Maroon Town, Sierra Leone

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Maroon Town, Sierra Leone, is a district in the settlement of Freetown, a colony founded in West Africa by Great Britain.

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History

Following their defeat in the American Revolutionary War, the British had resettled African Americans in the British colony of Nova Scotia (now a province of Canada). [1] [2] However, many did not like the colder climate and poor treatment they received, [3] so in 1792, 1192, [4] about 1200 [5] or 1800 [1] of them emigrated to Sierra Leone. This move was welcomed by the Sierra Leone Company, which wanted to reestablish a colony, but lacked colonists. [5] [6] Once there, the Nova Scotian Settlers (as they came to be called) and Sierra Leone Company surveyors founded Freetown. [6]

A second group, the Jamaican Maroons, originally numbering just under 600 men, women and children who had surrendered following the Second Maroon War in Jamaica, were transported to Nova Scotia in 1796. [3] In 1800, unhappy with their new home, 550 Maroons emigrated to Freetown. [1] The Nova Scotian Settlers had sought to obtain better treatment and more power, clashing constantly with the colonial governors and the Sierra Leone Company since first setting foot in the colony in 1792, but the timely arrival of the "battle-tested" Maroons and a detachment of 45 soldiers and two officers aboard the ship Asia enabled the authorities to put down a rebellion by some of the Nova Scotian Settlers and win the power struggle. [5] [6] [7] [8] Three rebels were tried and executed, [8] and the other 33 [8] or 34 [6] prisoners were banished. The Maroons were granted land west of Settler Town, between Walpole Street and King Tom, which became known as Maroon Town. [7]

In 1822, uncomfortable worshipping in Nova Scotian chapels, the Maroons built the Methodist St. John's Maroon Church, in the centre of Maroon Town. [7]

By the 1830s, the Maroons had integrated into Freetown society [7] and become a part of the Sierra Leone Creole people. [9]

See also

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Moses "Daddy" Wilkinson or "Old Moses" was known as a Black Loyalist who gained freedom from slavery in Virginia during the American Revolutionary War, was a Wesleyan Methodist preacher in New York and Nova Scotia, and migrated in 1791 to Sierra Leone. There he established the first Methodist church in Settler Town and survived a rebellion in 1800.

Nova Scotian Settlers Historical ethnic group that settled Sierra Leone

The Nova Scotian Settlers, or Sierra Leone Settlers were African-Americans who founded the settlement of Freetown, Sierra Leone and the Colony of Sierra Leone, on March 11, 1792. The majority of these black American immigrants were among 3000 African-Americans, mostly former slaves, who had sought freedom and refuge with the British during the American Revolutionary War, leaving rebel masters. They became known as the Black Loyalists. The Nova Scotian settlers were jointly led by African-American Thomas Peters, a former soldier, and English abolitionist John Clarkson. For most of the 19th century, the Settlers resided in Settler Town and remained a distinct ethnic group within the Freetown territory, tending to marry among themselves and with Europeans in the colony. Indigenous tribes in the region included the Sherbro and Mende.

Edna Elliott-Horton Sierra Leonean scholar and activisist (1904–1994)

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Sierra Leone Creole people Ethnic group of Sierra Leone

The Sierra Leone Creole people are an ethnic group of Sierra Leone. The Sierra Leone Creole people are descendants of freed African American, Afro-Caribbean, and Liberated African slaves who settled in the Western Area of Sierra Leone between 1787 and about 1885. The colony was established by the British, supported by abolitionists, under the Sierra Leone Company as a place for freedmen. The settlers called their new settlement Freetown. Today, the Sierra Leone Creoles are 1.3% of the population of Sierra Leone.

Arthur Porter (historian)

Arthur Thomas Daniel Porter III was a Creole professor, historian, and author. His book on the Sierra Leone Creole people, Creoledom: A study of the development of Freetown society, examines their society in a way in which few books of their time period had, and it is one of the most quoted books on the Creoles. He was published in East Africa and the UK.

Sierra Leone Colony and Protectorate West African colony (1808–1861) and protectorate (1896–1961) of the British Empire

The Colony and Protectorate of Sierra Leone was the British colonial administration in Sierra Leone from 1808 to 1961, part of the British Empire from the abolitionism era until the decolonisation era. The Crown colony, which included the area surrounding Freetown, was established in 1808. The protectorate was established in 1896 and included the interior of what is today known as Sierra Leone.

References

  1. 1 2 3 Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland. 1887. p. 301.
  2. ↑ "Jamaica-Sierra Leone ties strong". The Gleaner . 29 October 2014. Archived from the original on 7 November 2016. Retrieved 7 November 2016.
  3. 1 2 "African Nova Scotians". Nova Scotia Archives and Records Management. Archived from the original on 2016-11-07. Retrieved 2016-11-07.
  4. ↑ Clarkson's mission to America 1791-1792, edited by Charles Bruce Fergusson, Public Archives of Nova Scotia (1971) p. 28
  5. 1 2 3 Land, Isaac; Schocket, Andrew M. (2008). "New Approaches to the Founding of the Sierra Leone Colony, 1786–1808". Bowling Green University History Faculty Publications. Archived from the original on 2016-11-07. Retrieved 2016-11-07.
  6. 1 2 3 4 Taylor, Bankole Kamara (February 2014). Sierra Leone: The Land, Its People and History. New Africa Pres. pp. 69–71. ISBN   9789987160389.
  7. 1 2 3 4 "St. John's Maron (sic) Church". Monuments and Relics Commission. Archived from the original on 2017-02-16.
  8. 1 2 3 Walker, Samuel Abraham (1847). The Church of England Mission in Sierra Leone; Including an Introductory Account of that Colony, and a Comprehensive Sketch of the Niger Expedition in 1841. pp. xxvi–xxvii.
  9. ↑ Daniel Flynn (9 September 2007). "Krio heritage rich but crumbling in Sierra Leone". Reuters. Archived from the original on 26 August 2017. Retrieved 2 July 2017.

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