The Cotton Tree is a ''

Ceiba pentandra ''Ceiba pentandra'' is a tropical tree of the order Malvales and the family Malvaceae (previously emplaced in the family Bombacaceae), native to Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean, northern South America, and (as the variety ''C. pentandr ...

'', also known commonly as a kapok tree, a historic symbol of

Freetown 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 p ...

, the capital city of

Sierra Leone 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 , Sierra ...

. The Cotton Tree gained importance in 1792 when a group of formerly enslaved

African Americans African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...

, who had gained their freedom by fighting for the

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

during the

American War of Independence The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was a major war of the American Revolution. Widely considered as the war that secured the independence of t ...

, settled the site of modern Freetown. Originally published by Longman & Dalhousie University Press (1976). These former

Black Loyalist Black Loyalists were people of African descent who sided with the Loyalist (American Revolution), Loyalists during the American Revolutionary War. In particular, the term refers to men who escaped enslavement by Patriot (American Revolution), Pat ...

soldiers, also known as

Black Nova Scotians Black Nova Scotians (also known as African Nova Scotians and Afro-Nova Scotians) are Black Canadians whose ancestors primarily date back to the Colonial United States as slaves or freemen, later arriving in Nova Scotia, Canada, during the 18th ...

(because they came from

Nova Scotia Nova Scotia ( ; ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces. Nova Scotia is Latin for "New Scotland". Most of the population are native Eng ...

after leaving the United States), resettled in Sierra Leone and founded Freetown on March 11, 1792. The descendants of the Nova Scotian settlers form part of the

Sierra Leone Creole The Sierra Leone Creole people ( kri, Krio people) are an ethnic group of Sierra Leone. The Sierra Leone Creole people are lineal descendant, descendants of freed African-American, Afro-Caribbean, and Sierra Leone Liberated African, Liberated Af ...

ethnicity today.

History

People first landed on the shoreline and walked up to a giant tree just above the bay, where they held a thanksgiving service, gathering around the tree in a large group and praying and singing hymns to thank God for their deliverance to a free land. The tree's exact age is unknown, but it is known to have existed in 1787. It is the oldest cotton tree in Freetown, Sierra Leone. It stands near the

Supreme Court A supreme court is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts in most legal jurisdictions. Other descriptions for such courts include court of last resort, apex court, and high (or final) court of appeal. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...

building, the music club building, and the

National Museum A national museum is a museum maintained and funded by a national government. In many countries it denotes a museum run by the central government, while other museums are run by regional or local governments. In other countries a much greater numb ...

. The tree has a lot of unique history. It was under this tree that the Nova Scotian settlers first prayed upon landing on the soil of Liberty and freedom, to start their new lives as free people. They regarded it as the symbol of their present situations during that period. Before these newly freed Africans arrived, Sierra Leone had already been inhabited. These newly arrived Africans gave the capital the name it bears today, Freetown. Sierra Leoneans still pray and make offerings to their ancestors for peace and prosperity beneath the Cotton Tree.

References

{{Reflist, 30em

External links

"Cotton Tree – Freetown, Sierra Leone"
''Atlas Obscura''. Flora of Sierra Leone Geography of Freetown History of Sierra Leone Individual trees in Sierra Leone People of Black Nova Scotian descent Sierra Leone Creole people

History

See also

References

External links