Sierra Leone. Sierra Leone. Sierra Leone ( i/sɪˈɛərə lɪˈoʊni, -lɪˈoʊn/),[4] officially the Republic of Sierra Leone, is a country in West Africa that is bordered by Guinea to the northeast, Liberia to the southeast, and the Atlantic Ocean to the southwest.
Sierra Leone is a constitutional republic with a directly elected president and a unicameral legislature. The country has a tropical climate, with a diverse environment ranging from savannah to rainforests. The country covers a total area of 71,740 km2 (27,699 sq mi)[5] and with an estimated population of 6 million (2011 United Nations estimate).[6][7] Sierra Leone World Factbook. ShowIntroduction :: SIERRA LEONE Panel - Collapsed The British set up a trading post near present-day Freetown in the 17th century.
Originally the trade involved timber and ivory, but later it expanded into slaves. Following the American Revolution, a colony was established in 1787 and Sierra Leone became a destination for resettling black loyalists who had originally been resettled in Nova Scotia. After the abolition of the slave trade in 1807, British crews delivered thousands of Africans liberated from illegal slave ships to Sierra Leone, particularly Freetown. The colony gradually expanded inland during the course of the 19th century; independence was attained in 1961. Democracy is slowly being reestablished after the civil war (1991-2002) that resulted in tens of thousands of deaths and the displacement of more than 2 million people (about one third of the population).
Sierra Leone Web.