FREETOWN

'Freetown', population 1,070,200 (2004), is the capital and largest city of Sierra Leone. It is located in the Western Area of the country and a port on the Freetown Peninsula on the Atlantic coast. Freetown's economy revolves around its harbour, which handles the country's main exports. Industries include fish packing, rice milling, petroleum refining, and the manufacture of cigarettes.

Contents

History

Climate

Transportation

Air transportation

Transfers to Freetown

Access by sea

Features

Famous Citizens

Notes of interest

Twinning

References

External links

History

The area, said to have previously been a slave market, was first settled in 1787 by 400 freed slaves and Black American Loyalists sent from England, under the auspices of British abolitionists. They established the 'Province of Freetown' on land purchased from local Koya Temne subchief King Tom and regent Naimbana, a purchase which was to cede the land to the new settlers "for ever." The established arrangement between Europeans and the Koya Temne did not include provisions for permanent settlement, and some historians question how well the Koya leaders understood the agreement. Disputes soon broke out, and King Tom's successor, King Jimmy burnt the settlement to the ground in 1789^[1].
The London based Sierra Leone Company made a second attempt in 1792 and resettled Freetown with 1,100 former slaves and Loyalists from Nova Scotia, many of whom were born in the colonial United States, led by former slave Thomas Peters. Around 500 free Jamaican Maroons joined them in 1800.
It survived being pillaged by the French in 1794, and the indigenous inhabitants revolted in 1800, but the British retook control, beginning the expansionism that led to the creation of Sierra Leone. From 1808 to 1874, the city served as the capital of British West Africa. It served as the base for the Royal Navy's West African Squadron which was charged with stopping the slave trade. Most of the slaves liberated by the squadron choose to settle in Sierra Leone, and Freetown in particular, rather than return home; thus the population includes descendants of many different peoples from all over the west coast of Africa. The city expanded rapidly as many freed slaves settled, accompanied by African soldiers who had fought for Britain in the Napoleonic Wars. During World War II, Britain maintained a naval base at Freetown. Descendants of the freed slaves, called Creoles, play a leading role in the city, even though they are a minority of the population.
The city was the scene of fierce fighting in the late 1990s. It was captured by ECOWAS troops seeking to restore President Ahmad Tejan Kabbah in 1998, and later it was unsuccessfully attacked by rebels of the Revolutionary United Front.

Climate

Like the rest of Sierra Leone, Freetown is of tropical climate with a rainy season - May through October, the balance of the year representing the dry season. The beginning and end of the rainy season is marked by strong thunder storms.
Freetown's high humidity is some what relieved November through February by the famous Harmattan, a gentle wind flowing down from the Sahara Desert affording Freetown its coolest period of the year.

Transportation

Air transportation

Lungi International Airport is the international airport of Sierra Leone and is located in the city of Lungi, Sierra Leone . It serves as the primary airport for domestic and international travel to or from Sierra Leone. The Sierra Leone River separates Lungi international airport from Freetown.. Freetown also has a heliport on Aberdeen Island, connecting the city with the airport. There is a frequent helicopter, hovercraft and ferry-service to Lungi.

Transfers to Freetown

Passengers have the choice of hovercraft, ferry or a helicopter to cross the river to Freetown. Ferry is the cheapest option.

Access by sea

Sierra Leone has the third largest natural harbour in the world where shipping from all over the globe berth at Freetown's famous Queen Elizabeth II Quay. Passenger, cargo and private craft also utilize Government Wharf nearer to central Freetown.
Recent important investment has seen the introduction of high tech cargo scanning facilities operated by Intertek/ Port Maritime Security International (PMSI). This facility is a clear indication of the Sierra Leone Government's commitment for significant improvement, security and expansion of port facilities. Through the services provided, Sierra Leone has not only addressed its international obligations in keeping with future changes but also allows the country to trade freely with the important US export market of minerals including rutile and bauxite.
100% inspection of containers arriving and departing Freetown is today the norm, placing Sierra Leone ahead of all other countries throughout West Africa in security, so vastly improving the whole import/export experience for commercial enterprises and shipping lines worldwide.

Features

One of Freetown’s most recognisable features is its famous cotton tree. The cotton tree has reportedly been in the same position since colonists settled in the area in 1787 when the tree was still a young sapling. It now stands outside the Freetown Museum.
Notable buildings in the city include Freetown Law Courts, the Slave Gate and Portuguese Steps, St John's Maroon Church (built around 1820), St George's Cathedral (completed in 1828), Foulah Town Mosque (built in the 1830s) and the Roman Catholic Sacred Heart Cathedral. Also in Freetown are assorted beaches and markets, and the Sierra Leone Museum featuring the Ruiter Stone, nomoli and masks.
Freetown's suburbs stretch along the coast, from the East End Wellington, Kissy, Cline Town, Fourah Bay, Kossa Town and Foulah Town and a West End of Congo Town, Murray Town, Wilberforce and Aberdeen.
The city is the site of the permanent home of Fourah Bay College and the temporary home of Njala University college (which formed part of the University of Sierra Leone).

Famous Citizens

'Bold text' = Born in Freetown.

★ 'Chris Bart-Williams'. Former footballer with Sheffield Wednesday.

★ Isaac Wallace-Johnson. Trade Unionist.

Notes of interest

The city hosts since the We Are the Future center, a child care center giving children a chance to live their childhoods and develop a sense of hope. The center is managed under the direction of the mayor’s office, and the international NGO Glocal Forum serves as the fundraiser and program planner and coordinator for the WAF child center in each city. Each WAF city is linked to several peer cities and public and private partners to create a unique international coalition.
Launched in 2004, the program is the result of a strategic partnership between the Glocal Forum, the Quincy Jones Listen Up Foundation and Mr. Hani Masri, with the support of the World Bank, UN agencies and major companies.

Twinning

★ The town is twinned with Kingston upon Hull, England and New Haven, Connecticut, USA

References

1. Shaw, Rosalind, ''Memories of the Slave Trade: Ritual and the Historical Imagination in Sierra Leone''. (2002) University of Chicago Press page 37

External links