--- title: Freetown — English Wikipedia · full text with trees description: Wikipedia's «Freetown», whole, every sentence with its dependency tree and pragmatics, CC BY-SA 4.0. It begins: Freetown (Fritɔun) is the capital and largest city of Sierra Leone. --- [Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/) · [this page in HTML](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/wikipedia/en/Freetown/) [home](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/) / [corpora](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/) / [wikipedia](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/wikipedia/) / [en](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/wikipedia/en/) / Freetown # Freetown From Wikipedia, [«Freetown»](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freetown), revision of the 2026-09-01 dump, [CC BY-SA 4.0](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). The trees and pragmatics of these pages, Mova's parse of that text, are CC BY-SA 4.0 too. The English Wikipedia article «Freetown», whole: 31 sections, 235 sentences and 4810 words, its 51 notes at the end. The marks in brackets «[n]» are Wikipedia's own, each leading to its note and source; the small number after every sentence leads to the sentence's own page with its syntax tree and pragmatics, parsed by Mova itself. **1** [2](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/wikipedia/en/Freetown/page/2/) [3](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/wikipedia/en/Freetown/page/3/) | Facts | | | --- | --- | | | **Freetown · Fritɔun** | | | **[Capital city](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capital_city) and [municipality](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Municipality)** | | | Flag Seal | | | Coordinates: | | [Areas](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Provinces_of_Sierra_Leone) | [Western Area](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Western_Area) | | [District](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Districts_of_Sierra_Leone) | [Western Area Urban District](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Western_Area_Urban_District) | | Founded | March 11, 1792 | | **Government** | | | • Type | [City council](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freetown_City_Council) | | • [Mayor](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mayor_of_Freetown) | [Yvonne Aki-Sawyerr](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yvonne_Aki-Sawyerr)[\[1\]](page/3/#ref-1 "note 1") ([APC](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/All_People%27s_Congress)) | | **Area [\[2\]](page/3/#ref-2 "note 2")** | | | • [Capital city](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capital_city) and [municipality](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Municipality) | 82.48 km² (31.85 sq mi) | | Elevation | 26 m (85 ft) | | **Population (2024 Census[\[3\]](page/3/#ref-3 "note 3"))** | | | • [Capital city](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capital_city) and [municipality](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Municipality) | 1,347,559 | | • Density | 16,338.0/km² (42,315.2/sq mi) | | • [Metro](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metropolitan_area) | 1,500,234 | | [Time zone](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Time_zone) | [UTC±00:00](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/UTC±00:00) ([GMT](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greenwich_Mean_Time)) | | [Climate](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Köppen_climate_classification) | [Am](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tropical_monsoon_climate) | Freetown (Fritɔun) is the [capital](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capital_city) and largest city of [Sierra Leone](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sierra_Leone) [corpus](../Sierra_Leone/ "in our corpus").[1](1/ "tree and pragmatics") It is a major [port city](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Port_city) on the [Atlantic Ocean](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atlantic_Ocean) and is located in the [Western Area](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Western_Area) of the country.[2](2/ "tree and pragmatics") 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](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Government_of_Sierra_Leone).[3](3/ "tree and pragmatics") The population of Freetown was 1,347,559 as of the 2024 census.[\[4\]](page/3/#ref-4 "note 4")[4](4/ "tree and pragmatics") The city's economy revolves largely around its [harbour](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harbour), which occupies a part of the estuary of the [Sierra Leone River](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sierra_Leone_River) in one of the world's largest natural deep water harbours.[5](5/ "tree and pragmatics") Although the city has traditionally been the homeland of the [Sierra Leone Creole people](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sierra_Leone_Creole_people), the population of Freetown is [ethnically](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ethnically), [culturally](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Culturally), and religiously diverse.[6](6/ "tree and pragmatics") The city is home to a significant population of all of Sierra Leone's [ethnic groups](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ethnic_groups_in_Sierra_Leone), with no single ethnic group forming more than 27% of the city's population.[7](7/ "tree and pragmatics") As in virtually all parts of Sierra Leone, the [Krio language](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Krio_language) of the [Sierra Leone Creole people](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sierra_Leone_Creole_people) is Freetown's primary language of communication and is by far the most widely spoken language in the city.[8](8/ "tree and pragmatics") The city of Freetown was founded on March 11, 1792, by 1,196 [African Americans](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nova_Scotian_Settlers) under the guidance of [abolitionist](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abolitionist) [Lieutenant John Clarkson](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Clarkson_%28abolitionist%29) at the foot of the [Cotton Tree](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cotton_Tree_%28Sierra_Leone%29), and the city became a settlement for free and freed [African American](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/African_American), [Afro-Caribbean](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Afro-Caribbean) and [Liberated African](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liberated_African) slaves.[9](9/ "tree and pragmatics") Their descendants are known as the [Creole people](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sierra_Leone_Creole_people).[10](10/ "tree and pragmatics") Before the arrival of Europeans, the local [Temne](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Temne_people) and [Loko people](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Loko_people) were living in villages on the land near the area that later became known as Freetown.[11](11/ "tree and pragmatics") Freetown is locally governed by a [directly elected](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Directly_elected) [Freetown City Council](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freetown_City_Council), headed by a mayor, who also is directly elected; elections are held every four years.[12](12/ "tree and pragmatics") The mayor of Freetown is Yvonne Aki Sawyerr, who was sworn in on 11 May 2018, after her victory in the 2018 mayoral election; she was re-elected in 2022.[\[5\]](page/3/#ref-5 "note 5")[13](13/ "tree and pragmatics") The Freetown [city council](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/City_council) has its own [municipal police](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Municipal_police) force.[\[6\]](page/3/#ref-6 "note 6")[14](14/ "tree and pragmatics") ## History The area around the [Sierra Leone estuary](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sierra_Leone_estuary) has been inhabited for millennia.[15](15/ "tree and pragmatics") The earliest known group in the area was the [Bullom people](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bullom_people).[\[7\]](page/3/#ref-7 "note 7")[16](16/ "tree and pragmatics") In the 1540s and '50s, the [Mane people](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mane_people) invaded the area and established their own chiefdoms, integrating into the local Bullom.[\[8\]](page/3/#ref-8 "note 8")[17](17/ "tree and pragmatics") In January 1568, the English slave raider [John Hawkins](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Hawkins_%28naval_commander%29) helped the Mane king Flansire destroy Bonga, headquarters of the rebellious chief Falma.[18](18/ "tree and pragmatics") Bonga was a town of around 10,000 people located in the area that would become Freetown.[\[9\]](page/3/#ref-9 "note 9")[19](19/ "tree and pragmatics") ### Province of Freedom (1787–1789) The area was settled in 1787 by 400 formerly [enslaved](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slavery) black people sent from London, England, under the auspices of the [Committee for the Relief of the Black Poor](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Committee_for_the_Relief_of_the_Black_Poor), an organisation set up by the English merchant and philanthropist, [Jonas Hanway](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jonas_Hanway), and the British abolitionist, [Granville Sharp](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Granville_Sharp).[\[10\]](page/3/#ref-10 "note 10")[20](20/ "tree and pragmatics") These black people were African Americans, Afro-Caribbeans, Africans, Southeast Asians, and black people born in Great Britain.[21](21/ "tree and pragmatics") They established the 'Province of Freedom' and the settlement of Granville Town on land purchased from local [Koya Temne](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Koya_Temne) subchief King Tom and regent Naimbana.[\[11\]](page/3/#ref-11 "note 11")[22](22/ "tree and pragmatics") The British understood the purchase meant that their new settlers had the land "for ever."[23](23/ "tree and pragmatics") 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.[24](24/ "tree and pragmatics") Disputes soon broke out.[25](25/ "tree and pragmatics") King Tom's successor, King Jimmy, burnt the settlement to the ground in 1789.[26](26/ "tree and pragmatics") [Alexander Falconbridge](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/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](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cline_Town) near [Fourah Bay](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fourah_Bay).[27](27/ "tree and pragmatics") These 1787 settlers did not formally establish Freetown, even though the bicentennial of Freetown was celebrated in 1987; formally, Freetown was founded in 1792.[\[12\]](page/3/#ref-12 "note 12")[28](28/ "tree and pragmatics") ### Freetown settlement and the Colony of Sierra Leone (1792–1808) In 1791, [Thomas Peters](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Peters), an African American who had served in the [Black Pioneers](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Pioneers), went to England to report the grievances of the black population in [Nova Scotia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nova_Scotia).[29](29/ "tree and pragmatics") 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](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Revolution).[30](30/ "tree and pragmatics") The area around the [Sierra Leone estuary](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sierra_Leone_estuary)[31](31/ "tree and pragmatics") [\[13\]](page/3/#ref-13 "note 13") Land grants and assistance in starting the settlements had been intermittent and slow.[32](32/ "tree and pragmatics") During his visit, Peters met with the directors of the [Sierra Leone Company](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sierra_Leone_Company) and learned of proposals for a new settlement at Sierra Leone.[33](33/ "tree and pragmatics") Despite the collapse of the 1787 colony, the directors were eager to recruit settlers to Sierra Leone.[34](34/ "tree and pragmatics") [Lieutenant John Clarkson, RN](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lieutenant_John_Clarkson,_RN), who was an abolitionist, was sent to Nova Scotia in [British North America](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_North_America) to register immigrants to take to Sierra Leone for a new settlement.[35](35/ "tree and pragmatics") Tired of the harsh weather and racial discrimination in Nova Scotia, more than 1,100 former American slaves chose to go to Sierra Leone.[36](36/ "tree and pragmatics") They sailed in 15 ships and arrived in St. George Bay between 26 February – 9 March 1792.[\[14\]](page/3/#ref-14 "note 14")[37](37/ "tree and pragmatics") Sixty-four settlers died en route to Sierra Leone, and Lieutenant Clarkson was among those taken ill during the voyage.[38](38/ "tree and pragmatics") Upon reaching Sierra Leone, Clarkson and some of the Nova Scotian 'captains' "dispatched on shore to clear or make roadway for their landing".[39](39/ "tree and pragmatics") 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.[40](40/ "tree and pragmatics") Its surviving Old Settlers had relocated to Fourah Bay in 1791.[41](41/ "tree and pragmatics") At Freetown, the women remained in the ships while the men worked to clear the land.[42](42/ "tree and pragmatics") Lt. Clarkson told the men to clear the land until they reached a large cotton tree ([Ceiba pentandra](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ceiba_pentandra)).[43](43/ "tree and pragmatics") 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."[44](44/ "tree and pragmatics") In March 1792, Nathaniel Gilbert, a white preacher, prayed and preached a sermon under the large [Cotton Tree](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cotton_Tree_%28Sierra_Leone%29), and Reverend [David George](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_George_%28Baptist%29), from South Carolina, preached the first recorded [Baptist](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baptist) service in Africa.[45](45/ "tree and pragmatics") The land was dedicated and christened 'Free Town,' as ordered by the Sierra Leone Company Directors.[46](46/ "tree and pragmatics") This was the first thanksgiving service.[47](47/ "tree and pragmatics") John Clarkson was sworn in as first governor of Sierra Leone.[\[15\]](page/3/#ref-15 "note 15")[\[16\]](page/3/#ref-16 "note 16")[48](48/ "tree and pragmatics") Small huts were erected before the rainy season.[49](49/ "tree and pragmatics") 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.[50](50/ "tree and pragmatics") On 24 August 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.[51](51/ "tree and pragmatics") In 1793, the settlers sent a petition to the Sierra Leone Company expressing concerns about the treatment that they were enduring.[\[17\]](page/3/#ref-17 "note 17")[52](52/ "tree and pragmatics") The settlers in particular objected to being issued currency that was only redeemable at a company owned store.[53](53/ "tree and pragmatics") They also claimed that the governor, a Mr. Dawes, ruled in an almost tyrannical fashion, favoring certain people over others when ruling the settlement.[54](54/ "tree and pragmatics") The writers then argued that they had not received the amount of land that Lt. Clarkson had promised them on leaving Nova Scotia.[55](55/ "tree and pragmatics") The letter expressed anxiety that the company was not treating them as freemen, but as slaves and requested that Lt. Clarkson return as governor.[56](56/ "tree and pragmatics") Freetown survived being pillaged by the French in 1794, and was rebuilt by the settlers.[57](57/ "tree and pragmatics") By 1798, Freetown had between 300 and 400 houses with architecture resembling that of the United States – stone foundations with wooden superstructures.[58](58/ "tree and pragmatics") Eventually this style of housing, built by the Nova Scotians, would be the model for the 'bod oses' of their [Creole](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sierra_Leone_Creole_people) descendants.[59](59/ "tree and pragmatics") In 1800, the Nova Scotians rebelled.[60](60/ "tree and pragmatics") The colonial authorities used the arrival of about 550 [Jamaican Maroons](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jamaican_Maroons) to suppress the insurrection.[61](61/ "tree and pragmatics") Thirty-four Nova Scotians were banished and sent to either the [Sherbro](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sherbro_Island) or a penal colony at Gore.[62](62/ "tree and pragmatics") Some of the Nova Scotians were eventually allowed back into Freetown.[63](63/ "tree and pragmatics") After the Maroons captured the Nova Scotian rebels, they were granted their land.[64](64/ "tree and pragmatics") Eventually the Maroons had their own district, which came to be known as [Maroon Town](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maroon_Town,_Sierra_Leone).[65](65/ "tree and pragmatics") ### Freetown as a Crown Colony (1808–1961) [Temne people](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Temne_people) attacked the colony in 1801 and were repulsed.[66](66/ "tree and pragmatics") The British eventually took control of Freetown, making it a [Crown Colony](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sierra_Leone_Colony_and_Protectorate) in 1808.[67](67/ "tree and pragmatics") This act accompanied expansion that led to the creation of Sierra Leone.[68](68/ "tree and pragmatics") From 1808 to 1874, the city served as the capital of [British West Africa](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_West_Africa).[69](69/ "tree and pragmatics") It also served as the base for the [Royal Navy](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Royal_Navy)'s [Eastern Squadron](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/West_Africa_Squadron), which was charged with enforcing the ban on the slave trade.[70](70/ "tree and pragmatics") 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.[71](71/ "tree and pragmatics") The British also situated three of their [Mixed Commission Courts](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mixed_Commission_Court) in Freetown.[\[18\]](page/3/#ref-18 "note 18")[72](72/ "tree and pragmatics") The Freetown Lodge No. 1955 was the first [Orange Lodge](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orange_Lodge) formed in Africa.[73](73/ "tree and pragmatics") It was established by the British and Irish settlers in the capital.[74](74/ "tree and pragmatics") [Missionaries](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Missionary) taught locals about [Protestant](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Protestantism) [Christianity](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christianity) and [evangelism](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Evangelism).[\[19\]](page/3/#ref-19 "note 19")[\[20\]](page/3/#ref-20 "note 20")[\[21\]](page/3/#ref-21 "note 21")[75](75/ "tree and pragmatics") The liberated Africans established the suburbs of Freetown Peninsula.[76](76/ "tree and pragmatics") They were the largest group of immigrants to make up the Creole people of Freetown.[77](77/ "tree and pragmatics") The city expanded rapidly.[78](78/ "tree and pragmatics") The freed slaves were joined by West Indian and African soldiers, who had fought for Britain in the [Napoleonic Wars](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Napoleonic_Wars) and settled here afterwards.[79](79/ "tree and pragmatics") Descendants of the freed slaves who settled in Sierra Leone between 1787 and around 1885, are called the [Creoles](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sierra_Leone_Creole_people).[80](80/ "tree and pragmatics") The Creoles play a leading role in the city, although they are a minority of the overall Sierra Leone population.[81](81/ "tree and pragmatics") **1** [2](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/wikipedia/en/Freetown/page/2/) [3](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/wikipedia/en/Freetown/page/3/) - next →: [page 2](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/wikipedia/en/Freetown/page/2/) - ↑ back to [English Wikipedia](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/wikipedia/en/)