Kristine mentioned in her review of the book A Long Way Gone that she hadn’t known much about this area until she had read that book. I didn’t know much about this area either.

This topic tied in perfectly with our first few weeks of school since we were (and our family is STILL studying Africa to a certain degree even though our co-op has moved on) studying Africa. Many people in our church have been discussing Africa and I’ve heard several people in our area talking about adopting children from Africa. I stood behind a lady in WalMart with an unique accent. I struck up a conversation with her and found out she is from South Africa and lives right here in our town. I wrote down her name and asked if I could call her to talk more with her and invite her to speak to our co-op kids. The next week I found out one of our co-op moms knows her and invited her to come. What a coincidence! One of my internet loop friends from Zimbabwe is currently in the process of being evicted from her home and some of us are sending care packages to her. Another internet loop from has a son who went on a missions trip to Sierra Leone this summer. It seems everywhere I turn I’m running into SOMETHING about or someone from Africa.

I’m reading the book titled The Fate of Africa which I’ll review here on the blog after I finish it, but for now I want to briefly list the chronolgy of Sierra Leone as given in the book, A Long Way Gone.

CHRONOLOGY OF SIERRA LEONE
1400s – Timon tribes settled on the northern coast of Sierra Leon as well as some 15 other African tribes.
1462 – written history of Sierra Leon begins when Portugese explorers land there and name the area around Freeport Sierra Leon meaning Lion Mountain
1500 to early 1700 – European traders being to stop there to exchange goods
1652 – 1st slaves in North America are brought from Sierra Leone to the Sea Islands off the Southern coast of the US
1700 – 1800 Slave trade grows with slaves taken to North Carolina and Georgia. These slaves are particular valuable because of their experience with growing rice.
1787 – British abolotionists help freed slaves from US, Nova Scotia, and Britain return to Africa to settle the Province of Freedom.
1791– other groups of freed slaves join the Province of Freedom settlement which is later named Freetown, the current capital of Sierra Leone
1792 – Freetown becomes one of Britain’s first colonies in West Africa
1800 – free slaves from Jamaica arrive in Freetown
1808 – Sierra Leone becomes a British Crown Colony. The British Government uses Freetown as a naval base for slavery patrol.
1821 – 1874 – becomes the residence of British Governor who also rules the Gold Coast (Ghana)
1827 – College is established and attracts english speaking Africans.
1839 – Amistad slaves revolt
1898 – Britain imposes taxes in Sierra Leone.. payment for priviledge of British administration is based on the size of huts.
1951 – Constitution is enacted by the British which gives the framework for decolonization
1953 – local ministerial responsibility is introduced
4-27-1961 – Sierra Leone becomes independent.

Fast forward to today. Here is a blurb from the World Atlas describing Sierra Leone:

The government is slowly reestablishing its authority after the 1991 to 2002 civil war that resulted in tens of thousands of deaths and the displacement of more than 2 million people (about one-third of the population).

Mounting tensions related to planned 2007 elections, deteriorating political and economic conditions in Guinea, and the tenuous security situation in neighboring Liberia may present challenges to continuing progress in Sierra Leone’s stability.

And now a You Tube video of Children of the Nations mission work in Sierra Leone after the war.