York Island is an island in

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 ...

. It is a small island located to the east of

Bonthe Bonthe is a coastal town located on Sherbro Island in Bonthe District in the southern Province of Sierra Leone. The town lies on the eastern shore of Sherbro Island, on the Sherbro River estuary. Bonthe is about 60 miles south-west of Bo and 187 ...

Sherbro Island Sherbro Island is in the Atlantic Ocean, and is included within Bonthe District, Southern Province, Sierra Leone. The island is separated from the African mainland by the Sherbro River in the north and Sherbro Strait in the east. It is long a ...

. It is part of the Bonthe Island Municipality. The principal settlement on York Island is York, a small fishing village. The population is in decline, something which is attributed to the designation of the

Sherbro River Sherbro Island is in the Atlantic Ocean, and is included within Bonthe District, Southern Province, Sierra Leone. The island is separated from the African mainland by the Sherbro River in the north and Sherbro Strait in the east. It is long a ...

as a

Marine Protected Area Marine protected areas (MPA) are protected areas of seas, oceans, estuaries or in the US, the Great Lakes. These marine areas can come in many forms ranging from wildlife refuges to research facilities. MPAs restrict human activity for a conserv ...

. This has had a negative impact on the livelihoods of the inhabitants who are now unable to build canoes of sufficient size to make sea fishing safe and viable.

History

York Island was rented from a Bulom King by the English

Royal Africa Company The Royal African Company (RAC) was an English mercantile (trading) company set up in 1660 by the royal Stuart family and City of London merchants to trade along the west coast of Africa. It was led by the Duke of York, who was the brother o ...

, who built a

factory A factory, manufacturing plant or a production plant is an industrial facility, often a complex consisting of several buildings filled with machinery, where workers manufacture items or operate machines which process each item into another. T ...

for use in the

slave trade Slavery and enslavement are both the state and the condition of being a slave—someone forbidden to quit one's service for an enslaver, and who is treated by the enslaver as property. Slavery typically involves slaves being made to perf ...

on the island. This was fortified with stone walls and equipped with cannon.

Thomas Corker Thomas Corker (1669-1670 - 10 September 1700, Falmouth, Cornwall) was known as an English agent for the Royal African Company on York Island (now Sherbro, Sierra Leone). He married a Sherbro woman and had two sons with her before his early death ...

's career took off following his appointment as chief agent on York Island.

References

{{coord, 7, 32, N, 12, 28, W, display=title, region:SL_type:isle_source:GNS-enwiki Islands of Sierra Leone