Sierra Leone

The British established a colony at Freetown in 1787 for slaves returning to Africa from Great Britain and the United States and for slaves rescued from shipwrecks. The land of original settlement, where the city later developed, was purchased from local chiefs. The Sierra Leone Company, formed in 1791, administered the settlement until 1808, when it became a crown colony. Britain set up a protectorate over the hinterland of Freetown in 1896. The British were relatively nice towards the …

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