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Freetown is the capital and largest city of Sierra Leone. It is a major port city on the
Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth#Surface, Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the "Old World" of Afr ...
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. The city's economy revolves largely around its harbour, which occupies a part of the estuary of the Sierra Leone River in one of the world's largest natural deep water harbours. Although the city has traditionally been the homeland of the Sierra Leone Creole people, the population of Freetown is ethnically, culturally, and religiously diverse. The city is home to a significant population of all of Sierra Leone's ethnic groups, with no single ethnic group forming more than 27% of the city's population. As in virtually all parts of Sierra Leone, the Krio language of the Sierra Leone Creole people is Freetown's primary language of communication and is by far the most widely spoken language in the city. The city of Freetown was founded by abolitionist Lieutenant John Clarkson on March 11, 1792, as a settlement for freed
African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American ...
, Afro-Caribbean and Liberated African slaves. Their descendants are known as the Creole people. The local Temne and Loko people were living in villages in the land that became known as Freetown before the European arrival. Freetown is locally governed by a directly elected Freetown City Council, headed by a mayor, who also is directly elected. The mayor and members of the Freetown City Council are directly elected by the residents of Freetown in an election held every four years. The mayor of Freetown is Yvonne Aki Sawyerr, who was sworn in on May 11, 2018, after her victory in the 2018 Freetown Mayoral election. The Freetown
city council A municipal council is the legislative body of a municipality or local government area. Depending on the location and classification of the municipality it may be known as a city council, town council, town board, community council, rural counc ...
has its own municipal police force.


History


Province of Freedom (1787–1789)

The area was first settled in 1787 by 400 formerly enslaved black people sent from London, England, under the auspices of the
Committee for the Relief of the Black Poor A committee or commission is a body of one or more persons subordinate to a deliberative assembly. A committee is not itself considered to be a form of assembly. Usually, the assembly sends matters into a committee as a way to explore them mor ...
, an organisation set up by Jonah Hanway and the British abolitionist Granville Sharp. These black people were African Americans, Afro-Caribbeans, Africans, Southeast Asians, and black people born in Great Britain. They established the 'Province of Freedom' and the settlement of Granville Town on land purchased from local
Koya Temne The Kingdom of Kquoja or Koya or Koya Temne, or the Temne Kingdom (1505–1896), was a pre-colonial African state in the north of present-day Sierra Leone. The kingdom was founded by the Temne people, Temne ethnic group in or around 1505 by mi ...
subchief King Tom and regent Naimbana. The British understood the purchase meant that their new settlers had the land "for ever." Although the established arrangement between Europeans and the Koya Temne included provisions for permanent settlement, some historians question how well the Koya leaders understood the agreement, as they had a different conception of the uses of property. Disputes soon broke out. King Tom's successor, King Jimmy, burnt the settlement to the ground in 1789. Alexander Falconbridge was sent to Sierra Leone in 1791 to collect the remaining Black Poor settlers, and they re-established Granville Town around the area now known as
Cline Town, Sierra Leone Cline Town is an area in Freetown, Sierra Leone. The area is named for Emmanuel Kline, a Hausa Liberated African who bought substantial property in the area. The neighborhood is in the vicinity of Granville Town, a settlement established in 1787 ...
near Fourah Bay. These 1787 settlers did not formally establish Freetown, even though the bicentennial of Freetown was celebrated in 1987. But formally, Freetown was founded in 1792.


Freetown settlement and the Colony of Sierra Leone (1792–1808)

In 1791, Thomas Peters, an African American who had served in the Black Pioneers, went to England to report the grievances of the black population in
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 En ...
. Some of these African Americans were ex-slaves who had escaped to the British forces who had been given their freedom and resettled there by the Crown after the
American Revolution The American Revolution was an ideological and political revolution that occurred in British America between 1765 and 1791. The Americans in the Thirteen Colonies formed independent states that defeated the British in the American Revolu ...
. Land grants and assistance in starting the settlements had been intermittent and slow. During his visit, Peters met with the directors of the
Sierra Leone Company The Sierra Leone Company was the corporate body involved in founding the second British colony in Africa on 11 March 1792 through the resettlement of Black Loyalists who had initially been settled in Nova Scotia (the Nova Scotian Settlers) after ...
and learned of proposals for a new settlement at Sierra Leone. Despite the collapse of the 1787 colony, the directors were eager to recruit settlers to Sierra Leone.
Lieutenant John Clarkson, RN Lieutenant John Clarkson (4 April 1764 – 2 April 1828) was a Royal Navy officer and abolitionist, the younger brother of Thomas Clarkson, one of the central figures in the abolition of slavery in England and the British Empire at the close ...
, who was an abolitionist, was sent to Nova Scotia in British North America to register immigrants to take to Sierra Leone for a new settlement. Tired of the harsh weather and racial discrimination in Nova Scotia, more than 1,100 former American slaves chose to go to Sierra Leone. They sailed in 15 ships and arrived in St. George Bay between February 26 – March 9, 1792. Sixty-four settlers died en route to Sierra Leone, and Lieutenant Clarkson was among those taken ill during the voyage. Upon reaching Sierra Leone, Clarkson and some of the Nova Scotian 'captains' "dispatched on shore to clear or make roadway for their landing". The Nova Scotians were to build Freetown on the former site of the first Granville Town, where jungle had taken over since its destruction in 1789. Its surviving Old Settlers had relocated to Fourah Bay in 1791. At Freetown, the women remained in the ships while the men worked to clear the land. Lt. Clarkson told the men to clear the land until they reached a large cotton tree. After the work had been done and the land cleared, all the Nova Scotians, men and women, disembarked and marched towards the thick forest and to the cotton tree, and their preachers (all African Americans) began singing "Awake and Sing of Moses and the Lamb." In March 1792, Nathaniel Gilbert, a white preacher, prayed and preached a sermon under the large Cotton Tree, and Reverend David George, from South Carolina, preached the first recorded
Baptist Baptists form a major branch of Protestantism distinguished by baptizing professing Christianity, Christian believers only (believer's baptism), and doing so by complete Immersion baptism, immersion. Baptist churches also generally subscribe ...
service in Africa. The land was dedicated and christened 'Free Town,' as ordered by the Sierra Leone Company Directors. This was the first thanksgiving service. John Clarkson was sworn in as first governor of Sierra Leone. Small huts were erected before the rainy season. The Sierra Leone Company surveyors and the settlers built Freetown on the American grid pattern, with parallel streets and wide roads, with the largest being Water Street. On August 24, 1792, the Black Poor or Old Settlers of the second Granville Town were incorporated into the new Sierra Leone Colony, but remained at Granville Town. In 1793, the settlers sent a petition to the Sierra Leone Company expressing concerns about the treatment that they were enduring. The settlers in particular objected to being issued currency that was only redeemable at a company owned store. They also claimed that the governor, a Mr. Dawes, ruled in an almost tyrannical fashion, favoring certain people over others when ruling the settlement. The writers then argued that they had not received the amount of land that Lt. Clarkson had promised them on leaving Nova Scotia. The letter expressed anxiety that the company was not treating them as freemen, but as slaves and requested that Lt. Clarkson return as governor. Freetown survived being pillaged by the French in 1794, and was rebuilt by the settlers. By 1798, Freetown had between 300 and 400 houses with architecture resembling that of the United States – stone foundations with wooden superstructures. Eventually this style of housing, built by the Nova Scotians, would be the model for the 'bod oses' of their Creole descendants. In 1800, the Nova Scotians rebelled. The colonial authorities used the arrival of about 550
Jamaican Maroons Jamaican Maroons descend from Africans who freed themselves from slavery on the Colony of Jamaica and established communities of free black people in the island's mountainous interior, primarily in the eastern parishes. Africans who were ensl ...
to suppress the insurrection. Thirty-four Nova Scotians were banished and sent to either the Sherbro or a penal colony at Gore. Some of the Nova Scotians were eventually allowed back into Freetown. After the Maroons captured the Nova Scotian rebels, they were granted their land. Eventually the Maroons had their own district, which came to be known as Maroon Town.


Freetown as a Crown Colony (1808–1961)

Indigenous Africans attacked the colony in 1801 and were repulsed. The British eventually took control of Freetown, making it a Crown Colony in 1808. This act accompanied expansion that led to the creation of Sierra Leone. From 1808 to 1874, the city served as the capital of British West Africa. It also served as the base for the
Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by Kingdom of England, English and Kingdom of Scotland, Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were foug ...
's West Africa Squadron, which was charged with enforcing the ban on the slave trade. When the squadron liberated slaves on trading ships, they brought most to Sierra Leone, and Freetown in particular; thus, the population grew to include descendants of many different peoples from all over the west coast of Africa. The British also situated three of their Mixed Commission Courts in Freetown. The liberated Africans established the suburbs of Freetown Peninsula. They were the largest group of immigrants to make up the Creole people of Freetown. The city expanded rapidly. The freed slaves were joined by West Indian and African soldiers, who had fought for Britain in the Napoleonic Wars and settled here afterwards. Descendants of the freed slaves who settled in Sierra Leone between 1787 and around 1885, are called the Creoles. The Creoles play a leading role in the city, although they are a minority of the overall Sierra Leone population. During World War I Freetown became a base for operations of British forces in the Atlantic. Warships came into the port to resupply and German merchant vessels captured in the region were also sent there. During
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...
, Britain maintained a naval base at Freetown. The base was a staging post for Allied traffic in the South Atlantic and the assembly point for
SL convoys SL convoys were a numbered series of North Atlantic trade convoys during the Second World War. Merchant ships carrying commodities bound to the British Isles from South America, Africa, and the Indian Ocean traveled independently to Freetow ...
to Britain. An RAF base was maintained at nearby Lungi airfield. British fighter aircraft which were shipped into Freetown port, were carried on the Sierra Leone Government Railway to Makeni to be assembled and flown to Egypt.


Civil war, 1990s to early 2000s

The city was the scene of fierce fighting in the late 1990s during the Sierra Leone Civil War. It was captured by ECOWAS troops seeking to restore President Ahmad Tejan Kabbah in 1998. Later it was unsuccessfully attacked by rebels of the Revolutionary United Front.


Mudslide disaster, 2017

In the early morning on 14 August 2017, after much heavy rain, part of Mount Sugar Loaf on an edge of Freetown collapsed in a huge mudslide which drowned over 300 people in Regent town.
Deforestation Deforestation or forest clearance is the removal of a forest or stand of trees from land that is then land conversion, converted to non-forest use. Deforestation can involve conversion of forest land to farms, ranches, or urban area, urban ...
has been blamed for the landslide.


Sierra Leone fuel tanker explosion, 2021

On 5 November 2021, a fuel tank truck collided with another truck in Freetown, resulting in an explosion killing at least 99 and injuring around 100


Geography

Freetown shares border with the Atlantic Ocean and the Western Area Rural District. Freetown municipality is politically divided into three regions: East End, Central and West End of Freetown. The wards in the East End of Freetown (East I, East II, and East III) contain the city's largest population centre and generally the poorest part of the city. The Queen Elizabeth II Quay is located within East End. The two central wards (Central I and Central II) make up Central Freetown, which includes Downtown Freetown and the central business district (Central II). Most of the tallest and most important national government building and foreign embassies are based in Central Freetown. Sierra Leone's
House of Parliament A legislative chamber or house is a deliberative assembly within a legislature which generally meets and votes separately from the legislature's other chambers. Legislatures are usually unicameral, consisting of only one chamber, or bicame ...
and the
State House State may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Literature * ''State Magazine'', a monthly magazine published by the U.S. Department of State * ''The State'' (newspaper), a daily newspaper in Columbia, South Carolina, United States * ''Our S ...
, the principal workplace of the president of Sierra Leone, are on Tower Hill in central Freetown. The National Stadium, the home stadium of the Sierra Leone national football team (popularly known as the
Leone Stars The Sierra Leone national football team represents Sierra Leone in men's international association football and it is governed by the Sierra Leone Football Association. The team's nickname is Leone Stars. The team is affiliated to the West Afr ...
) is in the Brookfield neighborhood. The three westernmost wards (West I, West II, and West III) of the city constitute the West End of Freetown. These wards are relatively affluent. Most of the city's luxury hotels, a number of casinos, and the Lumley Beach are in the west end of the city. The west end neighbourhood of Hill Station is home to the
State Lodge The State Lodge is the official residence of the President of Sierra Leone and is located in the affluent neighborhood of Hill Station in the west end of Sierra Leone's capital Freetown. Sierra Leone's president, the First Lady of Sierra Leone a ...
, the official residence of the president of Sierra Leone.


Climate

Like the rest of Sierra Leone, Freetown has a tropical climate with a rainy season from May through November; the balance of the year represents the dry season. The beginning and end of the rainy season is marked by strong thunderstorms. Under the
Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by German-Russian climatologist Wladimir Köppen (1846–1940) in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen, nota ...
, Freetown has a tropical monsoon climate (''Am'') primarily due to the heavy amount of precipitation it receives during the rainy season. Freetown's high humidity is somewhat relieved December through to February by the famous Harmattan, a wind blowing from the Sahara Desert affording Freetown its coolest period of the year. Temperature extremes recorded in Freetown are from to all year. The average annual temperature is around .


Demographics

Freetown is home to a large population of both Muslims and Christians, though Muslims make up the majority of the population. In both the Muslim and Christian youth population of Freetown can be found a significant liberal influence. Like the rest of Sierra Leone, Freetown is a very religiously tolerant city, with Muslims and Christians living side by side and getting along well. As in many parts of Sierra Leone, the Krio language (the English-based creole language of the Sierra Leone Creole people who make up 5% of the country's population) is by far the most widely spoken language in the city. The language is spoken at home as a
first language A first language, native tongue, native language, mother tongue or L1 is the first language or dialect that a person has been exposed to from birth or within the critical period. In some countries, the term ''native language'' or ''mother tong ...
by over 20% of the city's population and is spoken as a
lingua franca A lingua franca (; ; for plurals see ), also known as a bridge language, common language, trade language, auxiliary language, vehicular language, or link language, is a language systematically used to make communication possible between groups ...
by a large number of the population in the city. English (the country's official language) is also widely spoken, particularly by the well educated. The Themne language is the second most popular language spoken after Krio. Themne people also make up the largest members of the population of Freetown and the Western Area Region.


Government

The city of Freetown is one of Sierra Leone's six municipalities and is governed by a directly elected
city council A municipal council is the legislative body of a municipality or local government area. Depending on the location and classification of the municipality it may be known as a city council, town council, town board, community council, rural counc ...
, headed by a mayor, in whom executive authority is vested. The current mayor is Yvonne Aki-Sawyerr. The mayor is responsible for the general management of the city. The mayor and members of the Freetown City Council are elected directly by the residents of Freetown every four years. The government of the Freetown Municipality has been dominated by All People's Congress (APC) since 2004. Since 2004, the residents of Freetown has voted in municipal elections for members of the All People's Congress (APC) by an overwhelming majority. The APC won the city's mayorship and vast majority seats in the Freetown city council in the 2004, 2008, 2012 and 2018 local elections by more than 67% each. In Presidential elections Freetown is considered a swing city, as it has a large support base of both the All People's Congress and the Sierra Leone People's Party. However, the APC has won majority percent of the votes in Freetown in the 2007, 2012 and 2018 Sierra Leone Presidential election, including The APC winning more than 65% of the votes in Freetown in both The 2012 nd 2018 Sierra Leone Presidential elections. The APC presidential candidate Ernest Bai Koroma received 69% of the votes in Freetown in the 2012 Sierra Leone Presidential election; compared to the SLPP presidential candidate Julius Maada Bio who received 30%. In the 2018 Sierra Leone Presidential election, The APC presidential candidate Samura Kamara received 65% compared to the SLPP presidential candidate Julius Maada Bio who received 34%, though Maada Bio won the presidential election nationally. In November 2011, Freetown Mayor
Herbert George-Williams Herbert George-Williams is a Sierra Leonean politician and the former mayor of Freetown. He is from the All People's Congress (APC) political party A political party is an organization that coordinates candidates to compete in a particular ...
was removed from office and replaced by council member Alhaji Gibril Kanu as acting mayor. Mayor Herbert George-Williams and eight others, including the Chief Administrator of the Freetown city council Bowenson Fredrick Philips; and the Freetown city council Treasurer Sylvester Momoh Konnehi, were arrested and indicted by the Sierra Leone Anti-corruption Commission on twenty-five counts on graft charges, ranging with conspiracy to commit corruption and misappropriation of public funds. Mayor
Herbert George-Williams Herbert George-Williams is a Sierra Leonean politician and the former mayor of Freetown. He is from the All People's Congress (APC) political party A political party is an organization that coordinates candidates to compete in a particular ...
was acquitted of seventeen of the nineteen charges against him. He was convicted of two less serious charges by the Freetown High Court judge Jon Bosco Katutsi and sentenced to pay a
fine Fine may refer to: Characters * Sylvia Fine (''The Nanny''), Fran's mother on ''The Nanny'' * Officer Fine, a character in ''Tales from the Crypt'', played by Vincent Spano Legal terms * Fine (penalty), money to be paid as punishment for an offe ...
. Acting Mayor Kanu lost the APC nomination for the mayor of Freetown in the 2012 Mayoral elections by 56 votes; council member Sam Franklyn Bode Gibson won 106 in a landslide victory. In the national presidential and Parliamentary elections, Freetown is similar to swing states in American politics. As the city is so ethnically diverse, no single ethnic group forms a majority of the population of the city. Traditionally, the APC and the SLPP, two of the country's major political parties, have about equal support in the city. In the 2007 Sierra Leone Presidential election, the APC candidate and then main opposition leader, Ernest Bai Koroma, won just over 60% of the votes in the Western Area Urban District, including the city of Freetown, where almost the entire District population reside.


Culture

The city has the Sierra Leone National Museum and
Sierra Leone National Railway Museum The National Railway Museum is a railway museum in Freetown, Sierra Leone. The museum was opened in 2005. History The Sierra Leone Government Railway closed in 1974. A collection of rolling stock was retained at the former railway workshops to f ...
. There are also various historical landmarks connected to its founding by African Americans, Liberated Africans, and Afro-Caribbeans whose descendants are the Sierra Leone Creole people., originally published by Longman & Dalhousie University Press (1976). The Cotton Tree represents the christening of Freetown in March 1792. In downtown Freetown is the Connaught Hospital, the first hospital constructed in West Africa that incorporated Western medical practices. Freetown has a long-held tradition of organised cultural events taking place on specific dates to coincide with specific holidays or seasons within the calendar year. One such event is the Eastern Paddle Hunting Society's annual exhibition of a highly sophisticated masquerade, consisting of a costume built, in a fashionable sense, of various materials available: leather, sequins, sea shells, traditional cloths, etc. The masquerade, known as "Paddle", takes to the strategic streets of the eastern and central parts of the city, followed by members of the secret society, traditional musical bands and a crowd of supporters. For years this event had been coinciding with the Muslim holiday of Eid ul Adha until recently, as critics say such an event should not be held on the same day as Muslims celebrate Eid, as Islam is against the practices of secret societies and masquerades. The "Tangays" Festival is usually held in November, with a traditional theme that involves virtually every aspect of Sierra Leonean culture. It takes place at the National Stadium. Towards the end of the festival, a couple of musical concerts are usually held in the main bowl of the stadium, with performances from local and international musical artists (especially contemporary artists from Nigeria and other African countries or the African diaspora). Freetown has its own tradition of Christmas street parades, organised in neighbourhoods across the city. The month-long celebration gathers residents in the streets with a variety of food and traditional music.


Tourism

Freetown's tourism sector is an integral part of the city. Although the sector was seriously affected during the Civil War; however, there has been a steady improvement in recent years. The city has a lot to offer to tourists. There is a vast expanse of white sandy beaches stretching along the Freetown Peninsula. The Lumley-Aberdeen beach stretches all the way from Cape Sierra Leone down to Lumley. There are also other popular beaches like the world renowned River Number 2 Beach, Laka Beach, Tokeh Beach, Bureh Beach, and Mama Beach. The Tacugama Chimpanzee Sanctuary, which is located within the peninsula's vast rainforest reserve, just a few miles from the centre of Freetown, has a collection of rare and endangered chimpanzees. Other popular destinations for tourists include the Freetown Cotton Tree, located in Central Freetown, a significant national monument and integral to the founding of the city; Bunce Island, which is a boat ride from the city, is home to the ruins of the slave fortress that was being used during the Transatlantic slave trade; the Sierra Leone Museum, which has a collection of both precolonial as well as colonial artifacts and other items of historical significance; the National Railway Museum; or you can take a journey around the city's coastline with the popular Seacoach Express. The Aberdenn-Lumley area is a favourite destination for those venturing into the city's nightlife. There are nightclubs, restaurants and hotels located not too far from the beach along the road linking Aberdeen and Lumley. While visiting Sierra Leone for the first time, there are certain cultural specifics you should know. Sierra Leoneans in general are very friendly and tolerant. Sierra Leone is generally considered as one of the most religiously tolerant countries in the world. Both Muslim and Christian holidays are celebrated with a similar level of enthusiasm, among other things. People in the city are accustomed to treating tourists with a sense of "benefit of the doubt" in situations where a tourist fails to understand a particular way of doing something that is unique to Sierra Leonean culture and traditions. However, as a tourist, you may find yourself having problems with someone who might have noticed you repeatedly neglecting a particular norm, such as continuously ignoring simple etiquettes like failing to greet properly or not being polite in the traditional way. Many conflict situations could be averted by asking questions about doubtful issues or situations, as many people are always ready to provide you with answers as best as they could.


Architecture

Nearby is the
King's Yard The King's Yard was a facility developed in Freetown, Sierra Leone, in which newly Liberated Africans in Sierra Leone, liberated Africans were taken after being dropped off in the colony from ships captured by the West Africa Squadron. This fleet ...
Gate built in stone with a statement inscribed which reads "any slave who passes through this gate is declared a free man", and it was this gate through which liberated Africans passed. Down by the Naval Wharf are slave steps carved out of stone. Before Freetown was established, this was where the Portuguese slave traders transported Africans as slaves to ships. Freetown is home to Fourah Bay College, the oldest university in West Africa, founded in 1827. The university played a key role in Sierra Leone's colonial history. The college's first student, Samuel Ajayi Crowther, went on to be named as the first indigenous Bishop of West Africa. National Railway Museum has a coach car built for the state visit of
Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until her death in 2022. She was queen regnant of 32 sovereign states during ...
in 1961. The Big Market on Wallace Johnson Street is the showcase for local artisans' work. The Freetown peninsula is ringed by long stretches of white sand. Lumley Beach, on the western side of the peninsula, is a popular location for local parties and festivals.


Places of worship

Among the places of worship, Christian churches predominate and the remaining religious institutions are predominantly
Muslim Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abrah ...
mosques. Among the Christian churches and temples: Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Freetown (
Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
),
United Methodist Church in Sierra Leone The Wesleyan Methodist Church Mission started in 1792 after a request of converted settlers from Nova Scotia. The work was under the care of the British Methodists. The first Wesleyan missionary was Dr. George Warren arrived to Sierra Leone in 18 ...
( World Methodist Council),
Baptist Convention of Sierra Leone The Baptist Convention of Sierra Leone is a Baptist Christian denomination in Sierra Leone. It is affiliated with the Baptist World Alliance. The headquarters is in Freetown. History The Baptist Convention of Sierra Leone has its origins in a ...
( Baptist World Alliance), Assemblies of God. St. George's Cathedral (Anglican) opened in 1828.


Economy

Freetown is the economic and financial centre of Sierra Leone. The country's state television and radio station, the
Sierra Leone Broadcasting Corporation The Sierra Leone Broadcasting Corporation (SLBC) is the national radio and television broadcaster in Sierra Leone. It is owned by the government of Sierra Leone and is a branch of the Sierra Leone Ministry of Information and Communications. It i ...
, is primarily based in Freetown. The other national broadcasters, such as AYV (African Young Voices) and Capital Radio, are also based in Freetown. Many of the national headquarters of the country's largest corporations as well as the majority of international companies are located in Freetown - a majority of these are found in Central Freetown. The city's economy revolves largely around its final natural harbour, which is the largest natural harbour on the continent of Africa. Queen Elizabeth II Quay is capable of receiving oceangoing vessels and handles Sierra Leone's main exports. Industries include food and beverage processing, fish packing, rice milling, petroleum refining, diamond cutting, and the manufacture of cigarettes, paint, textile, and
beer Beer is one of the oldest and the most widely consumed type of alcoholic drink in the world, and the third most popular drink overall after water and tea. It is produced by the brewing and fermentation of starches, mainly derived from cer ...
. The city is served by the Lungi International Airport, located in the city of Lungi, across the river estuary from Freetown. In almost every neighborhood of Freetown there are a number of high streets with shops of various kinds of commercial products and services. Shop traders are diverse, including locals and foreign shop owners. However a majority of locals shop at specific and popular areas of the city, such as Lumley Junction, Eastern Police Junction, PZ area, Shell Junction, etc.


Gallery

File:Freetown Court 1984.jpg, Law Courts Building, Siaka Stevens Street File:Lumley Beach Freetown.JPG, Lumley Beach File:Magazine Wharf - home to some of Freetown's hardest-hit Ebola survivors (22772017351).jpg, Freetown's highly congested Magazine Wharf neighbourhood – which was hit hard during the 2014 Ebola crisis File:Lumley.jpg, Lumley area File:Atlantic estate.jpg, Aberdeen File:Central Freetown at night, Sierra Leone. January1 2014.jpg, Night view of Central Freetown


Education

Freetown (as the rest of Sierra Leone) has an education system with six years of primary school (Classes 1 to 6), and six years of secondary school (Forms 1 to 6). Secondary schools are further divided into Junior secondary school (Forms 1 to 3) and Senior secondary school (Forms 4 to 6). This system is known as the 6-3-3-4 education system, which means: 6 years of Primary, 3 years of Junior Secondary, 3 years of Senior Secondary, and 4 years of university. Primary school pupils are usually aged 6 to 12, and secondary schools are usually aged 13 to 18. Primary Education is free and compulsory in government-sponsored public schools. Freetown is home to one of the country's two main universities, the Fourah Bay College, the oldest university in West Africa, founded in 1827.


Transportation


Air transportation

Lungi International Airport is the international airport which serves Freetown and the rest of the country. It is located in the town of Lungi, about 17 km northeast of Freetown across the sea. It serves as the primary airport for domestic and international travel to and from Sierra Leone. The airport is operated by Sierra Leone Airports Authority. There is a frequent commercial fast boat,
bus A bus (contracted from omnibus, with variants multibus, motorbus, autobus, etc.) is a road vehicle that carries significantly more passengers than an average car or van. It is most commonly used in public transport, but is also in use for cha ...
, and ferry service to Freetown and other parts of the country. Hastings Airport provides secondary service, but can only handle small aircraft because of its short runway. It is located about 14 km southeast of downtown Freetown (nearly 22 km by road).


Transfers to Freetown

Passengers have the choice of hovercraft, ferry, road (5 hours), speedboat, water taxi, local banana boats and helicopter to cross the river to Freetown. Ferry is the cheapest option. Hovercraft and ferry operations have at times been suspended due to passenger overloads and safety issues.


Access by sea

Sierra Leone has the largest natural harbour on the African continent. Ships from all over the globe berth at Freetown's Queen Elizabeth II Quay. Passenger, cargo, and private craft also utilize Government Wharf nearer to central Freetown. Recent investment has seen the introduction of high-tech
cargo scanning Cargo scanning or non-intrusive inspection (NII) refers to non-destructive methods of inspecting and identifying goods in transportation systems. It is often used for scanning of intermodal freight shipping containers. In the US it is spearheaded ...
facilities.


Access by land


Road

Sierra Leone's infrastructure is limited, and its highways and roads reflect this. The roads and highways of the country are administered by the Sierra Leone Roads Authority (SLRA) which has often been crippled by corruption. Highway 1 enters the city from the town of Waterloo, several kilometers to the south. Despite the SLRA's limited capabilities, main feeder/trunk roads have been reconstructed to a high standard. The following are random photos of roads in the city.


Railway

Following a recommendation from the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development, the Sierra Leone Government Railway which linked Freetown to the rest of the country was permanently closed in 1974. The iron rails were looted in the following years.


Sports

Like the rest of Sierra Leone, football is the most popular sport in Freetown. The Sierra Leone national football team, popularly known as the
Leone Stars The Sierra Leone national football team represents Sierra Leone in men's international association football and it is governed by the Sierra Leone Football Association. The team's nickname is Leone Stars. The team is affiliated to the West Afr ...
plays all their home games at Freetown's National Stadium, the largest stadium in Sierra Leone. Eight of the fifteen clubs in the Sierra Leone National Premier League are from Freetown, including two of Sierra Leone's biggest and most successful football clubs, East End Lions, and Mighty Blackpool. A match between these two teams is the biggest domestic-football clash in Sierra Leone. A notable Sierra Leonian footballer is Kei Kamara, who plays for the Colorado Rapids of
Major League Soccer Major League Soccer (MLS) is a men's professional soccer league sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation, which represents the sport's highest level in the United States. The league comprises 29 teams—26 in the U.S. and 3 in Canada ...
.


Twin towns/sister cities

Freetown is officially
twinned Twinning (making a twin of) may refer to: * In biology and agriculture, producing two offspring (i.e., twins) at a time, or having a tendency to do so; * Twin towns and sister cities, towns and cities involved in town twinning * Twinning inst ...
with five cities:


See also

*
List of people from Freetown Below is a list of notable people from Freetown, Sierra Leone. Please only include entries with a Wikipedia article. Academics and educators * Edward Wilmot Blyden III, diplomat, political scientist and educator. * Violet Showers Johnson, academic ...


References


Bibliography


External links

* *
220 Years of Freetown
on
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{{Authority control Capitals in Africa Populated coastal places in Sierra Leone Populated places established in 1792 Populated places in Sierra Leone Port cities in Africa Western Area 1790s establishments in Africa Repatriated Africans Repatriated slaves People of Liberated African descent Populated places established by Sierra Leone Creoles Neighbourhoods in Freetown