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Aug 18, 1462
Written history begins in Sierra Leone in Portuguese
No specific date; Portuguese explorers land on Serra Leone and name the area Serra Lyona (Lion Mountain) -
Trading Posts
1500- early 1700s; European traders stop regularly on the Serra Leone Peninsula, exchanging cloth and metal goods for ivory, timber, and a small number of slaves. -
Slavers Come
No Specific Date; The first slaves in North America are brought from Sierra Leone to the Sea Islands, off the coast of the southern United States. -
Slave Trade Begims
1700 - 1800; A slave trade thrives between Sierra Leone and the plantations of South Carolina and Georgia, where the slaves' rice-farming skills make them particularly valuable. -
Province of Freedom
No Specific Date; British abolitionists help four hundred freed slaves from the USA, Nova Scotia, and Britian returns to Africa to settle in what they now call the "Province of Freedom," in Sierra Leone. These Krio, as they come to be called, are from all areas of Africa. -
Colonized
Freetown becomes one of Britian's first colonies in West Africa -
Freetown Become's Larger
Freed slaves from Jamacia arrives in Freetown -
British crown colony
Sierra Leone becomes a British crown colony. The British government uses Freetown as its naval base for antislavery pratols. -
Period: to
British governor resides
Freetown serves as the residence of the British governor, who also rules the Gold Coast (now Ghana) and Gambia settlements. -
College is established
Fourth Bay College is established and rapidly becomes a magnet for English-speaking Africana on the West Coast. For more than a century, its is the only European-style university in western sub-Saharan Africa -
Amistad revolt
Slaves aboard the ship called the Amistad revolt to secure their freedom. Their leader, Sengbe Pieh- or Joseph Cinqu, as he becomes known in the US - is a young Mende man from Sierra Leone. -
Huts Taxed
British imposes a hut tax in Serra Leone, decreeing that the inhabitants of the new protectorate be taxed on the size of their huts as payment for the privilege of British administration. The sparks two rebellions in the hinterland; one by the Temne tribe and the other by the Mende tribe. -
British give some power to inhabitants
A constitution is enacted by the british government to give some power to the inhabitants, providing a framework for decolonization. -
Chief appointed
Local ministerial responsible is introduced, and Sir Milton Margai is appointed chief minister. -
Prime Minister
Sir Milton Margai becomes prime minister following the completion of successful constitutopnal talks in London -
Sierra Leone becomes independent
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new prime minister
Sir Milton Margai dies, and his half brother Sir Albery Margai succeds him. -
APC
In Closely contested elections, the All People's Congress (APC) wins a plurality of the parliamentary seats. Accordingly, the governor general (representing the British monarch) declared Siaka Stevens - APC leader and mayor of Freetown - the new prime minister. Within a few hours, Stevens and Albert Margai are placed under house arrest by Brigadier David Lansana, the commander of the Republic of Sierra Leone Military Forces (RSLMF), on grounds that the determination of office should await the -
APC continued
the election od the tribal representatives to the house. Another group of officers soon stages another coup, only to be later ousted in a third couo, the "sergeants' revolt" -
State Of Emergency
With a return to civilian rule, Siaka Stevens at last assums office as prime minister. However, tranquility is not completely restored. In November, a state of emergency is declared after provincial distubances -
Constitution is adopted
The government survives an unsuccessful military coup. Also, a republican constitution is adopted, and Siaka Stevens becomes the first presidant of the republic -
Failed coup
Another failed military coup is launched against the government -
Students help
Students demonstrate against government against government corruption and embezzlement of funds. -
Amendments made
The constitution is amended, and all politcal parties, other than the ruling APC, are banned. Sierra Leone becomes a one-party state, with the APC, are banned -
RUF
A small band of men who call themselves the Revolutionary United Front (RUF), under the leadership of a former corporal, Foday Sankoh, begin to attack villages in eastern Sierra Leone, on the Liberian border. The initial group is made up of Charles Taylorsrebels and a few mercinaries from Burkina Faso -
Driven back
The National Provisional Ruling Council (NPRC) drive back the RUF within months back to the boarders. -
RUF Driven back again
The RUF launches another attempt to overthrow the government. Fighting reaches parts of Freetown again, leaving thousands dead and wounded. ECOMOG (ECOWAS Monitoring Group) forces drive back the RUF attack several weeks later -
President Kabbah declares the civil war officially over.