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Freetown, Sierra Leone
Quick Facts Freetown, population 1,070,200 (2004), is the largest city and capital of Sierra Leone, lying on the Freetown Peninsula on the Atlantic coast. The city is a port on the Atlantic Ocean. Freetown's economy revolves largely around its harbor, which handles Sierra Leone's main exports. Industries include fish packing, rice milling, petroleum refining, diamond cutting, and the manufacture of cigarettes. Freetown is located at 8°31'N 13°15'W |
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Features 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. History The area was first settled in 1787 by freed slaves sent from England around the Cotton Tree, said to have previously been a slave market, by British abolitionists, who started the Sierra Leone Company. It was burnt by local tribes under King Jimmy in 1790.Slaves who had fled the newly-independent USA to England were resettled here by the British Government. In 1792, Freetown was founded by former slaves from Nova Scotia, and survived being pillaged by the French in 1794. The indigenous inhabitants revolted in 1800, but the British retook control, beginning expansionism which led to the creation of Sierra Leone. From 1808 to 1874 the city served as the capital of British West Africa. 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.
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Links to Freetown
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Alice Bernard-Jones
Henry Randall
Freetown, Sierra Leone is participating in the Chamber of Commerce of Greater Kansas City's Nigeria Medical/Humanitarian Mission
Fifteen Day / Thirteen Night trip including eleven nights in NIgeria
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September 15 and 16, 2006 -10th Annual Heritage Festival and Economic Summit. The Festival will be held at Bethel A.M.E. Church located at 2329 Flora Ave., Kansas City, Missouri. The theme for this year’s festival and summit is Atunbi (Rebirth): The Changing Phases of Africa. Click Here for More Information!