It was a colony under the auspices of the Sierra Leone Company from March 11, 1792 until it became a british colony, in 1808. Sierra Leone is now a constitutional republic comprising with four geographical regions: the Northern Province, Eastern Province, Southern Province and the Western Area, which are further divided into fourteen districts.
Freetown is the capital: largest city and economic and financial center. The other major cities are Bo, Kenema, Koidu Town and Makeni. Despite this natural wealth, the vast majority of its people live in poverty.
Sierra Leone is a predominantly muslim nation, though with a significant christian minority. The country is home to about sixteen ethnic groups, each with its own language and costume. The two largest and most influential are the Mende and Temne. Unlike most african nations, Sierra Leone has no serious ethnic or religious divisions. People are often married across tribal and religious boundaries.
The first habitants of Sierra Leone included: the Sherbro, Temne and Limba peoples, and later the Mende, who knew the country as Romarong, and the Kono who settled in the east of the country. In 1462, it was visited by the portuguese explorer, Pedro da Cintra, who dubbed it "Lion Mountains".
Sierra Leone, later, became an important centre of the transatlantic trade in slaves until march 11, 1792, when Freetown was founded by the Sierra Leone Company as a home for formerly enslaved african americans. In 1808, Freetown became a British Crown Colony and, in 1896, the interior of the country became a British Protectorate; in 1961, the two regions gained independence.
By Luana Rosa
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