Sierra Leoneans in the United Kingdom

Last updated
Sierra Leoneans in the United Kingdom
Total population
17,048 Sierra Leonean born (2001) [1]
Ancestral Numbers Unknown
Regions with significant populations
London, Sheffield, Liverpool, Cardiff, Birmingham, Manchester, Leicester and Bristol
Languages
Krio, English, Mende, Temne, Mandingo
Religion
Christianity  · Sunni Islam  · Atheism

Sierra Leoneans in the United Kingdom are citizens or residents of the United Kingdom who are of Sierra Leonean descent. In 2001, there were 17,048 Sierra Leonean-born residents of the UK. [1]

Contents

Background

Sierra Leonean migration to the UK has a long history, with traders, chiefs, doctors and lawyers sending their children to be educated in Britain in increasing numbers from the mid-19th century. [2] In the late 18th century, the settlement of Freetown, Sierra Leone was established by freed African Americans, Afro Caribbeans, and Black Britons who were evacuated to Sierra Leone. The Province of Freedom was founded with the support of the Committee for the Relief of the Black Poor. This settlement lasted from 1787 to 1789 when it was destroyed by indigenous tribesmen. [3] The city of Freetown was founded in 1792 by Black Nova Scotians who were later joined by Jamaican Maroon freedmen in 1900. Today, their descendants are the Sierra Leone Creole people. [4]

Migration in the 17th century

Many British traders in the service of the Royal African Company went to Sierra Leone during the 17th and 18th centuries. Many had children with women from the Sherbro tribe and their descendants can be found in Sierra Leone today. Thus a number of Sierra Leoneans (particularly those from the Sherbro and Creole ethnic groups) can trace their ancestry back to British traders, colonial officials, and former slave traders.[ citation needed ]

Migration in the 20th century

There was a small Sierra Leonean population in the UK in the early part of the 20th century and Sierra Leoneans served in the British Armed Forces during World War II. [5] More recent migration from Sierra Leone to the UK has included refugees fleeing the Sierra Leone Civil War. One author states that some 17,000 Sierra Leonean refugees arrived in the UK between 1992 and 2003. [5] Prior to the war, starting in the 1960s, smaller numbers of refugees arrived in the UK. [5] The Sierra Leonean migrant population includes numerous ethnic groups, including Sierra Leonean-Lebanese. [5] Most Sierra Leonean refugees in the UK live in London, with smaller numbers found in Manchester and other major cities. [5]

Migration in the 21st century

The UK Office of National Statistics recorded 23,000 Sierra Leoneans living in England and Wales in 2011. [6]

Diaspora organisations in the UK

Notable individuals

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sierra Leone</span> Country on the southwest coast of West Africa

Sierra Leone, officially the Republic of Sierra Leone, is a country on the southwest coast of West Africa. It is bordered by Liberia to the southeast and Guinea surrounds the northern half of the nation. Covering a total area of 71,740 km2 (27,699 sq mi), Sierra Leone has a tropical climate, with diverse environments ranging from savanna to rainforests. The country has a population of 7,092,113 as of the 2015 census. The capital and largest city is Freetown. The country is divided into five administrative regions, which are subdivided into 16 districts.

Sierra Leone first became inhabited by indigenous African peoples at least 2,500 years ago. The Limba were the first tribe known to inhabit Sierra Leone. The dense tropical rainforest partially isolated the region from other West African cultures, and it became a refuge for peoples escaping violence and jihads. Sierra Leone was named by Portuguese explorer Pedro de Sintra, who mapped the region in 1462. The Freetown estuary provided a good natural harbour for ships to shelter and replenish drinking water, and gained more international attention as coastal and trans-Atlantic trade supplanted trans-Saharan trade.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Freetown</span> Capital, chief port, and the largest city of Sierra Leone

Freetown is the capital and largest city of Sierra Leone. It is a major port city on the Atlantic Ocean and is located in the Western Area of the country. Freetown is Sierra Leone's major urban, economic, financial, cultural, educational and political centre, as it is the seat of the Government of Sierra Leone. The population of Freetown was 1,055,964 at the 2015 census.

Port Loko is the capital of Port Loko District and since 2017 the North West Province of Sierra Leone. The city had a population of 21,961 in the 2004 census and current estimate of 44,900. Port Loko lies approximately 36 miles north-east of Freetown. The area in and around Port Loko is a major bauxite mining and trade centre. The town lies on the main highway linking Freetown to Guinea's capital Conakry. It also lies on the over-land highway between Freetown and its major airport, Lungi International Airport, although most travellers complete this journey via the much shorter ferry or helicopter transit.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Limba people (Sierra Leone)</span> Ethnic group, third largest in Sierra Leone

The Limba people are the third largest ethnic group in Sierra Leone. They represent 12.4% of Sierra Leone's total population. They are based in the north of the country across seven provinces, comprising about 12% of the national populations. They’re predominantly found in the Northern Province of Sierra Leone.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Temne people</span> West African ethnic group

The Temne, also called Atemne, Témené, Temné, Téminè, Temeni, Thaimne, Themne, Thimni, Timené, Timné, Timmani, or Timni, are a West African ethnic group, They are predominantly found in the Northern Province of Sierra Leone. Some Temne are also found in Guinea. The Temne constitute the largest ethnic group in Sierra Leone, at 35.5% of the total population, which is slightly bigger than the Mende people at 31.2%. They speak Temne, a Mel branch of the Niger–Congo languages.

The Sherbro people are a native people of Sierra Leone, who speak the Sherbro language; they make up 1.9% of Sierra Leone's population or 134,606. The Sherbro are found primarily in their homeland in Bonthe District, where they make up 40% of the population, in coastal areas of Moyamba District, and in the Western Area of Sierra Leone, particularly in Freetown. During pre-colonial days, the Sherbro were one of the most dominant ethnic group in Sierra Leone, but in the early 21st century, the Sherbro comprise a small minority in the nation. The Sherbro speak their own language, called Sherbro language.

Ports Authority Football Club is a Sierra Leonean professional football club based in the capital Freetown. The club is a member of the Sierra Leone National Premier League, which is the top football division in Sierra Leone. The club is owned and run by the Sierra Leone Ports Authority (SLPA). Ports Authority play their home games at the National Stadium in Freetown.

Brima Sesay nicknamed Small Attouga, was a Sierra Leonean international goalkeeper. Sesay played for Ports Authority F.C. in the Sierra Leone National Premier League and for the Sierra Leone national football team known as the Leone Stars. He was one of the best young goalkeepers in Sierra Leone.

Christian Caulker is a Sierra Leonean footballer who plays for Maryland Bobcats FC as a goalkeeper.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nova Scotian Settlers</span> 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 3,000 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.

Sesay is a common surname among the Mandingo, Temne, Loko, Limba and Kuranko people of Sierra Leone, and may refer to:

Mandinka people of Sierra Leone is a major ethnic group in Sierra Leone and a branch of the Mandinka people of West Africa. Most Sierra Leonean Mandingo are the direct descendants of Mandinka settlers from Guinea, who settled in the north and eastern part of Sierra Leone, beginning in the late 1870s to the 1890s under the rule of prominent Mandinka Muslim cleric Samori Ture. Also later a significantly large population of Mandinka from Guinea migrated and settled in Eastern Sierra Leone and Northern Sierra Leone in the early to mid 20th century. The Mandingo people of Sierra Leone have a very close friendly and allied relationship with their neighbors the Mandingo people of Guinea and Liberia, as they share pretty much identical dialect of the Mandingo language, tradition, culture and food.

Sierra Leonean Americans are an ethnic group of Americans of full or partial Sierra Leonean ancestry. This includes Sierra Leone Creoles whose ancestors were African American Black Loyalists freed after fighting on the side of the British during the American Revolutionary War. Some African Americans trace their roots to indigenous enslaved Sierra Leoneans exported to the United States between the 18th and early 19th century. In particular, the Gullah people of partial Sierra Leonean ancestry, fled their owners and settled in parts of South Carolina, Georgia, and the Sea Islands, where they still retain their cultural heritage. The first wave of Sierra Leoneans to the United States, after the slavery period, was after the Sierra Leone Civil War in the 1990s and early 2000s. According to the American Community Survey, there are 34,161 Sierra Leonean immigrants living in the United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Religion in Sierra Leone</span>

Sierra Leone is officially a secular state, although Islam and Christianity are the two main and dominant religions in the country. The constitution of Sierra Leone provides for freedom of religion and the Sierra Leone Government generally protects it. The Sierra Leone Government is constitutionally forbidden from establishing a state religion, though Muslim and Christian prayers are usually held in the country at the beginning of major political occasions, including presidential inauguration.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Women in Sierra Leone</span> Overview of the status of women in Sierra Leone

Sierra Leone, officially the Republic of Sierra Leone, is a Constitutional Republic in West Africa. Since it was founded in 1792, the women in Sierra Leone have been a major influence in the political and economic development of the nation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ethnic groups in Sierra Leone</span> Ethnic groups living within the country of Sierra Leone

Sierra Leone is home to about sixteen ethnic groups, each with its own language. In Sierra Leone, membership of an ethnic group often overlaps with a shared religious identity.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sierra Leone Creole people</span> 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 1.2 percent of the population of Sierra Leone.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Oku people (Sierra Leone)</span> Ethnic group of Sierra Leone

The Oku people or the Aku Marabout or Aku Mohammedans are an ethnic group in Sierra Leone and the Gambia, primarily the descendants of marabout, liberated Yoruba people who were released from slave ships and resettled in Sierra Leone as Liberated Africans or came as settlers in the mid-19th century.

References

  1. 1 2 "Country-of-birth database". Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development . Retrieved 2008-09-21.
  2. ↑ Debrunner, Hans Werner (1979). Presence and Prestige: Africans in Europe. Basel: Basler Afrika Bibliographien. p. 368.
  3. ↑ "The Black Poor". Black Presence: Asian and Black History in Britain. National Archives. Retrieved 2009-07-16.
  4. ↑ Walker, James W. (1992). "Chapter Five: Foundation of Sierra Leone". The Black Loyalists: The Search for a Promised Land in Nova Scotia and Sierra Leone, 1783–1870 . Toronto: University of Toronto Press. pp.  94–114. ISBN   978-0-8020-7402-7. Originally published by Longman & Dalhousie University Press (1976).
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 Rutter, Jill (2003). Supporting Refugee Children in 21st Century Britain: A Compendium of Essential Information (revised ed.). Stoke on Trent: Trentham Books. pp.  260–263. ISBN   1-85856-292-9.
  6. ↑ "Immigration Patterns of Non-UK Born Populations in England and Wales in 2011". Office for National Statistics. Retrieved 13 February 2016.
  7. ↑ Hart, Simon (25 January 2014). "Winter Olympics 2014: Lamin Deen's mad journey from bearskin to bobsleigh". telegraph.co.uk . Retrieved 24 July 2017.
  8. ↑ Barnett, Marcus (24 July 2017). "In the Red Corner". Jacobin . Retrieved 24 July 2017.
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