This year, April 27^th 2024, Sierra Leone turns 63. This day is the National Day of Sierra Leone and commemorates independence from Great Britain on 27^th April 1961.

Since the 15^th century, Sierra Leone had been an important staging post for European colonists. The region reputedly got its name from a Portuguese explorer who named the shape of the local hills after a lioness; Sierra Lyoa (Sierra Leone).

The British began to take an active role in Sierra Leone as both a trading port to send slaves from and as a place for freed American slaves to live, following evacuation in the American War of Independence. The capital, Freetown, was founded as a home for repatriated former slaves in 1787. 

British colonial control of Sierra Leone began in the early 1800s. After 1807, when the British parliament passed an act making the slave trade illegal, the new colony was used as a base from which the act could be enforced. Sierra Leone then became a crown colony in 1808 and a protectorate in 1898 – 1899.

In 1951, the Sierra Leone People’s Party (SLPP) was formed and some local powers were given in 1953. 

The first parliamentary elections took place in May 1957 with the SLPP winning the most seats under the leadership of Sir Milton Margai.

In April 1960, a series of conferences were held and as a result, at midnight on 27 April 1961, Sierra Leone was granted its independence from the UK ending almost 150 years of British colonial rule. Sir Milton Margai became its first Prime Minister.

REPUBLIC OF SIERRA LEONE: FACTS 

ﾷ Capital: Freetown

ﾷ Area: 71,740 sq km

ﾷ Population: 8.6 million

ﾷ Languages: English, Krio

ﾷ Life expectancy: 58 years (men) 61 years (women)

Despite being only the 117^th largest country in the world, Sierra Leone has the largest natural harbor in the African continent and the third largest in the world at Freetown’s Queen Elizabeth II Quay.

Some key dates in Sierra Leone's history:

500BC onwards - Sierra Leone is settled by successive groups of peoples, though its dense tropical rainforest partially isolates the region from other West African cultures.

1462 - Portuguese explorer Pedro de Sintra maps the hills around what is now Freetown, naming them "Serra de Leoa" or "Serra Leoa" - Lioness Mountains.

1495 - Portuguese traders build a fortified trading post on the coast. They are followed by others, as the Dutch, English and French who also established trading stations which quickly began to primarily deal in slaves.

1787 - Following British defeat in the American Revolutionary War, thousands of Black Loyalists were settled in Canada, the West Indies or from London. British philanthropists establish a settlement in Sierra Leone with the aim of lifting them out of poverty. British government officials were also involved, although their interest was in resettling a large group of poor citizens elsewhere away from London. This first settlement was attacked by locals, and struggles ensued.

1792 - Black Loyalists who were settled in Nova Scotia, Canada, after the American Revolution faced harsh northern winters and racial discrimination. Helped by philanthropists, nearly 1,200 decided to move to Sierra Leone and build the settlement of Freetown.

1808 - Freetown settlement becomes crown colony. With abolition of slavery, the Royal Navy began to deliver thousands of formerly enslaved Africans to Freetown, after liberating them from illegal slave ships.

1898 - Britain sets up a protectorate over the Freetown hinterland. 

1961 - Sierra Leone becomes independent. 

1967 - Military coup deposes Premier Siaka Stevens' government, but he returns to power the following year and becomes president in 1971, after Sierra Leone becomes a republic. 

1991 - Start of civil war. Former army corporal Foday Sankoh and his Revolutionary 

United Front (RUF) began campaign against President Joseph Saidu Momoh, capturing towns on the border with Liberia.

1992 - President Joseph Momoh was ousted in a military coup led by Captain Valentine Strasser. Under international pressure, Strasser announces plans for the first multi-party elections since 1967. In quick succession, however, the country goes through several presidents after a series of coups and palace coups.

July 1999 – the Lome Peace Accord was signed between the government, the RUF and Kamajoh militia. One of the provisor was to establish a Truth and Reconciliation Commission.

2000 - UN forces - deployed in the country to help end the war - came under attack in the east. Several hundreds of UN troops were abducted. Rebels closed in on Freetown. British paratroopers are sent to Freetown to evacuate British citizens and to help secure the airport for UN peacekeepers, rebel leader Foday Sankoh was captured. 

2002 - Civil war ends. UN mission said disarmament of 45,000 fighters was complete. 

Government, UN agree to set up war crimes court. British troops left Sierra Leone after two-year mission to help end the fighting.

2003 - Rebel leader Foday Sankoh dies of natural causes while awaiting trial for war crimes.

2004 - First local elections in more than three decades; war crimes trials began into atrocities committed by both sides during the fighting.

2014-2016 - Sierra Leone declares a state of emergency to tackle the deadly Ebola outbreak in

 West Africa which persists into 2016, killing more than 4,000 people in the region.

2018 – Democratic elections that witnessed the transfer of power from the APC political party to the SLPP party after an 11 years presidency of H.E. President Dr. Ernest Bai Koroma to H.E. Rtd. Brig. Julius Maada Bio.

2023 – General elections held but contended by opposition leader Dr. Samura Mathew Wilson Kamara.