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Freetown

2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection. Related subjects: African Geography

   Map of Sierra Leone showing the capital Freetown
   Enlarge
   Map of Sierra Leone showing the capital Freetown

   Freetown, population 1,070,200 ( 2004), is the largest city and capital
   of Sierra Leone, lyingon the Freetown Peninsula on the Atlantic coast.
   The city is a port on the Atlantic Ocean. Freetown's economy revolves
   largely around its harbour, which handles the country's main exports.
   Industries include fish packing, rice milling, petroleum refining, and
   the manufacture of cigarettes.

History

   The area was first settled in 1787 by freed slaves sent from England
   and Canada as well as Jamaican Maroons and Black American Loyalists. It
   is said to have previously been a slave market, by British
   abolitionists, who started the Sierra Leone Company. It was burnt by
   the local population 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 expanded rapidly as many freed slaves
   settled, accompanied by African soldiers who had fought for Britain in
   the Napoleonic Wars. During World War II, Britain maintained a naval
   base at Freetown. Descendants of the freed slaves, called Creoles, play
   a leading role in the city, even though they are a minority of the
   population.

   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.

   NB: The story of the settlement of Freetown is told in Simon Schama's
   book " Rough Crossings, Britain, Slaves and the American revolution",
   ISBN 0-563-49365-8.

Travel

   View of Freetown from Tower Hill
   Enlarge
   View of Freetown from Tower Hill

Airports

   Lungi International Airport is the international airport of Sierra
   Leone. Freetown a heliport on Aberdeen Island, connecting the city with
   the airport. There is a frequent helicopter, hovercraft and
   ferry-service to Lungi.

Features

   One of Freetown’s most recognisable features is its famous cotton tree.
   The cotton tree has reportedly been in the same position since
   colonists settled in the area in 1787 when the tree was still a young
   sapling. It now stands outside the Freetown Museum.

   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.

   Freetown's suburbs stretch along the coast, from the East End
   Wellington, Kissy, Cline Town, Fourah Bay, Kossa Town and Foulah Town
   and a West End of Congo Town, Murray Town, Wilberforce and Aberdeen.

   The city is the site of the permanent home of Fourah Bay College and
   the temporary home of Njala University college (which formed part of
   the University of Sierra Leone).

   It is twinned with:
     * Kingston upon Hull in northern England and
     * New Haven, Connecticut, USA.

   Retrieved from " http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freetown"
   This reference article is mainly selected from the English Wikipedia
   with only minor checks and changes (see www.wikipedia.org for details
   of authors and sources) and is available under the GNU Free
   Documentation License. See also our Disclaimer.
