlers established Granville Town, named after an English botanist.
People were initially drawn to the land by an English botanist’s studies. He went to Sierra Leone to study its botany and found that it would be an effective farming land. He relayed this information to the English government which decided to make that the land where the freed slaves would settle. The land was rich in cocoa beans, coffee, rice, cassava, and peanuts. In Guns, Germs, and Steel, Jared Diamond theorized that people would settle in areas that had plentiful resources to survive on. At the time, the most fertile region was the Fertile Crescent which was at approximately the same latitude as the Fertile Crescent. This means the climate was similar, providing fertile soil for agriculture and increasing the chances of successful settlements in that area. The Sierra Leonans used these resources for subsistence farming.
These new Sierra Leonans and the indigenous peoples did not have positive interactions with each other. The new settlers interfered with the everyday life of the Temne and the Mende who lived in that region far before the settlers arrived. The tribes destroyed the settlement after only two years. Because of this, England sent a group of 1,100 more freed slaves to Sierra Leone. They established Freetown in 1792. They formed the creole culture.
These past settlements all contributed to forming present day Sierra Leone. The native tribes, to the freed slaves who developed the creole culture, to the Royal British Navy’s West African Squadron, to the many migrants and then to present day, Sierra Leonans spread from Freetown inland throughout the years. Today it is a country that as of July 2014, has 5,743,725 inhabitants. There are 17 ethnic groups in the country categorized by language. The language groups are now Mande, Mel, and others. Mande includes the Mende, Vai/Gallinas, Kono, Loko, Koranko, Soso, Yalunka and Mandingo groups. Mel includes the Temne, Bullum/Sherbro, Kissi, Gola, and Krim groups. The others include Limba, Fula, Krio, and Kru.
References:
Africa: Sierra Leone. (n.d.). Retrieved February 6, 2015, from
https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/sl.html
Background on Sierra Leone. (n.d.). Retrieved February 6, 2015, from http://www.theadvocatesforhumanrights.org/background_on_sierra_leone
Guns, germs and steel [Motion picture on DVD]. (2012). Playaway View :.
History. (n.d.). Retrieved February 6, 2015, from http://embassyofsierraleone.net/node/71
Negassa, S. (n.d.). Freetown, Sierra Leone (1792- -) | The Black Past: Remembered and Reclaimed. Retrieved February 6, 2015, from http://www.blackpast.org/gah/freetown-sierra-leone-1792
Unit Three: Studying Africa through the Humanities. (n.d.). Retrieved February 6, 2015, from http://exploringafrica.matrix.msu.edu/teachers/curriculum/m15/activity6.php
Many slaves from around the world fled to England during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries because it abolished slavery in 1772. The English government decided to relocate the freed slaves back to Africa for two main reasons. The freed slaves were poor and created social issues, and a group of abolitionist men (later to be named the Sierra Leone Company) wanted to form a community of freed slaves in their homeland of Africa. In February of 1787, a group of 411 freed slaves immigrated to Sierra Leone and arrived on May 15, 1787. These settlers established Granville Town, named after an English botanist.
People were initially drawn to the land by an English botanist’s studies. He went to Sierra Leone to study its botany and found that it would be an effective farming land. He relayed this information to the English government which decided to make that the land where the freed slaves would settle. The land was rich in cocoa beans, coffee, rice, cassava, and peanuts. In Guns, Germs, and Steel, Jared Diamond theorized that people would settle in areas that had plentiful resources to survive on. At the time, the most fertile region was the Fertile Crescent which was at approximately the same latitude as the Fertile Crescent. This means the climate was similar, providing fertile soil for agriculture and increasing the chances of successful settlements in that area. The Sierra Leonans used these resources for subsistence farming.
These new Sierra Leonans and the indigenous peoples did not have positive interactions with each other. The new settlers interfered with the everyday life of the Temne and the Mende who lived in that region far before the settlers arrived. The tribes destroyed the settlement after only two years. Because of this, England sent a group of 1,100 more freed slaves to Sierra Leone. They established Freetown in 1792. They formed the creole culture.
These past settlements all contributed to forming present day Sierra Leone. The native tribes, to the freed slaves who developed the creole culture, to the Royal British Navy’s West African Squadron, to the many migrants and then to present day, Sierra Leonans spread from Freetown inland throughout the years. Today it is a country that as of July 2014, has 5,743,725 inhabitants. There are 17 ethnic groups in the country categorized by language. The language groups are now Mande, Mel, and others. Mande includes the Mende, Vai/Gallinas, Kono, Loko, Koranko, Soso, Yalunka and Mandingo groups. Mel includes the Temne, Bullum/Sherbro, Kissi, Gola, and Krim groups. The others include Limba, Fula, Krio, and Kru.
References:
Africa: Sierra Leone. (n.d.). Retrieved February 6, 2015, from
https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/sl.html
Background on Sierra Leone. (n.d.). Retrieved February 6, 2015, from http://www.theadvocatesforhumanrights.org/background_on_sierra_leone
Guns, germs and steel [Motion picture on DVD]. (2012). Playaway View :.
History. (n.d.). Retrieved February 6, 2015, from http://embassyofsierraleone.net/node/71
Negassa, S. (n.d.). Freetown, Sierra Leone (1792- -) | The Black Past: Remembered and Reclaimed. Retrieved February 6, 2015, from http://www.blackpast.org/gah/freetown-sierra-leone-1792
Unit Three: Studying Africa through the Humanities. (n.d.). Retrieved February 6, 2015, from http://exploringafrica.matrix.msu.edu/teachers/curriculum/m15/activity6.php
Ethnic Groups in Sierra Leone:
The various ethnic groups that are present in Sierra Leone. Temne and Mende have the largest distributions throughout the country. Some ethnic groups of current day Sierra Leone are not indicated on this map.
Ethnic Groups. (n.d.). Retrieved February 6, 2015, from http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/72/Sierra_leone_ethnic_1969.jpg
Mining in Sierra Leone:
Sierra Leone's mineral resources. Goldfield mines and Coalfield mines are the most prevalent throughout the country.
Mining. (n.d.). Retrieved February 6, 2015, from https://www.lib.utexas.edu/maps/africa/south_rhodesia_mine_1979.jpg
For More Information on the Earliest People in Sierra Leone Visit: Creoles of Sierra Leone http://www.everyculture.com/wc/Rwanda-to-Syria/Creoles-of-Sierra-Leone.html. The site has information about the geography of Sierra Leone as well as its peoples and their customs and culture. It describes about both early settlers and present day Sierra Leonans. Natural Resource Governance Institute http://www.resourcegovernance.org/countries/africa/sierra-leone/extractive-industries. You will find a list of Sierra Leone's mineral resources and how they are appropriated. |
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