Sierra Leone:
A Brief History
Certain tribes from the African interior decide to settle in the virgin forest around the areas that are today known as Sierra Leone, more than six centuries ago. The Krim and the Bulom tribes are some of these earliest known inhabitants. This tiny country on the West Coast of Africa occupies a place of prominence in Africa, the transatlantic slave trade, and then, the freedom.
Sierra Leone, and its capital, Freetown, started as a settlement for freed slaves returning from overseas. This started with the arrival of a naval vessel that brought 331 slaves from London in 1787. This was followed by the return of more free men and women from Nova Scotia, Jamaica, and the likes in subsequent years. The country became a British colony later on and only gained independence in 1961.
Although the country has witnessed a series of events that includes a truncated democracy, repressive military regimes, and an eleven-year long civil war, the country has returned to democracy since 2002 and has been thriving ever since.
