Sierra Leone, Liberia, and Ghana: West African History

Back to Africa: Sierra Leone, Liberia, and Ghana

Sierra Leone

In 1787, British philanthropists founded the "Province of Freedom," which later became Freetown, a British crown colony and the principal base for the suppression of the slave trade.

By 1855, over 50,000 freed slaves had been settled in Freetown. Known as the Krios, the repatriated settlers of Freetown live today in a multi-ethnic country. Though English is the official language, Krio is widely spoken throughout the country.

Liberia

In 1816, the American Colonization Society (ACS) was established to satisfy two opposing groups in America: abolitionists and slave owners who wanted to expel free blacks from America. In 1822, the ACS founded a settlement at Mesurado Bay.

In 1847, the legislature of Liberia declared itself an independent state. The society in Liberia developed into three segments:

• The settlers with European-African lineage.
• Freed slaves from slave ships and the West Indies.
• Indigenous native people.

Ghana

Colonial Business and Local Conflicts

As with the slave trade, the European presence had disastrous results for the balance of power between different local groups. Violent confrontations between tribes were one of the collateral effects of colonialism.

During the 19th century, British traders made alliances with the Fanti, who were the dominant coastal tribes at the time. During the same period, the interior Ashanti tribe was becoming more powerful and sought to displace the Fanti and take over the coastal trade.

Since the area was under their protection, the British made several raids into Ashanti territory between 1826 and 1874 in order to punish incursions. A final uprising in 1896 resulted in the declaration of the territory as the Crown Colony of the Gold Coast.

Independence

It was the first of the British African colonies to obtain independence after World War II (1957) and it changed its name to Ghana. The first President of Ghana was Kwame Nkrumah, who was also the first African head of state to promote Pan-Africanism.