History of Sierra Leone
(Compilation of History Workshops and info from SBS World Guide web site)
1460
1460 – the name Sierra Leone was first mentioned; Portuguese meaning ‘lion mountain’; Pedro de Cintra. This was a time of European colonial exploration and expansionism.
Era of African slave trading by various European nations; Sierra Leone was one of the main sites in Africa for this activity – natural harbour/drinking water made it accessible for European slave traders.
14th – 17th Century
The Bulom, probably the earliest inhabitants, were joined by Krim and Gola peoples by the 14th century and by the Mende and Temne in the 15th century. In the mid-15th century Portuguese traders visited the coast; a fort was established at what is now Freetown in 1495. There were British trading posts on Bunce and York Islands in the 17th century when the country was an important source of ivory and slaves.
(from SBS ‘The World Guide’)
1787
1787 – Freed slaves return; ‘returnees’ were called Creoles. Granville Sharp was an abolitionist. The returnees came from the US, Britain and Nova Scotia (Canada). The first returnees to Sierra Leone came from Nova Scotia.
1839
The Amistad slave revolt in 1839 made famous by the popular and charismatic Sengbe Pieh (who came to be known in the U.S. by his lave name “Cinque”).
The Hut Tax War began after the British imposed this tax and represented a struggle against colonialist rule and control. Bai Buleh was a hero and led the uprising and was eventually captured.
The Returnees settled in Freetown which became the capital. “Any slave who stepped into Freetown was free”.
Freetown was traditional home to the Temne. Was known as Rocamp (?). Conflict between the Creole and Temne; the Colonialists bought the land from the Temne to resolve the land dispute.
Creoles educated in the U.S. They were generally traders, richer and more mobile.
1787 - 1898
Abolitionists founded Freetown in 1787 as a refuge for freed slaves, but after Britain abolished the slave trade in 1807 the British government took over the settlement as a naval base; the colony, formerly run by the Sierra Leone Company, became a crown colony. The hinterland became a British protectorate in 1896. Indigenous resistance was crushed by the British in the 1898 Hut-Tax War.
(from SBS ‘The World Guide’)
1961
April 27 1961: Sierra Leonean independence. Educated people from the provinces were pushing for independence: 1st doctor advocated for independence. The first college in the whole of West Africa was in Freetown. Many other West Africans including Nigerians were educated there. Together with the Creoles in the city independence was won.
The different models of colonialism: The French were into assimilation; the British directly colonised Sierra Leone.
The move to independence started with political parties and unions. SLPP were nationalists and the APC (All People’s Congress) were trade unionists.
The struggle for independence began with education the people about their rights and ended through formal negotiations with the colonialists. It was not an armed struggle. It was a popular movement and gradually developed.
The APC were more militant in the north and in Freetown. George Ton (?) was a famous trade unionist.
An election was held (date?); SLPP won the election. The model was a constitutional monarchy. Milton Margai was the 1st Prime Minister. The British left a Governor General behind until Sierra Leone became a republic in the seventies. Then a president became head of state.
1967
1967 – 1st coup after Margai died. Power handed over to younger brother. People became disillusioned with the practice of handing power and abandoned the SLPP. The APC won the next election. The SLPP and APC were bitter rivals. An intense power struggle where violent means were employed including propaganda and kidnapping. This led to the toppling of the Governor General and the establishing of the Republic of Sierra Leone (197 ?). Siaka Probyn Storons (?) was the 1st President of the Republic and had complete power. 2 Vice Presidents: One a Limba, the other Temne representing the two largest tribes.
The President ruled for more than 2o years and at the beginning was genuinely loved by the people. At this time Sierra Leone became a one-party state. Everyone came over to the APC during the Cold War because it had the support of the Soviet Union. It was easy to study in Russia.
One party rule meant state ownership. No one was allowed to form another political party. This represented a change from democracy to autocracy for Sierra Leone and was the germination of the troubles to come.
1951 - 1968
In response to post-World War II nationalism, Britain introduced limited self-government and an elected Assembly in 1951, won by Milton Margai?s Sierra Leone People?s Party (SLPP). An emerging alliance between the SLPP?s supporters, mainly Mende southerners, and the minority creole elite that dominated the professions and civil service kept Margai in office as prime minister from 1958 and as the first leader of independent Sierra Leone after independence (27 Apr. 1961). The SLPP won the May 1962 elections but Milton Margai died in Apr. 1964 and his successor, his half-brother Albert, alienated the creoles by his Africanisation policies. The opposition All-People?s Congress (APC), led by Siaka Stevens and supported mainly by Temne northerners, won the Mar. 1967 elections. The army seized power before he could take office. The National Reformation Council (NRC) was itself overthrown by NCOs in Apr. 1968 and civilian rule was subsequently restored with Siaka Stevens as PM.
(from SBS ‘The World Guide’)
1977 -
1977 – Mass demonstrations by students (Edison’s account of the demonstration in the city that affected the Mabroka district where the police station was torched. When the students hit the streets, throwing stones and chanting, everyone joined in because they were fed up. The universities and students demanded political freedom with the message, ‘no school, no college, everything stands still’.
Late 70s – Student leader Indolo Troye inspired people
Influence of the Green Book from Libya: every student received a free Green Book. Money came from Libya for students; free books from Libya for students; people studied the Green Book like the Bible. It was ideology.
Students were encouraged to spend holidays in Libya; brainwashing process there and many did not come back. The student unions were adherents to the Green Book. Gadhafi sent money to student unions: radicals were serious about toppling government; could be genesis of war. According to the Green Book, every government in Africa that wasn’t radical should change. Gadhafi’s intention was to destabilise Africa for positive change.
Libyan government had influence throughout Africa in the 70s and 80s right up to the 90s.
Before the war started, Ali Kabar became president of the Student Union. He was articulate in English and French and the main person Libyan agents went through. He refused to train in Libya. Libya gave millions to recruit from all over Africa, especially West Africa. Recruits were never told that they were going to Libya to train. They were told they were to receive scholarships to teach and would be paid thousands of dollars. On arrival, recruits were kept in dormitories in Libya. They had to go the fields to train as guerrillas and had no choice.
After training as guerrillas, the recruits were sent to Liberia. Meanwhile, Kabar had fled to America with millions in loot. The aim was to destabilise Liberia first, then Sierra Leone, then Gambia. This is how Charles Taylor started his movement.
In West Africa, certain African governments were pro-Libyan (Burkino Faso, Chad and Ivory Coast).
Sankoh was a member of the military government involved in the coup. He was jailed, the freed and became a professional photographer. He took advantage of his skills to win over the people and by sheer coincidence became leader (how?).
1971 - 1984
Brig. John Bangura tried to overthrow Stevens’ leftist government in Mar. 1971 but the mutiny was put down with the aid of Guinea. Sierra Leone became a republic in Apr. 1971, with Stevens as executive president. Discontent increased as the economic situation deteriorated. In Feb. 1977 there was widespread rioting. The government declared a state of emergency and called a general election, which returned the APC with a reduced majority. Pres. Stevens put forward a new constitution providing for a one-party state, arguing that this was the only means of preventing ethnic factionalism. It was approved by a referendum in June 1978. However, as the economic situation continued to deteriorate and evidence of corruption was revealed, the government declared a state of emergency in Aug. 1981 to prevent a general strike. Elections in May 1982 were again marred by violence (at least 50 killed) and there was another wave of demonstrations and strikes in 1984-85.
(from SBS ‘The World Guide’)
1985 - 1987
President Siaka P. Stevens retired in Aug. 1985 (died 29 May 1988) and the APC convention appointed Gen. Joseph Momoh as his replacement - an appointment endorsed at the polls in Oct. 1985. In 1987, a group including first vice-president Francis Minah tried to seize power, were arrested, tried and later executed. Pres. Momoh initiated a drive against corruption and imposed a state of economic emergency after strikes by public employees in Nov. 1987.
(from SBS ‘The World Guide’)
1991
Being a military man Sankoh suffered under the APC. Sankoh was leader of the Revolutionary United Fronts (RUF) and on May 23 1991, they launched the attacks. Sankoh crossed over from Liberia to Sierra Leone. This was the beginning of the conflict. The rebels of RUF fought alongside Charles Taylor’s National Patriotic front of Liberia (NPFL). They wanted to finish the mission in Liberia first, then moveonto Sierra Leone. EKOMOG, a West African military alliance/force made up of Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Ghana, Guinea and Gambia intervened to stop the bloodshed in Liberia. The UN saw it as a ‘West African’ problem.
1991 – 1992
A new constitution was approved by referendum in mid-1991, including provision for multi-party elections, but before an election could be held, troops seized power in a coup d’état on 29 Apr. 1992. Pres. Momoh fled to neighbouring Guinea.
Captain Valentine Strasser emerged as leader, establishing a National Provisional Ruling Council, subsequently the Supreme Council of State, and introduced draconian laws limiting freedom of the press, authorising state censorship and severely curtailing free speech. In Nov. 1992, a group of soldiers and former politicians were arrested for ‘sedition’, later charged with planning a coup and executed.
(from SBS ‘The World Guide’)
1993
In 1993 the army launched a bloody campaign in the south and east against Foday Sankoh’s Revolutionary United Front (RUF), allied with the Liberian rebel Charles Taylor’s National Patriotic Front of Liberia (NPFL). Sankoh and Taylor’s forces looted the gold and diamond deposits near Kono in eastern Sierra Leone, as well as coffee and cocoa farms.
(from SBS ‘The World Guide’)
1995
As the tide of civil war moved against the government, Strasser was forced to reorganise his government in Mar. 1995, releasing senior military officers for active service against RUF. There were also increasing tensions within the armed forces, between northerners (Temnes and Fulas) against southeasterners (Mendes).
(from SBS ‘The World Guide’)
1996
Nov 1996- Peace Accord between rebels and SLPP government.
In Jan. 1996, Brig. Maada-Bio, of the Mende faction within the army, staged a bloodless coup, renewed offers to negotiate with RUF leader, Foday Sankoh, and in response to strong international pressure allowed presidential and legislative elections. In Feb. 1996. Ahmad Tejan Kabbah of the Sierra Leone People?s Party (SLPP), a southeastern Mende, won the second round of the presidential elections, with the SLPP the largest legislative party. The parties associated with the military won little support. Pres Kabbah turned to ECOMOG (the monitoring group of ECOWAS) forces based in Freetown for support as he sought to curb the power of the corrupt and inflated Sierra Leone military.
(from SBS ‘The World Guide’)
1997
In May 1997, junior officers led by Maj. Johnny-Paul Koroma, with the support of RUF rebels and Charles Taylor of Liberia, staged the bloodiest coup in Sierra Leone history and installed the Armed Forces Revolutionary Council. The Nigerian ECOMOG forces in Freetown eventually overthrew Koroma’s junta and restored a much-weakened Pres. Ahmad Tejan Kabbah. However, ECOMOG lacked the will and resources to crush the RUF rebels and the renegade Revolutionary Council militia who terrorised the countryside.
(from SBS ‘The World Guide’)
1998
The brutal RUF rebels and remnants of the deposed military junta, backed by Pres. Taylor of Liberia, continued to ravage Sierra Leone in 1998. Their surprise murderous assault on Freetown in Jan. 1998 hardened support for the beleaguered Kabbah Government and stiffened the resolve of the ECOMOG members to meet the RUF with force.
(from SBS ‘The World Guide’)
1999
The July 1999 ceasefire between Pres. Kabbah and the RUF rebels created a semblance of peace, but offered little comfort to ordinary Sierra Leoneans.
(from SBS ‘The World Guide’)
2000
The National Committee for Disarmament, Demobilisation and Reintegration (NCDDR) continued through Apr. 2000 to receive weapons from rebels, who wanted to disarm, so far totalling 23,000. The demobilised rebels were then free to join and retrain with the Sierra Leone Army.
The civil war continued in 2000, with one focus being the control of the diamond-rich eastern Sierra Leone by the RUF rebels. ECOMOG and UN forces had not been able to penetrate this area. It was estimated that the sale of illegal diamonds had raised $US200 million since 1982 for the rebels. Sale of illegal diamonds in the Israeli and European diamond exchanges were banned (June and July 2000).
ECOMOG withdrew during 2000 as UN peacekeepers (UNAMSIL) became fully operational. The UN peacekeeping force numbered 16,500 by July.
The RUF had detained 500 and killed and wounded other UN peacekeepers (May), with their release negotiated by Liberian Pres. Charles Taylor.
UNHCR estimated that there were 485,000 Sierra Leone refugees in Guinea, Liberia and other countries in the region. This did not include displaced people within Sierra Leone (June).
In Aug., Foday Sankoh was replaced as leader of the RUF by Field Commander Issay Sessay. A ceasefire between the RUF and the government was brokered by ECOWAS on Nov. 11. The RUF was to disarm under the supervision of UNAMSIL. Sierra Leoneans gathered at the National Stadium in Freetown on 23 Nov. in support of British peacekeepers, many demanding that Pres. Kabbah return Sierra Leone to British trusteeship.
(from SBS ‘The World Guide’)
2001
Refugees fled in thousands as renewed fighting involving the rebel RUF and a pro-government militia, Kamajor, erupted in the eastern diamond-fields in Apr. 2001, as the UN deployed additional peacekeeping troops to support the Nov. peace accord. The European Commission pledged millions of dollars to help resettle refugees.
The UK began withdrawing troops from Sierra Leone as the UN deployed 17,000 troops, RUF rebels continued to surrender their arms, and preparations began for presidential and parliamentary elections in May. Transport and Communications Minister Momoh Pujeh was arrested for illicit diamond dealing, amidst claims that the UN is turning a blind eye to continuing illicit diamond mining in eastern Sierra Leone.
(from SBS ‘The World Guide’)
2002
After more than a decade of violence, the May 2002 elections were peaceful, free and fair. The ruling SLPP of incumbent Pres. Ahmed Tejan Kabbah won with 70% of the votes. The SLPP won 83 of the 112 seats up for re-election, the All People’s Congress won 22 seats and the Peace and Liberation Party two seats. The RUF did poorly.
Sierra Leone has instituted its own Truth and Reconciliation Commission to address the atrocities of the civil war. No faction is absolved. Sam Hinga Norman, of the pro-government Kamajor militia and former interior minister, was accused of torture and summary executions, as was Foday Sankoh, leader of the RUF and RUF commander, Issay Sessay.
(from SBS ‘The World Guide’)
2003
In Feb. 2003, the British deployed Gurkha troops into Sierra Leone to counter any insurgency from neighbouring Liberia.
(from SBS ‘The World Guide’)