Editing Sierra Leone (section)

== History ==
{{Main|History of Sierra Leone}}

=== Early history ===
[[File:Prehistoric pottery shards, Sierra Leone.jpg|thumb|Fragments of [[prehistoric]] pottery from [[Kamabai]] Rock Shelter]]

[[File: Bunce Island 1805.jpg|thumb|right|[[Bunce Island]], 1805, during the period the slave factory was run by [[Sir John Anderson, 1st Baronet, of Mill Hill|John]] and [[Alexander Anderson (slave trader)|Alexander Anderson]]]]Sierra Leone's history is marked by continuous human habitation for at least 2,500 years,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.everyculture.com/Sa-Th/Sierra-Leone.html|title=Culture of Sierra Leone|author=Countries and Their Cultures|access-date=22 February 2008}}</ref> influenced by migrations from across Africa.<ref>{{cite encyclopedia|url=http://www.britannica.com/eb/article-55344/Sierra-Leone|title=Sierra Leone History|encyclopedia=Encyclopædia Britannica|access-date=19 February 2008}}</ref> Iron technology had been adopted by the 9th century and agriculture established by 1000 AD along the coast.<ref>{{cite encyclopedia|url=http://www.nationsencyclopedia.com/Africa/Sierra-Leone-HISTORY.html|title=Sierra Leone – History|encyclopedia=Encyclopedia of the Nations|access-date=22 February 2008}}</ref> Climate shifts over centuries altered the ecological zones, influencing migration and conquest dynamics.<ref name="brooks"/>

The region's dense [[tropical rainforest]] and swamps, coupled with the presence of the [[tsetse fly]] which carried a disease fatal to horses and the [[zebu]] cattle used by the [[Mande people|Mandé people]], provided natural defenses against invasions by the [[Mandinka Empire]] and other African empires,<ref name="brooks">{{Cite journal |last=Fyfe |first=Christopher |date=July 1995 |title=Weighing the Probabilities - Landlords and Strangers: Ecology, Society and Trade in Western Africa, 1000–1630. By George E. Brooks. Boulder: Westview Press, 1994. Pp. xvi + 360. £14.95, paperback (ISBN 0-8133-1263-9). |url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/journal-of-african-history/article/abs/weighing-the-probabilities-landlords-and-strangers-ecology-society-and-trade-in-western-africa-10001630-by-george-e-brooks-boulder-westview-press-1994-pp-xvi-360-1495-paperback-isbn-0813312639/2F429B373D4D68546604D51858920ADF |journal=The Journal of African History |language=en |volume=36 |issue=2 |pages=319–320 |doi=10.1017/S0021853700034174 |issn=1469-5138}}</ref><ref>[[#Utting|Utting]] (1931), p. 33.</ref> and limited influence by the [[Mali Empire]]. The introduction of [[Islam]] by [[Susu people|Susu]] traders, merchants and migrants in the 18th century further enriched the culture, eventually establishing a strong foothold in the north. The conquest by [[Samory Touré]] in the northeast solidified Islam among the [[Yalunka people|Yalunka]], [[Kuranko]] and [[Limba people (Sierra Leone)|Limba]] people.<ref>
[[Sierra Leone#Utting|Utting]] (1931), p. 8.</ref>

===European trading===

The 15th century marked the beginning of European interaction with Sierra Leone, highlighted by Portuguese explorer [[Pedro de Sintra]] mapping the region in 1462 and naming it after the lioness mountains.<ref>''Kingfisher Geography Encyclopedia''. {{ISBN|1-85613-582-9}}, p. 180.</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://slconcordtimes.com/pedro-da-cintra-did-not-name-sierra-leone-an-exploration-into-available-evidence/ |title=Pedro da çintra did not name Sierra Leone: An Exploration into available evidence |date=22 June 2017 |work=Sierra Leone Concord Times |access-date=26 May 2017 |archive-date=6 August 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170806061658/http://slconcordtimes.com/pedro-da-cintra-did-not-name-sierra-leone-an-exploration-into-available-evidence/ |url-status=dead }}</ref> This naming has been subject to historical reinterpretation, suggesting earlier European knowledge of the region. Following Sintra, European traders established fortified posts, engaging primarily in the [[History of slavery|slave trade]], which shaped the socio-economic landscape significantly.<ref>{{Cite book |last =LeVert |first =Suzanne |title =Cultures of the World: Sierra Leone |page =[https://archive.org/details/sierraleone0000leve/page/22 22] |publisher =Marshall Cavendish |isbn =978-0-7614-2334-8 |year =2006 |url =https://archive.org/details/sierraleone0000leve/page/22 }}</ref>

Traders from Europe, such as the [[Dutch Republic]], [[Kingdom of England|England]] and [[Kingdom of France|France]] started to establish trading stations. These stations quickly began to primarily deal in slaves, who were brought to the coast by indigenous traders from interior areas. The Europeans made payments, called ''Cole'', for rent, tribute, and trading rights, to the king of an area. Local Afro-European merchants often acted as middlemen, the Europeans advancing them goods to trade to indigenous merchants, most often for slaves and ivory.<ref>Christopher Fyfe, ''A History of Sierra Leone'', Introduction.</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last =Sibthorpe |first =A. B. C. |title =The History of Sierra Leone |page=7|publisher=Routledge |isbn =978-0-7146-1769-5 |year =1970}}</ref>
[[File:Sierra leone, sapi, olifante, 1490-1510 ca.jpg|thumb|Sierra leone, sapi, olifante, 1490-1510 ca]]

===Early Portuguese interactions===
Portuguese traders were particularly drawn to the local craftsmanship in [[ivory]], leading to a notable trade in ivory artifacts such as horns, [[Sapi Saltceller]], and spoons. The Sapi people belonged to a cluster of people who spoke [[West Atlantic languages]], living in the region of modern day Sierra Leone. There had already been a carving culture established in the area prior to Portuguese contact and many travelers to Sierra Leone initially impressed with their carving skills took local ivory horns back to Europe.<ref>Mota 1975: 586-87; Bassani 1981</ref> [[File:DeliveryService-2.jpg|thumb|An Ivory Hunting Horn, Sapi people, Modern day Bullom or Temne People, Sierra Leone, late 15th century]]

=== Black Poor of London ===
{{Main|Committee for the Relief of the Black Poor}}
[[File:Houses at Sierra-Leone (May 1853, X, p.55) - Copy.jpg|thumb|Houses at Sierra-Leone (May 1853, X, p. 55)<ref>{{cite journal|title=Houses at Sierra-Leone|journal=The Wesleyan Juvenile Offering: A Miscellany of Missionary Information for Young Persons|date=May 1853|volume=X|page=55|url=https://archive.org/details/wesleyanjuvenil19socigoog|access-date=29 February 2016}}</ref>]]
In the late 18th century, some African Americans who had fought for the [[British Crown]] during the [[American Revolutionary War]] were resettled in Sierra Leone, forming a community named [[Black Loyalists]]. This resettlement scheme was partly motivated by social issues in London, with the Sierra Leone Resettlement Scheme offering a new beginning for the [[Black Poor]]. Many had been slaves who had escaped to join the British, lured by promises of freedom ([[emancipation]]). Official documentation known as the ''[[Book of Negroes]]'' lists thousands of freed slaves whom the British evacuated from the nascent United States and resettled in colonies elsewhere in [[British North America]].
Pro-slavery advocates accused the Black Poor of being responsible for a large proportion of crime in 18th-century London. While the broader community included some women, the Black Poor seems to have exclusively consisted of men, some of whom developed relationships with local women and often married them. On the voyage between [[Plymouth|Plymouth, England]] and Sierra Leone, 29 European girlfriends and wives accompanied the [[Committee for the Relief of the Black Poor|Black Poor settlers]].<ref>Sivapragasam, Michael, "Why Did Black Londoners not join the Sierra Leone Resettlement Scheme 1783–1815?" Unpublished master's dissertation (London: Open University, 2013), pp. 40–43.</ref> Many in London thought moving them to Sierra Leone would lift them out of poverty.<ref>[[Peter Fryer]] in ''[[Staying Power: The History of Black People in Britain]]'' (London: [[Pluto Press]], 1984; p. 195) quotes a contemporary commentator who called them "indigent, unemployed, despised and forlorn", saying that "it was necessary they should be sent somewhere, and be no longer suffered to invest {{sic}} the streets of London" (C. B. Wadström, ''An Essay on Colonization'', 1794–5, II, 220).</ref> The Sierra Leone Resettlement Scheme was proposed by entomologist [[Henry Smeathman]] and drew interest from humanitarians like [[Granville Sharp]], who saw it as a means of showing the pro-slavery lobby that black people could contribute towards the running of the new colony. Government officials soon became involved in the scheme as well, although their interest was spurred by the possibility of resettling a large group of poor citizens elsewhere.<ref>{{Cite news|date=2005-08-31|title=Freed slaves in Sierra Leone|language=en-GB|work=The Guardian|url=https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2005/aug/31/race.bookextracts|access-date=2020-09-20|issn=0261-3077}}</ref> [[William Pitt the Younger]], prime minister and leader of the Tory party, had an active interest in the Scheme because he saw it as a means to repatriate the Black Poor to Africa.<ref name=Siva2021>{{cite journal |first1=Michael |last1=Siva |title=Why Did the Black Poor of London Not Support the Sierra Leone Resettlement Scheme? |journal=History Matters Journal |volume=1 |issue=2 |date=Winter 2021 |pages=25–47 }}</ref>

In January 1787, the ''Atlantic'' and the ''Belisarius'' set sail for Sierra Leone, but bad weather forced them to divert to Plymouth, during which time about 50 passengers died. Another 24 were discharged, and 23 ran away. Eventually, 411 passengers sailed to Sierra Leone in April 1787. On the voyage between Plymouth and Sierra Leone, 96 passengers died.<ref name=Siva2021/><ref>{{Cite web |url=http://blackloyalist.com/canadiandigitalcollection/story/exodus/company.htm |title=Black Loyalist Heritage Society |access-date=19 October 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070928222047/http://blackloyalist.com/canadiandigitalcollection/story/exodus/company.htm |archive-date=28 September 2007 |url-status=bot: unknown }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.plymouth.gov.uk/gustavusvassa |title=Gustavus Vassa: Olaudah Equiano |publisher=Plymouth City Council |access-date=19 October 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071013064927/http://www.plymouth.gov.uk/gustavusvassa |archive-date=13 October 2007 |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.sjsu.edu/faculty/watkins/sierraleone.htm|title=Economic History of Sierra Leone|access-date=10 October 2016|archive-date=3 March 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303200704/http://www.sjsu.edu/faculty/watkins/sierraleone.htm|url-status=dead}}</ref> In 1787 the British Crown founded a settlement in Sierra Leone in what was called the "[[Province of Freedom]]". About 400 black and 60 white colonists reached Sierra Leone on 15 May 1787. After they established [[Granville Town]], most of the first group of colonists died, owing to disease and warfare with the indigenous African peoples ([[Temne people|Temne]]), who resisted their encroachment. When the ships left them in September, they had been reduced to "276 persons, namely 212 black men, 30 black women, 5 white men and 29 white women".<ref name=Siva2021/>

The settlers that remained forcibly captured land from a local African chieftain, but he retaliated, attacking the settlement, which was reduced to a mere 64 settlers comprising 39 black men, 19 black women, and six white women. Black settlers were captured by unscrupulous traders and sold as slaves, and the remaining colonists were forced to arm themselves for their own protection.<ref name=Siva2021/> The 64 remaining colonists established a second Granville Town.<ref>{{Cite book |last = Pham |first = John-Peter |title = Child Soldiers, Adult Interests: The Global Dimensions of the Sierra Leonean Tragedy |publisher = Nova Publishers |year = 2005 |pages = 4–8 |url = https://books.google.com/books?id=ZnPFKpwoIkIC&pg=PA4 |isbn = 978-1-59454-671-6 |access-date = 17 June 2014}}</ref><ref>Michael Sivapragasam, ''Why Did Black Londoners Not Join the Sierra Leone Resettlement Scheme 1783–1815?'' London: Open University, 2013.</ref>

=== Nova Scotians ===
{{Main|Nova Scotian Settlers}}

Following the American Revolution, some Black Loyalists from [[Nova Scotia]], Canada, were relocated to Sierra Leone, founding Freetown and contributing significantly to the [[Krio people]] and [[Krio language]] that would come to define the region.{{cn|date=April 2025}}

Following the [[American Revolution]], more than 3,000 Black Loyalists had also been settled in [[Nova Scotia]], but faced harsh winters and racial discrimination. [[Thomas Peters (black leader)|Thomas Peters]] pressed British authorities for relief and more aid; together with British abolitionist [[John Clarkson (abolitionist)|John Clarkson]], the [[Sierra Leone Company]] was established to relocate Black Loyalists who wanted to take their chances in West Africa. In 1792 nearly 1,200 persons from Nova Scotia crossed the Atlantic to build the second (and only permanent) Colony of Sierra Leone and the settlement of [[Freetown]] on 11 March 1792. In Sierra Leone they were called the [[Nova Scotian Settlers]], the ''Nova Scotians'', or the ''Settlers''. Clarkson initially banned the survivors of Granville Town from joining the new settlement, blaming them for the demise of Granville Town.<ref name="Siva2021" /> The Settlers built Freetown in the styles they knew from their lives in the [[American South]]; they also continued American fashion and American manners. In addition, many continued to practise [[Methodism]].

In the 1790s, the Settlers, including adult women, voted for the first time in elections.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.economist.com/world/mideast-africa/displaystory.cfm?story_id=12775514 |title=Sierra Leone's struggle for progress |newspaper=The Economist |date= 11 December 2008|access-date=22 August 2010}}</ref> In 1792, in a move that foreshadowed the women's suffrage movements in Britain, the heads of all households, of which a third were women, were given the right to vote.<ref>[[Simon Schama|Schama, Simon]] (2006), ''Rough Crossings'', p. 363.</ref> Black settlers in Sierra Leone enjoyed much more autonomy than their white equivalent in European countries. Black migrants elected different levels of political representatives, 'tithingmen', who represented each dozen settlers and 'hundreders' who represented larger amounts. This sort of representation was not available in Nova Scotia.<ref>Gilbert, Alan. ''Black Patriots and Loyalists: Fighting for Emancipation in the War for Independence''. University of Chicago 2012, p. 229</ref> The initial process of society-building in Freetown was a harsh struggle. The Crown did not supply enough basic supplies and provisions and the Settlers were continually threatened by illegal slave trading and the risk of re-enslavement.<ref>{{Cite book |last = Fyfe |first = Christopher |title = Our Children Free and Happy: Letters from Black Settlers in Africa in the 1790s|publisher = Edinburgh University Press |year = 1992}}</ref>

=== Jamaican Maroons and Liberated Africans ===
{{Main|Jamaican Maroons in Sierra Leone|Sierra Leone Liberated Africans}}

The Sierra Leone Company, controlled by London investors, refused to allow the settlers to take [[fee simple|freehold]] of the land. In 1799 some of the settlers revolted. The Crown subdued the revolt by bringing in forces of more than 500&nbsp;[[Jamaican Maroons]], whom they transported from [[Cudjoe's Town (Trelawny Town)]] via Nova Scotia in 1800. Led by Colonel [[Montague James]], the Maroons helped the colonial forces to put down the revolt, and in the process the [[Jamaican Maroons in Sierra Leone]] secured the best houses and farms.<ref>Schama, Simon, ''Rough Crossings'' (London: 2005), pp. 380–383.</ref>

On 1 January 1808, [[Thomas Ludlam (colonial administrator)|Thomas Ludlam]], the Governor of the Sierra Leone Company and a leading abolitionist, surrendered the company's charter. This ended its 16&nbsp;years of running the Colony. The British Crown reorganised the Sierra Leone Company as the [[African Institution]]; it was directed to improve the local economy. Its members represented both British who hoped to inspire local entrepreneurs and those with interest in the Macauley & Babington Company, which held the (British) monopoly on Sierra Leone trade.<ref>Harris, Sheldon H. (1972), ''Paul Cuffe: Black America and the African Return'', New York: Simon and Schuster, pp. 32–33, especially note 15 on p. 140.</ref>

At about the same time (following the Slave Trade Act 1807 which abolished the slave trade), Royal Navy crews delivered thousands of formerly enslaved Africans to Freetown, after liberating them from illegal slave ships. These [[recaptives|Liberated Africans]] or ''recaptives'' were sold for $20 a head as apprentices to the white settlers, Nova Scotian Settlers, and the Jamaican Maroons. Many Liberated Africans were treated poorly and even abused because some of the original settlers considered them their property. Cut off from their various homelands and traditions, the Liberated Africans were forced to assimilate to the Western styles of Settlers and Maroons.<ref name="Suzanne">{{cite journal |last=Schwarz |first=Suzanne |date=2021 |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/23471003 |title=Reconstructing the Life Histories of Liberated Africans: Sierra Leone in the Early Nineteenth Century |journal=[[History in Africa]] |volume=39  |pages=175–207 |number=33 |publisher=[[Cambridge University Press]] |doi=10.1353/hia.2012.0011 |jstor=23471003 |access-date=27 October 2021}}</ref> The Liberated Africans eventually modified their customs to adopt those of the Nova Scotians, Maroons and Europeans, yet kept some of their ethnic traditions.<ref name=Dixon>{{cite book|last1=Dixon-Fyle |first1=Mac |last2=Cole |first2=Gibril Raschid |chapter=Introduction |year=2006 |title=New Perspectives on the Sierra Leone Krio |location=New York |publisher=Peter Lang |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=WGiRuAG8K5wC |isbn=978-0-8204-7937-8 |pages=2–3 |quote=A substantial part of this ex-slave population was Yoruba, but members of ethnic groups from other regions of the Atlantic (Igbo, Efik, Fante, etc) were also very much in evidence in this coterie of Liberated Africans. Individuals from ethnic communities indigenous to Sierra Leone were significantly represented among the Liberated Africans [...] Many a Temne, Limba, Mende, and Loko resident of Freetown, influenced by local European officials and missionaries, would come in time to shed their indigenous names, and cultural values, to take on a Creole identity which gave them a better chance of success in the rarefied Victorian ambience{{sic}} of a progressively westernized Freetown society.}}</ref> As the Liberated Africans became successful traders<ref name="Suzanne"/> and spread Christianity throughout West Africa, they intermarried with the Nova Scotians and Maroons.<ref name=Dixon />{{rp|3–4, 223–255}}

These [[Liberated Africans in Sierra Leone|Liberated Africans]] were from many areas of Africa, but principally the west coast. Between the 18th and 19th century, freed African Americans, some [[Americo Liberian]] "refugees", and particularly [[Afro-Caribbean]]s, mainly Jamaican Maroons, also immigrated and settled in Freetown. Together these peoples formed the [[Sierra Leone Creole|Creole/Krio ethnicity]] and an [[English-based creole languages|English-based creole]] language ([[Krio language|Krio]]), which is the [[lingua franca]].<ref>{{cite journal|last=Thayer|first=James Steel |year=1991 |title=A Dissenting View of Creole Culture in Sierra Leone|journal=Cahiers d'Études Africaines |volume=31 |issue=121 |pages= 215–230 |doi=10.3406/cea.1991.2116 |url=https://www.persee.fr/doc/cea_0008-0055_1991_num_31_121_2116}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|last= Browne-Davies|first=Nigel |year=2014 |title=A Precis of Sources relating to genealogical research on the Sierra Leone Krio people |journal=Journal of Sierra Leone Studies |volume=3 |number=1 |url=https://www.academia.edu/40720522}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last=Walker |first=James W |year=1992 |chapter=Chapter Five: Foundation of Sierra Leone |title=The Black Loyalists: The Search for a Promised Land in Nova Scotia and Sierra Leone, 1783–1870 |location=Toronto |publisher=University of Toronto Press |pages=[https://archive.org/details/blackloyalistsse0000walk/page/94 94]–114 |url=https://archive.org/details/blackloyalistsse0000walk |url-access=registration |isbn=978-0-8020-7402-7 |orig-year=1976}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Taylor |first=Bankole Kamara |title=Sierra Leone: The Land, Its People and History |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=I__jAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA68 |date=February 2014 |publisher=New Africa Press |isbn=9789987160389 |page=68}}</ref>

=== Colonial era (1808–1961) ===
{{Main|Sierra Leone Colony and Protectorate}}

The colonial era saw Sierra Leone evolving under British rule, with a unique settlement pattern composed of displaced Africans following the [[abolition of the slave trade]]. Sierra Leone developed as an educational center in West Africa, with the establishment of [[Fourah Bay College]] in 1827, attracting English-speaking Africans from across the region.

The settlement of Sierra Leone in the 1800s was unique in that the population was composed of displaced Africans, brought to the colony after the British abolition of the slave trade in 1807. Upon arrival in Sierra Leone, each ''recaptive'' was given a registration number, and information on their physical qualities would be entered into the Register of Liberated Africans. Often documentation would be subjective and result in inaccurate entries, making them difficult to track.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Schwarz|first=Suzanne|date=5 January 2013|title=Reconstructing the Life Histories of Enslaved Africans: Sierra Leone, c. 1808–19|url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/267884583}}</ref>

The first missionaries, [[Peter Hartwig (missionary)]] and [[Melchior Renner]]from the [[Church Mission Society|Church Missionary Society]](CMS), arrived to Sierra Leone in 1804.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Keefer |first=Katrina H.B. |date=2017 |title=The First Missionaries of The Church Missionary Society in Sierra Leone, 1804–1816: A Biographical Approach |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/26362156 |journal=History in Africa |volume=44 |pages=199–235 |doi=10.1017/hia.2017.5 |jstor=26362156 |issn=0361-5413}}</ref> The CMS missionaries were to introduce western ideals, including the introduction of western education and healthcare. One of their most significant contributions to the region was the establishment of schools for children in West Africa. European missionaries established these schools with an agenda to convert the native people to their religion, but the educational efforts did not relate to the local needs.<ref>{{Citation |last=Nwauwa |first=Apollos Okwuchi |title=Western Education and the Rise of a New African Elite in West Africa |date=2020-01-30 |encyclopedia=Oxford Research Encyclopedia of African History |url=https://oxfordre.com/africanhistory/display/10.1093/acrefore/9780190277734.001.0001/acrefore-9780190277734-e-282?d=/10.1093/acrefore/9780190277734.001.0001/acrefore-9780190277734-e-282  |language=en |doi=10.1093/acrefore/9780190277734.013.282 |isbn=978-0-19-027773-4}}</ref>

In the early 19th century, Freetown served as the residence of the British colonial governor of the region, who also administered the [[Gold Coast (British colony)|Gold Coast]] (now [[Ghana]]) and the [[Gambia]] settlements. Sierra Leone developed as the educational centre of [[British West Africa]].<ref>{{cite book|first=Daniel|last=Paracka |year=2003|title=The Athens of West Africa: A History of International Education at Fourah Bay College, Freetown, Sierra Leone|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-0-415-94795-4}}</ref> The British established [[Fourah Bay College]] in 1827, which became a magnet for English-speaking Africans on the West Coast. For more than a century, it was the only European-style university in west [[Sub-Saharan Africa]]. [[Samuel Ajayi Crowther]] was the first student to be enrolled.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Kopytoff|first1=Jean Herskovits|title=A Preface to Modern Nigeria: The "Sierra Leonians" in Yoruba, 1830–1890.|publisher=University of Wisconsin Press|pages=35}}</ref> Fourah Bay College soon drew [[Sierra Leone Creole people|Creoles/Krio people]] and other Africans seeking higher education in British West Africa. These included Nigerians, Ghanaians, Ivorians and others, especially in the fields of [[theology]] and education. Freetown was known as the "[[Athens]] of Africa" due to the number of excellent schools in Freetown and surrounding areas.<ref>Nwauwa, Apollos O. (2003) Book review: "The Athens of West Africa: A History of International Education at Fourah Bay College, Freetown, Sierra Leone by Daniel J.  Paracka Jr. New York: Routledge". ''[[Comparative Education Review]]'', Vol 49(4). [https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/10.1086/498200 Archived]. Retrieved 29 October 2021.</ref>

The British interacted mostly with the Krio people in Freetown, who did most of the trading with the indigenous peoples of the interior. Educated Krio people held numerous positions in the colonial government, giving them status and well-paying positions. Following the [[Berlin Conference]] of 1884–85, the British decided they needed to establish more dominion over the inland areas, to satisfy what was described by the European powers as "effective occupation". In 1896 it annexed these areas, declaring them the Sierra Leone Protectorate.<ref name="harris40">Harris, David (2012), [https://books.google.com/books?id=B5RxmwC6aNwC&pg=PA1 ''Civil War and Democracy in West Africa: Conflict Resolution, Elections and Justice in Sierra Leone and Liberia''], I.B. Tauris, p. 40.</ref> With this change, the British began to expand their administration in the region, recruiting British citizens to posts and pushing Krio people out of positions in government and even the desirable residential areas in Freetown.<ref name="harris40"/>

[[File: Bai Bureh.jpg|thumb|upright=.7|[[Bai Bureh]], Temne leader of the [[Hut Tax War of 1898]] against British rule]]
[[Madam Yoko]] persuaded the British to give her control of the Kpaa Mende chiefdom. She used diplomacy to communicate with local chiefs who did not trust her friendship with the British. Because Madam Yoko supported the British, some sub-chiefs rebelled, causing Yoko to take refuge in the police barracks. Until 1906, Madam Yoko ruled as a paramount chief in the new British Protectorate.

The British annexation of the Protectorate interfered with the sovereignty of indigenous chiefs. They designated chiefs as units of local government, rather than dealing with them individually as had been the previous practice. They did not maintain relationships even with longstanding allies, such as [[Bai Bureh]], who was later unfairly portrayed as a prime instigator of the [[Hut Tax War]].<ref name="Abraham">{{cite journal |title = Bai Bureh, The British, and the Hut Tax War |last = Abraham |first = Arthur |journal = [[The International Journal of African Historical Studies]] |issn = 0361-7882 |volume = 7 |issue = 1 |year = 1974 |pages = 99–106 |doi = 10.2307/216556 |jstor = 216556}}</ref>

[[File: British Expeditionary Force in Freetown, 1919.jpg|thumb|British [[West Africa Campaign (World War I)|West African Campaign]] troops in Freetown, 1914–1916. Published caption: "British expeditionary force preparing to embark at Freetown to attack the [[German Cameroons]], the main object of the attack being the port of [[Douala|Duala]]. Auxiliary native troops were freely used in African warfare."]]
Colonel [[Frederic Cardew]], military governor of the Protectorate, in 1898 established a new tax on dwellings and demanded that the chiefs use their people to maintain roads. The taxes were often higher than the value of the dwellings, and 24 chiefs signed a petition to Cardew, stating how destructive this was; their people could not afford to take time off from their subsistence agriculture. They resisted payment of taxes, tensions over the new colonial requirements and the administration's suspicions towards the chiefs, led to the Hut Tax War. The British fired first; the northern front of mainly Temne people was led by Bai Bureh. The southern front, consisting mostly of [[Mende people]], entered the conflict somewhat later, for other reasons.

[[File: Bai Bureh (1898).jpg|thumb|Temne leader Bai Bureh seen here in 1898 after his surrender, sitting relaxed in his traditional dress with a handkerchief in his hands, while a Sierra Leonean [[Royal West African Frontier Force|West African Frontier Force]] soldier stands guard next to him ]]
For several months, Bureh's fighters had the advantage over the vastly more powerful British forces but both sides suffered hundreds of fatalities.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.sierra-leone.org/Heroes/heroes5.html|title=Sierra Leone Web - Sierra Leonean Heroes - 1898 Rebellion Era|website=www.sierra-leone.org}}</ref> Bureh surrendered on 11 November 1898 to end the destruction of his people's territory and dwellings. Although the British government recommended leniency, Cardew insisted on sending the chief and two allies into [[exile]] in the Gold Coast; his government hanged 96 of the chief's warriors. Bureh was allowed to return in 1905, when he resumed his chieftaincy of Kasseh.<ref name="Abraham"/> The defeat of the Temne and Mende in the Hut Tax War ended mass resistance to the Protectorate and colonial government, but intermittent rioting and labour unrest continued throughout the colonial period. Riots in 1955 and 1956 involved "tens of thousands" of Sierra Leoneans in the Protectorate.<ref>Killson, Martin (1966), ''Political Change in a West African State: A Study of the Modernization Process in Sierra Leone'', Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA, pp. 60; also pp. 106, 107, 110, 111, 186–188 on other riots and strikes.</ref>

[[File: The Royal Navy during the Second World War A24465.jpg|thumb|African Naval ratings march past the Governor of Sierra Leone, [[Hubert Craddock Stevenson|Sir Hubert Stevenson]].]]
Domestic [[Slavery in Africa|slavery]], which continued to be practised by local African elites, was abolished in 1928.<ref>{{cite web |author=The Committee Office, House of Commons |url=https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm200506/cmselect/cmintdev/923/923m21.htm |title=House of Commons – International Development – Memoranda |publisher=Publications.parliament.UK |date=6 March 2006 |access-date=17 June 2014 |archive-date=22 July 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150722035235/http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm200506/cmselect/cmintdev/923/923m21.htm |url-status=dead }}</ref> A notable event in 1935 was the granting of a monopoly on mineral mining to the [[Sierra Leone Selection Trust]], run by [[De Beers]]. The monopoly was scheduled to last 98 years. Mining of diamonds in the east and other minerals expanded, drawing labourers there from other parts of the country.

In 1924, the UK government divided the administration of Sierra Leone into Colony and Protectorate, with different political systems for each. The Colony was Freetown and its coastal area; the Protectorate was defined as the [[hinterland]] areas dominated by local chiefs. Antagonism between the two entities escalated to a heated debate in 1947, when proposals were introduced to provide for a single political system for both the Colony and the Protectorate. Most proposals came from leaders of the Protectorate, whose population far outnumbered that in the colony. The Krios, led by [[I. T. A. Wallace-Johnson|Isaac Wallace-Johnson]], opposed the proposals, as they would have resulted in reducing the political power of the Krios in the Colony.

In 1951, [[Lamina Sankoh]] collaborated with educated protectorate leaders to form the [[Sierra Leone People's Party]] or SLPP as the party of the Protectorate. The SLPP leadership, led by Sir Milton Margai, negotiated with the British and the educated Krio-dominated colony based in Freetown to achieve independence.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.sierra-leone.org/Heroes/heroes8.html|title=Sierra Leone Web – Sierra Leonean Heroes – Achievement of Independence|website=www.sierra-leone.org}}</ref> Under Margai, the educated Protectorate elites were able to join forces with the [[paramount chiefs]] in the face of Krio intransigence. Later, Margai used the same skills to win over opposition leaders and moderate Krio elements to achieve independence from the UK.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.newafricanmagazine.com/special-reports/country-reports/sierra-leone-a-nation-reborn/how-independence-was-won |title=How Independence Was Won |publisher=Newafricanmagazine.com |access-date=19 March 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131029212925/http://www.newafricanmagazine.com/special-reports/country-reports/sierra-leone-a-nation-reborn/how-independence-was-won |archive-date=29 October 2013}}</ref>

In November 1951, Margai oversaw the drafting of a new constitution, which united the separate Colonial and Protectorate legislatures and provided a framework for [[decolonisation]].<ref name="advocate">[http://www.advocatenations.org/html/sierra_leone.html Advocate Nations of Africa: Sierra Leone] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141205062710/http://www.advocatenations.org/html/sierra_leone.html |date=5 December 2014 }}</ref> In 1953, Sierra Leone was granted local ministerial powers and Margai was elected [[Chief Minister]] of Sierra Leone.<ref name="advocate"/> The new constitution ensured Sierra Leone had a parliamentary system within the [[Commonwealth of Nations]].<ref name="advocate"/> In May 1957, Sierra Leone held its first parliamentary election. The SLPP won the most seats in Parliament and Margai was re-elected as Chief Minister by a landslide.

=== Independence and post-independence era ===
On 27 April 1961, Sir Milton Margai led Sierra Leone to independence from Great Britain and became the country's first prime minister. Sierra Leone had its own parliament and its own prime minister, and had the ability to make its own laws, however, as with countries such as Canada and Australia, Sierra Leone remained a "Dominion" and Queen Elizabeth was Queen of the independent [[Sierra Leone (1961–1971)|Dominion of Sierra Leone]].<ref>{{cite book|last1=Kargbo|first1=Michael S.|title=British Foreign Policy and the Conflict in Sierra Leone, 1991–2001|date=2006|publisher=Peter Lang|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=tfW5ACrYksQC&pg=PA70|pages=70|isbn=9783039103324|access-date=19 November 2017}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|last=Fyle|first=Magbaily C.|title=Historical Dictionary of Sierra Leone|date=2006|publisher=Scarecrow Press|location=Lanham, Maryland|isbn=978-0-8108-5339-3|pages=XVII–XXII|url=https://archive.org/details/historicaldictio0000fyle}}</ref> The Dominion of Sierra Leone retained a parliamentary system of government and was a member of the Commonwealth of Nations. The leader of the main opposition [[All People's Congress]] (APC), Siaka Stevens, along with Isaac Wallace-Johnson, another outspoken critic of the SLPP government, were arrested and placed under [[house arrest]] in Freetown.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/april/27/newsid_2502000/2502411.stm |title=BBC On This Day {{pipe}} 27 {{pipe}} 1961: Sierra Leone wins independence |work=[[BBC News]] |access-date=20 May 2012 |date=27 April 1961}}</ref>

In May 1962, Sierra Leone held its [[Sierra Leonean general election, 1962|first general election]] as an independent state. The [[Sierra Leone People's Party]] (SLPP) won a [[Plurality (voting)|plurality]] of seats in parliament, and Milton Margai was re-elected as prime minister. Margai was popular among Sierra Leoneans during his time in power. He was neither corrupt nor did he make a lavish display of his power or status.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.sierra-leone.org/Heroes/heroes8.html|title=Sierra Leone Web – Sierra Leonean Heroes – Achievement of Independence|website=sierra-leone.org|access-date=28 November 2018}}</ref> He based the government on the [[rule of law]] and the separation of powers, with multiparty political institutions and fairly viable representative structures. Margai employed a brokerage style of politics, by sharing power among political parties and interest groups; especially the involvement of powerful paramount chiefs in the provinces, most of whom were key allies of his government.{{citation needed|date=April 2014}}

==== Albert Margai's tenure (1964–1967) ====
Upon Milton Margai's unexpected death in 1964, his younger [[half-brother]], Sir Albert Margai, was appointed as prime minister by parliament. Sir Albert's leadership was briefly challenged by Foreign Minister John Karefa-Smart, who questioned Sir Albert's succession to the SLPP leadership position.  However, Karefa-Smart failed to receive broad support within the SLPP in his attempt to oust Albert Margai as both the leader of the SLPP and prime minister. Soon after Albert Margai was sworn in as prime minister, he fired several senior government officials who had served in his elder brother Sir Milton's government, viewing them as a threat to his administration, including Karefa-Smart.

Sir Albert resorted to increasingly [[authoritarian]] actions in response to protests and enacted several laws against the opposition All People's Congress, while attempting to establish a [[one-party state]].<ref name="Murtala Mohammed Kamara">{{cite web |url=http://news.sl/drwebsite/publish/printer_200517413.shtml |title=Sierra Leone was ripe for Independence: Exclusive interview with Reginald Boltman |publisher=News.sl |date=28 February 2011 |author=Murtala Mohammed Kamara |access-date=17 June 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131126085732/http://news.sl/drwebsite/publish/printer_200517413.shtml |archive-date=26 November 2013  }}</ref><ref name="Momoh">{{cite web|last=Momoh |first=John |url=http://allafrica.com/stories/201105040814.html |title=Sierra Leone: Viewpoint – Celebrating a New Nation! |publisher=allAfrica.com |date=4 May 2011 |access-date=20 May 2012}}</ref> Sir Albert was opposed to the colonial legacy of allowing executive powers to the Paramount Chiefs, many of whom had been allies of his late brother Sir Milton. Accordingly, they began to consider Sir Albert a threat to the ruling houses across the country. Margai appointed many non-Creoles to the country's [[civil service]] in Freetown, in an overall diversification of the civil service in the capital, which had been dominated by members of the Creole ethnic group. As a result, Albert Margai became unpopular in the Creole community, many of whom had supported Sir Milton. Margai sought to make the army homogeneously [[Mende people|Mende]],<ref name="Harkness-2016">{{Cite journal|title=SAGE Journals: Your gateway to world-class journal research|journal=Journal of Conflict Resolution|volume=60|issue=4|pages=587–616|doi=10.1177/0022002714545332|year = 2016|last1 = Harkness|first1 = Kristen A.|hdl=10023/9391|s2cid=54538341|hdl-access=free |issn=0022-0027 }}</ref> his own ethnic group, and was accused of favouring members of the Mende for prominent positions.

In 1967, riots broke out in Freetown against Margai's policies. In response, he declared a [[state of emergency]] across the country. Sir Albert was accused of corruption and of a policy of [[affirmative action]] in favour of the Mende ethnic group.<ref>{{Cite book |last = Pham |first = John-Peter |title = Child soldiers, adult interests: the global dimensions of the Sierra Leonean tragedy |publisher = Nova Publishers |year = 2005 |pages = 33–35 |url = https://books.google.com/books?id=ZnPFKpwoIkIC&pg=PA32 |isbn = 978-1-59454-671-6 |access-date = 17 June 2014}}</ref> He also endeavoured to change Sierra Leone from a democracy to a [[one-party state]].<ref>{{cite magazine |title=End of The Exception |url=https://content.time.com/time/subscriber/article/0,33009,941075,00.html |magazine=Time |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110629005010/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,941075,00.html?iid=chix-sphere |archive-date=29 June 2011 |date=31 March 1967 |url-status=live}}</ref>

==== 1967 General Election and military coups (1967–1968) ====
The APC, with its leader [[Siaka Stevens]], narrowly won a small majority of seats in Parliament over the SLPP in a closely contested [[Sierra Leonean general election, 1967|1967 general election]]. Stevens was sworn in as prime minister on 21 March 1967.

Within hours after taking office, Stevens was ousted in a bloodless [[1967 Sierra Leonean coups d'état|military coup]] led by [[Brigadier General]] [[David Lansana]], the commander of the [[Republic of Sierra Leone Armed Forces|Sierra Leone Armed Forces]]. He was a close ally of Albert Margai, who had appointed him to the position in 1964. Lansana placed Stevens under [[house arrest]] in Freetown and insisted that the determination of the Prime Minister should await the election of the tribal representatives to the House. Stevens was later freed and fled the country, going into exile in neighbouring Guinea. However, on 23 March 1967, a group of military officers in the Sierra Leone Army led by Brigadier General [[Andrew Juxon-Smith]], staged a counter-coup against Commander Lansana. They seized control of the government, arrested Lansana, and suspended the constitution. The group set up the [[National Reformation Council]] (NRC), with Andrew Juxon-Smith as its chairman and Head of State of the country.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.worldrover.com/history/sierra_leone_history.html |title=History of Sierra Leone |publisher=Worldrover.com |access-date=20 May 2012}}</ref>

On 18 April 1968 a group of low-ranking soldiers in the Sierra Leone Army who called themselves the Anti-Corruption Revolutionary Movement (ACRM), led by Brigadier General [[John Amadu Bangura]], [[Sergeants' Coup (Sierra Leone)|overthrew]] the NRC [[Military junta|junta]]. The ACRM junta arrested many senior NRC members. They reinstated the constitution and returned power to Stevens, who at last assumed the office of prime minister.<ref>{{Cite book |last = Gberie|first =Lansana |title = A dirty war in West Africa: the RUF and the destruction of Sierra Leone |publisher =C. Hurst & Co. Publishers |year =2005 |pages = 26–27 |url =https://books.google.com/books?id=OeBYQAFPXxsC&pg=PA34|isbn =978-1-85065-742-2|access-date =17 June 2014}}</ref>

Stevens had Bangura arrested in 1970 and charged with conspiracy and treason. He was found guilty and sentenced to death, despite the fact that it was Bangura whose actions led to Stevens' return to power.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.focus-on-sierra-leone.co.uk/Vol3_3.htm |title=focus-on-sierra-leone.co.uk |website=www.focus-on-sierra-leone.co.uk |access-date=2018-07-11 |archive-date=12 July 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180712001509/http://www.focus-on-sierra-leone.co.uk/Vol3_3.htm |url-status=dead }}</ref> Brigadier Lansana and [[Samuel Hinga Norman|Hinga Norman]], the main army officers involved in the first coup (1967), were unceremoniously dismissed from the armed forces and made to serve time in prison. Norman was a guard to [[Governor-general]] [[Henry Josiah Lightfoot Boston|Sir Henry Lightfoot-Boston]].<ref name="Humphrey"/> Lansana was later tried and found guilty of treason and sentenced to death in 1975.<ref name="Humphrey" />

==== One-party state and dawn of the 'Republic' (1968–1991) ====
[[File: All People's Congress political rally Sierra Leone 1968.jpg|thumb|upright=1.35|An [[All People's Congress|APC]] political rally in the northern town of [[Kabala, Sierra Leone|Kabala]] outside the home of supporters of the rival [[Sierra Leone People's Party|SLPP]] in 1968]]

Stevens assumed power as prime minister again in 1968, following a series of coups.<ref name="Humphrey" /> Stevens had campaigned on a platform of socialist principles. However, when he became prime minister he abandoned his pre-election promises and employed an authoritarian model of governance.<ref name="trcsierraleone.org">[http://trcsierraleone.org/drwebsite/publish/v3a-c1.shtml?page=15 The Final Report of the Truth & Reconciliation Commission of Sierra Leone].</ref> During his first decade or so in power, Stevens renegotiated some of what he called "useless prefinanced schemes" contracted by his predecessors, both Albert Margai of the SLPP and Juxon-Smith of the NRC. Some of these policies by the SLPP and the NRC were said to have left the country in an economically deprived state.<ref name="Humphrey" /> 

Stevens reorganised the country's oil refinery, the government-owned Cape Sierra Hotel, and a cement factory.<ref>David Harris. ''Sierra Leone: A Political History'', pp. 67–70, New York: Oxford University Press, 2014. {{ISBN|9780199361762}}. $30.00</ref> Stevens began efforts that would later improve transportation and movements between the provinces and the city of Freetown. Roads and hospitals were constructed in the provinces, and Paramount Chiefs and provincial peoples became a prominent force in Freetown. Under the pressure of several coup attempts, real or perceived, Stevens' rule grew more and more [[authoritarian]], and his relationship with some of his ardent supporters deteriorated. He removed the SLPP party from competitive politics in general elections, some believed, through the use of violence and intimidation. To maintain the support of the military, Stevens retained the popular John Amadu Bangura as head of the Sierra Leone Armed Forces.

After the return to civilian rule, [[by-election]]s were held (beginning in autumn 1968) and an all-APC cabinet was appointed. In November 1968, unrest in the provinces led Stevens to declare a state of emergency across the country. Many senior officers in the Sierra Leone Army were greatly disappointed with Stevens' policies and his handling of the Sierra Leone Military, but none could confront Stevens. Brigadier General Bangura, who had reinstated Stevens as prime minister, was widely considered the only person who could control Stevens. The army was devoted to Bangura. In January 1970, Bangura was arrested and charged with [[Conspiracy (crime)|conspiracy]] and plotting to commit a coup against the Stevens government. After a trial that lasted a few months, Bangura was [[convicted]]; on 29 March 1970, Brigadier Bangura was executed by hanging in Freetown.

After the execution of Bangura, a group of soldiers loyal to the executed general held a [[mutiny]] in Freetown and other parts of the country in opposition to Stevens' government. Dozens of soldiers were arrested and convicted by a [[court martial]] in Freetown for their participation in the mutiny against the president. Among the soldiers arrested was a little-known army [[corporal]], [[Foday Sankoh]], a strong Bangura supporter, who would later form the [[Revolutionary United Front|Revolutionary United Front (RUF)]]. Corporal Sankoh was convicted and jailed for seven years at the Pademba Road Prison in Freetown.

In April 1971, a new republican constitution was adopted under which Stevens became president. In the 1972 by-elections, the opposition SLPP complained of intimidation and procedural obstruction by the APC and militia. These problems became so severe that the SLPP boycotted the [[Sierra Leonean general election, 1973|1973 general election]]; as a result, the APC won 84 of the 85 elected seats.<ref>{{Cite book |last =Rotberg |first =Robert I. |title =State failure and state weakness in a time of terror |publisher = Brookings Institution Press|year =2003 |page = 80 |url =https://books.google.com/books?id=oajfCpTpgCIC&pg=PA80|isbn = 978-0-8157-7574-4|access-date = 17 June 2014}}</ref>

An alleged plot to overthrow President Stevens failed in 1974 and its leaders were executed. In mid-1974, Guinean soldiers, as requested by Stevens, were stationed in the country to help maintain his hold on power, as Stevens was a close ally of then-Guinean president [[Ahmed Sékou Touré]]. In March 1976, Stevens was elected without opposition for a second five-year term as president. On 19 July 1975, 14 senior army and government officials were executed after being convicted of attempting a coup to topple president Stevens' government.

In 1977, a nationwide student demonstration against the government disrupted Sierra Leone's politics. The demonstration was quickly put down by the army and Stevens' own personal Special Security Division (SSD), a heavily armed paramilitary force he had created to protect him and maintain his hold on power.<ref>Tam-Baryoh, David, ["Politicized security forces or tribalized national politics; which is which?"] ''Newstime Africa''. {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120901024455/ |date=1 September 2012 }}. Retrieved 26 February 2013.</ref> SSD officers were loyal to Stevens and were deployed across the country to clamp down on any rebellion or protest against Stevens' government. [[Sierra Leonean parliamentary election, 1977|A general election]] was called later that year in which corruption was again endemic; the APC won 74 seats and the SLPP 15. In 1978, the APC-dominant parliament approved a new constitution making the country a one-party state. The 1978 constitution made the APC the only legal political party in Sierra Leone.<ref>Gberie, Lansana (1998). ''[http://scholars.wlu.ca/etd/30/ War and state collapse: The case of Sierra Leone]'' (M.A. thesis) Wilfrid Laurier University</ref> This move led to another major demonstration against the government in many parts of the country, but it was also put down by the army and Stevens' SSD force.

Stevens is generally criticised for dictatorial methods and government corruption, but he kept the country stable and from collapsing into civil war. He created government institutions still in use. Stevens reduced ethnic polarisation in government by incorporating members of various ethnic groups into his all-dominant APC government.

Siaka Stevens retired from politics in November 1985 . The APC named a new presidential candidate, [[Major General]] [[Joseph Saidu Momoh]], head of the Sierra Leone Armed Forces. General Momoh had been loyal to Stevens, who had appointed him to the position. Like Stevens, Momoh was also a member of the minority [[Limba people (Sierra Leone)|Limba]] ethnic group. As the sole candidate, Momoh was elected president without opposition and sworn in as Sierra Leone's second president on 28 November 1985 in Freetown. President Momoh appointed his former military colleague and key ally, Major General Mohamed Tarawalie to succeed him as the head of the Sierra Leone Military. President Momoh named James Bambay Kamara as the head of the [[Sierra Leone Police]]. Bambay Kamara was also a strong Momoh loyalist and supporter. Momoh broke from former president Siaka Stevens by integrating the powerful SSD into the Sierra Leone Police as a special [[paramilitary force]]. Under President Stevens, the SSD had been a powerful personal force used to maintain his hold on power, independent from the Sierra Leone Military and Sierra Leone Police Force. The Sierra Leone Police under Bambay Kamara's leadership was accused of physical violence, arrest, and intimidation against critics of President Momoh's government.

President Momoh's strong links with the army and his verbal attacks on corruption earned him much-needed initial support among Sierra Leoneans. With the lack of new faces in the new APC cabinet under President Momoh and the return of many of the old faces from Stevens' government, criticisms soon arose that Momoh was simply perpetuating the rule of Stevens.

The next few years under the Momoh administration were characterised by corruption, which Momoh defused by sacking several senior cabinet ministers. To formalise his war against corruption, President Momoh announced a "[[Code of Conduct]] for Political Leaders and Public Servants". After an alleged attempt to overthrow President Momoh in March 1987, more than 60 senior government officials were arrested, including Vice-President [[Francis Minah]], who was convicted of plotting the coup and executed by [[hanging]] in 1989.

=== Sierra Leone Civil War (1991–2002) and the NPRC regime (1992–1996) ===

{{Further|Sierra Leone Civil War}}The brutal civil war significantly impacted Sierra Leone, with internal and external factors contributing to widespread violence. International interventions, notably by the United Kingdom and the United Nations, were crucial in restoring peace.[[File: School destroyed by Sierra Leone Civil War.jpg|thumb|upright=1.35|A school in [[Koindu]] destroyed during the [[Sierra Leone Civil War|Civil War]]; in total 1,270 primary schools were destroyed in the War.<ref name="ilab"/>]]

In October 1990, owing to mounting pressure from both within and outside the country for political and economic reforms, president Momoh set up a constitutional review commission to assess the 1978 one-party constitution. Based on the commission's recommendations, a constitution re-establishing a multi-party system was approved by the exclusive APC Parliament by a 60% majority vote, becoming effective on 1 October 1991. There was great suspicion that President Momoh was not serious about his promise of political reform, as APC rule continued to be increasingly marked by abuses of power.

The brutal civil war that was going on in neighbouring [[Liberia]] played a significant role in the outbreak of fighting in Sierra Leone. [[Charles Taylor (Liberia)|Charles Taylor]] – then leader of the [[National Patriotic Front of Liberia]] – reportedly helped form the [[Revolutionary United Front|Revolutionary United Front (RUF)]] under the command of former Sierra Leonean army [[corporal]] [[Foday Sankoh|Foday Saybana Sankoh]], an ethnic Temne from [[Tonkolili District]] in Northern Sierra Leone. Taylor's aim was for the RUF to attack the bases of Nigerian dominated peacekeeping troops in Sierra Leone who were opposed to his rebel movement in Liberia.

On 29 April 1992, a group of young soldiers in the Sierra Leone Army, led by seven army officers—Lieutenant Sahr Sandy, Captain Valentine Strasser, [[Solomon Musa|Lieutenant Solomon "SAJ" Musa]], Captain [[Komba Mondeh]], Lieutenant [[Tom Nyuma]], Captain Julius Maada Bio and Captain Komba Kambo<ref>{{cite web |url=http://news.sl/drwebsite/exec/view.cgi?archive=2&num=106 |title=NPRC's Komba Kambo Speaks After Eleven Years Of Silence!: Sierra Leone News |first= Sayoh|last= Kamara|work=Awareness Times|publisher=News.sl |date=27 July 2005|access-date=17 June 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140222185702/http://news.sl/drwebsite/exec/view.cgi?archive=2&num=106 |archive-date=22 February 2014}}</ref>—staged a [[military coup]] that sent president Momoh into [[exile]] in Guinea, and the young soldiers established the National Provisional Ruling Council (NPRC), with 25-year-old Captain Valentine Strasser as its chairman and Head of State of the country.<ref name="blogspot1">{{cite web|url=http://salonenow.blogspot.com/2011/08/attempts-to-launder-maada-bios-battered.html#!/2011/08/attempts-to-launder-maada-bios-battered.html |title=SIERRA LEONE NOW: Attempts To Launder Maada Bio's Battered Image Fail... We Were Not Supreme Council Members – Civilians In NPRC Deny Involvement In Atrocities |publisher=Salonenow.blogspot.com |access-date=20 March 2014}}</ref> The NPRC junta immediately suspended the constitution, banned all political parties, limited [[freedom of speech]] and [[freedom of the press]] and enacted a rule-by-decree policy, in which soldiers were granted unlimited powers of administrative detention without charge or trial, and challenges against such detentions in court were precluded.

SAJ Musa, a childhood friend of Strasser, became the deputy chairman and deputy leader of the NPRC government. Strasser became the world's youngest Head of State when he seized power just three days after his 25th birthday. The NPRC junta established the National Supreme Council of State as the military highest command and final authority in all matters and was exclusively made up of the highest-ranking NPRC soldiers, including Strasser himself and the original soldiers who toppled President Momoh.<ref name="blogspot1"/>

One of the top-ranking soldiers in the NPRC junta, Lieutenant Sahr Sandy, a trusted ally of Strasser, was assassinated, allegedly by Major S.I.M. Turay, a key loyalist of ousted president Momoh. A heavily armed military manhunt was carried out across the country to find Lieutenant Sandy's killer. However, the main suspect, Major S.I.M. Turay, went into hiding and fled the country to Guinea. Dozens of soldiers loyal to the ousted president Momoh were arrested, including Colonel Kahota M. Dumbuya and Major Yayah Turay.

The NPRC junta maintained relations with ECOWAS and strengthened support for Sierra Leone-based ECOMOG troops fighting in the Liberian war. On 28 December 1992, an alleged coup attempt against the NPRC government of Strasser, aimed at freeing the detained Colonel Yahya Kanu, Colonel [[Kahota M.S. Dumbuya]] and former inspector general of police Bambay Kamara, was foiled. Several Junior army officers led by Sergeant Mohamed Lamin Bangura were identified as being behind the coup plot. The coup plot led to the execution of seventeen soldiers by [[firing squad]]. Some of those executed include Colonel Kahota Dumbuya, Major Yayah Kanu and Sergeant Mohamed Lamin Bangura. Several prominent members of the Momoh government who had been in detention at the Pa Demba Road prison, including former inspector general of police Bambay Kamara, were also executed.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.standardtimespress.org/artman/publish/article_4699.shtml |title=Standard Times Press Sierra Leone's NPRC's Ruthlessness No Death Certificates For 29 Sierra Leoneans |publisher=Standardtimespress.org |date=23 June 2010 |access-date=20 May 2012 |archive-date=4 September 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150904020215/http://www.standardtimespress.org/artman/publish/article_4699.shtml |url-status=usurped }}</ref>

On 5 July 1994 SAJ Musa, who was popular among the general population, particularly in Freetown, was arrested and sent into exile after he was accused of planning a coup to topple Strasser, an accusation SAJ Musa denied. Strasser replaced Musa as deputy NPRC chairman with Captain Bio, who was instantly promoted by Strasser to [[brigadier]].

The NPRC's efforts proved to be nearly as ineffective as the ousted Momoh administration in repelling the RUF rebels. More and more of the country fell into the hands of RUF fighters, and by 1994 they had gained control of much of the diamond-rich Eastern Province and were getting close to the capital Freetown. In response, the NPRC hired the services of [[South Africa]]n-based [[private military contractor]] [[Executive Outcomes]] for several hundred mercenary fighters in order to strengthen the response to the advances of the RUF rebels. Within a month they had driven RUF fighters back to enclaves along Sierra Leone's borders and cleared the RUF from the Kono diamond-producing areas of Sierra Leone.

With Strasser's two most senior NPRC allies and commanders Lieutenant Sahr Sandy and Lieutenant [[Solomon Musa]] no longer around to defend him, Strasser's leadership within the NPRC's Supreme Council of State became fragile. On 16 January 1996, after about four years in power, Strasser was arrested in a palace coup staged by his fellow NPRC soldiers led by Brigadier Bio at the Defence Headquarters in Freetown.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.focus-on-sierra-leone.co.uk/Vol2_1.htm |title=FSL Vol 2 No 1 |publisher=Focus-on-sierra-leone.co.uk |access-date=23 September 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130928012312/http://www.focus-on-sierra-leone.co.uk/Vol2_1.htm |archive-date=28 September 2013 |url-status=dead |df=dmy-all }}</ref> Strasser was immediately flown into exile in a [[military helicopter]] to [[Conakry]], [[Guinea]]. In his first public broadcast to the nation following the 1996 coup, Brigadier Bio stated that his support for returning Sierra Leone to a democratically elected civilian government and his commitment to ending the civil war were his motivations for the coup.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.thefreelibrary.com/How+Sierra+Leone+fell+into+the+hands+of+young+soldiers.-a0254314002 |title=How Sierra Leone fell into the hands of young soldiers|publisher=Thefreelibrary.com |access-date=20 May 2012}}</ref>

==== Kabbah's tenure: government, "dawn of a new republic", the AFRC and end of the Civil War (1996–2007) ====
Following the 1995 National Consultative Conference at the Bintumani Hotel in Freetown, dubbed "Bintumani I", which was a Strasser-led initiative, another National Consultative Conference at the same Bintumani Hotel in Freetown, dubbed "Bintumani II", was initiated by the Bio administration that involved both national and international stakeholders, in an effort to find a viable solution to the issues plaguing the country.<ref name="Kandeh">Kandeh, J. D. (September, 1998), [https://www.jstor.org/stable/524828 "Transition without Rupture: Sierra Leone's Transfer Election of 1996"]. ''[[African Studies Review]]''
Flight. 41, No. 2 (September 1998), pp. 91–111. [[Cambridge University Press]]. [https://www.jstor.org/stable/524828 Archived]. Retrieved October 25, 2021.</ref> "''Peace before Elections vs Elections before Peace''" became a key debate topic and this quickly became a point of national discussion. The discussions eventually concluded with key stakeholders, including Bio's administration and the UN, agreeing that while efforts in finding a peaceful solution to ending the war should continue, a general election should be held as soon as possible.<ref name="Kandeh" /> Bio handed power over to Ahmad Tejan Kabbah of the SLPP, after the conclusion of elections in early 1996 which Kabbah won. After taking over, President Kabbah immediately opened [[dialogue]] with the RUF and invited their leader Foday Sankoh for peace negotiations.<ref>University of Central Arkansas. [https://uca.edu/politicalscience/dadm-project/sub-saharan-africa-region/sierra-leone-1961-present/ 41. Sierra Leone (1961-Present)]. [https://uca.edu/politicalscience/dadm-project/sub-saharan-africa-region/sierra-leone-1961-present/ Archived]. Retrieved 22 October 2021.</ref>

On 25 May 1997, 17 soldiers in the Sierra Leone army led by Corporal Tamba Gborie, loyal to the detained Major [[Johnny Paul Koroma]], launched a military coup which sent President Kabbah into exile in Guinea and they established the [[Armed Forces Revolutionary Council]] (AFRC). Corporal Gborie quickly went to the Sierra Leone Broadcasting Services headquarters in New England, Freetown to announce the coup to a shocked nation and to alert all soldiers across the country to report for guard duty. The soldiers immediately released Koroma from prison and installed him as their chairman and Head of State.

Koroma suspended the constitution, banned demonstrations, shut down all private radio stations in the country and invited the RUF to join the new junta government, with its leader Foday Sankoh as the Vice-Chairman of the new AFRC-RUF coalition junta government. Within days, Freetown was overwhelmed by the presence of the RUF combatants. The Kamajors, a group of traditional fighters mostly from the Mende ethnic group under the command of deputy [[Defence Minister]] [[Samuel Hinga Norman]], remained loyal to President Kabbah and defended the Southern part of Sierra Leone from the soldiers.

After nine months in office, the junta was overthrown by the Nigerian-led [[ECOMOG]] forces, and the democratically elected government of president Kabbah was reinstated in February 1998. On 19 October 1998, 24 soldiers in the Sierra Leone army—including Gborie, Brigadier Hassan Karim Conteh, Colonel Samuel Francis Koroma, Major Kula Samba and Colonel Abdul Karim Sesay—were executed by firing squad after they were convicted in a [[court martial]] in Freetown, some for orchestrating the 1997 coup that overthrew President Kabbah and others for failure to reverse the mutiny.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.amnesty.org/en/documents/afr51/019/1998/en/|title= Campaigns {{!}} Sierra Leone: Imminent execution / death penalty / legal concern |publisher=Amnesty International|website= Amnesty.org |date= 11 October 1998|access-date= 26 February 2013}}</ref>

In October 1999, the United Nations agreed to send [[peacekeeping|peacekeepers]] to help restore order and disarm the rebels. The first of the 6,000-member force began arriving in December, and the [[UN Security Council]] voted in February 2000 to increase the force to 11,000, and later to 13,000. But in May, when nearly all [[Nigeria]]n forces had left and UN forces were trying to disarm the RUF in eastern Sierra Leone, [[Foday Sankoh|Sankoh]]'s forces clashed with the UN troops, and some 500 peacekeepers were taken [[hostage]] as the peace accord effectively collapsed. The hostage crisis resulted in more fighting between the RUF and the government as UN troops launched [[Operation Khukri]] to end the siege.

The situation in the country deteriorated to such an extent that British troops were deployed in [[Operation Palliser]], originally simply to evacuate foreign nationals. However, the British exceeded their original mandate and took full military action to finally defeat the rebels and restore order. The British were the catalyst for the ceasefire that ended the civil war. Elements of the [[British Army]], together with administrators and politicians, remained after withdrawal to help train the armed forces, improve the infrastructure of the country and administer financial and material aid. [[Tony Blair]], the Prime Minister of Britain at the time, is regarded as a hero by the people of Sierra Leone.<ref>{{Cite news|first=Alex|last= Renton|date=2010-04-17|title=Sierra Leone: one place where Tony Blair remains an unquestioned hero|url=http://www.theguardian.com/world/2010/apr/18/sierra-leone-international-aid-blair|access-date=2021-02-08|newspaper=The Guardian|language=en}}</ref>

Between 1991 and 2001, about [[List of wars by death toll|50,000 people were killed]] in Sierra Leone's civil war. Hundreds of thousands of people were forced from their homes and many became refugees in [[Guinea]] and [[Liberia]]. In 2001, UN forces moved into rebel-held areas and began to disarm rebel soldiers. By January 2002, the war was declared over. In May 2002, [[Ahmad Tejan Kabbah|Kabbah]] was re-elected president by a landslide. By 2004, the disarmament process was complete. Also in 2004, a UN-backed [[war crime]]s court began holding trials of senior leaders from both sides of the war. In December 2005, UN peacekeeping forces pulled out of Sierra Leone.

=== 2007 General Election and beyond ===

{{main|2007 Sierra Leonean general election|2018 Sierra Leonean general election}}

The elections in 2007 and 2012 marked a return to [[multi-party democracy]], with [[Ernest Bai Koroma]]'s election signaling a period of stability and recovery from the civil war.<ref>{{Cite web|last=|first=|date=2018-03-15|title=7 March 2018 Election in Sierra Leone by numbers|url=http://necsl2018.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/Election-Figures_1403.pdf|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180315070525/http://necsl2018.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/Election-Figures_1403.pdf|archive-date=15 March 2018|access-date=2021-02-08}}</ref>

The [[Ebola virus epidemic in Sierra Leone|Ebola epidemic]] in 2014 posed a significant health crisis, leading to a national state of emergency.<ref>[https://www.internationalsos.com/ebola/index.cfm?content_id=397&language_id=ENG Sierra Leone]. Internationalsos.com. Retrieved 24 February 2017.</ref>