Freetown Estuary/Queen Elizabeth II Quay
Before the city of Freetown was established, the Freetown Estuary was the initial European interest in the area. The estuary is one of the largest natural deep water harbors in the world. This harbor not only provided a great area for ocean going vessels, it also facilitated exploration deeper into the hinterlands via riverways. The estuary was initially controlled by the Portuguese but it fell under British control by the late 1700s. The estuary and harbor were monumental in trans-Atlantic trade during the slave trade and legitimate trade later under colonialism. The harbor was also the home port for the Royal Navy’s West African Squadron, mostly tasked with the interdiction of slave-shipping. The estuary/harbor would later have provenance during the World Wars for global shipping during the war effort. The harbor today is known as Queen Elizabeth II Quay which is the largest in Sierra Leone and in the top 25 of African shipping ports. The Freetown estuary and its natural harbor facilitated the exploration and colonial exploitation of Freetown and Sierra Leone. Without this natural harbor, exploration and colonial efforts in the area would've been severely hampered. Many slaves departed from this harbor or other slave ships moored here during their journeys. The harbor was the debarkation point for the freed black settlers from "The New World," this populace was the first to settle the city of Freetown. The port was also the point where liberated slaves from the Royal Navy's West African Squadron were released. During the legitimate trade during colonialism, this harbor was important for oceangoing trade. Jarrett, H. R. "The Port and Town of Freetown." Geography 40, no. 2 (1955): 108-18. Accessed December 2, 2020. http://www.jstor.org/stable/40564316.Lewis-Jones, Huw. “History - British History in Depth: The Royal Navy and the Battle to End Slavery.” BBC. BBC, February 17, 2011. https://www.bbc.co.uk/history/british/abolition/royal_navy_article_01.shtml. “Sierra Leone Port of Freetown .” Digital Logistics Capacity Assessments. Accessed December 2, 2020. https://dlca.logcluster.org/display/public/DLCA/2.1 Sierra Leone Port of Freetown.
Granville Town/Cline Town
Cline Town is one of the early freed slave settlements in Freetown. Cline Town is named for Emmanuel Kline a liberated slave who purchased many properties in the area. Cline Town was initially called Granville Town which was founded in 1787 by the Committee for the Relief of the Black Poor, a British charity based in London. The Committee for the Relief of the Black Poor coordinated and funded the transportation of free blacks in Britain to the current Cline Town area. Many of these poor, freed blacks were black loyalists forced from the United States after the American Revolution. These poor blacks that resided in Britain after the American Revolution were the first to officially settle in Freetown. These initial settlers were joined by black Canadians, former American slaves and black loyalists that took refuge in Canada after the American Revolution. The area of current day Cline Town was the earliest site of a freed slave settlement in Freetown, a city founded for the purpose of freed slaves. This settlement helped facilitate the further settlement and development of Freetown. Without this freed slave settlement backed by British efforts, the colonial interests in current Sierra Leone would've been stifled. These freed black settlers were a form of pseudo-colonialism because they helped the colonial effort and were under the control of the British colonial machine. Clifford, Mary Louise. From Slavery to Freetown : Black Loyalists after the American Revolution. Jefferson, N.C.: McFarland, 1999.Schama, Simon. Rough Crossings: Britain, The Slaves and the American Revolution. New York, New York: HarperCollins , 2006. Walker, J. W. “PETERS, THOMAS,” Dictionary of Canadian biography (Vol. 4). Toronto: University of Toronto Press. 1979.
Old Fourah Bay College
The Old Fourah Bay College site is a structure in partial ruins. The Fourah Bay College was founded in 1827 by Anglican missionaries as a school. Fourah Bay College was the first European style university in West Africa. The college became a place for English speaking, well-to-do Sierra Leoneans and West Africans to seek education. Under colonialism, Freetown was known as "The Athens of West Africa" due to many well regarded schools and institutions in the region. The college was staffed with black educators and administers, early on from the US and UK but later Africans started filling more roles. Due to a fire in 1999 during the Sierra Leonean Civil War, the college has been reduced to its stone and iron construction. In 2010, Old Fourah Bay College was acquired by Bunce Island Coalition, an organization dedicated to preserving the nearby slave castle on Bunce Island. The coalition intends/intended to use the former college as a museum for the slave trade and the Bunce Island castle. Currently the college is still in ruins and inhabited by squatters. The Old Fourah Bay College is a colonial institution. While it wasn't started by the colonial powers, it was facilitated by colonialism. The college represents the early colonial prowess of Freetown as a major force in West Africa. The staff of the college being black is an example of blacks in prestigious positions in a time period in which, it was very hard for blacks to move up in society. Blacks as educators and administrators in the 1830s-1860s was nearly unheard of in the traditional narrative. “About Us.” Welcome Fourah Bay College. Accessed December 2, 2020. http://fourahbaycollege.net/. Crowder, Michael. "Institute of African Studies, Fourah Bay College, Sierra Leone." The Journal of Modern African Studies 4, no. 1 (1966): 95-96. Accessed December 2, 2020. http://www.jstor.org/stable/159418.Paracka, Daniel J. The Athens of West Africa a History of International Education at Fourah Bay College, Freetown, Sierra Leone, 2003.
Ebenezer Methodist Church
Ebenezer Methodist Church was one of the early churches founded by the free black settlers from the Americas. Ebenezer Methodist Church was formed after some of the free black Nova Scotian settlers broke away from the first settler church, the Rawdon Street Methodist Church. Religion was a major influence in the free black settlers in Freetown. Some of their first actions upon disembarking their vessels was to worship and give thanks to God for their safe travels and new found freedoms.Ebenezer Methodist Church is one of the sites that helps make the history of the Freetown settlement more tangible. The history around Ebenezer Church and its connection to the original place of worship for many settlers, Rawdon Street Church, makes it very important in the Freetown settlement and early colonial history. Unfortunately, Rawdon Street Church is no longer standing and the location of the site is not known. Ebenezer Church is the closest link to the early settler churches we have. Schwarz, Suzanne. "'OUR MAD METHODISTS': ABOLITIONISM, METHODISM AND MISSIONS IN SIERRA LEONE IN THE LATE EIGHTEENTH CENTURY." Wesley and Methodist Studies 3 (2011): 121-33. Accessed December 2, 2020. http://www.jstor.org/stable/42909807.Walker, James W. ST. G. Black Loyalist: the Search for a Promised Land in Nova Scotia and Sierra Leone 1783-1870. Toronto, ON: Univ of Toronto Press, 2017. Wyse, Akintola J. G.. The Krio of Sierra Leone: An Interpretive History. United States: Howard University Press, 1991.
St. George's Cathedral
St. George's Cathedral is a Church Mission Society Anglican church. Governor Maxwell realized the need for a church in the center of Freetown. The project to build St. George's Cathedral was funded totally by the British government and construction started in 1817. The church was to help further the "civilizing mission" of converting the colony to Christianity. The church was frequented by the free blacks, Nova Scotians, from the Americas and was typically looked upon as a prestigious place to worship. Other blacks from the Americas, such as the Jamaican Maroons, felt uncomfortable worshipping at St. George's among the Nova Scotian blacks so they would build their own church. St. George's Cathedral is a remnant of the civilizing mission propagated under colonialism. Spreading Christianity, establishing churches, etc. were all parts to show control of the colony and the subjects. Freetown, today, still has a large Christian population and St. George's is one of the highest attended churches in Freetown. Mouser, Bruce L. "Origins of Church Missionary Society Accommodation to Imperial Policy: The Sierra Leone Quagmire and the Closing of the Susu Mission, 1804-17." Journal of Religion in Africa 39, no. 4 (2009): 375-402. Accessed December 3, 2020. http://www.jstor.org/stable/20696829.Thomas, Abdul Rashid. “Sierra Leone's St George's Cathedral Celebrates Its Two Hundred Years History.” SIERRA LEONE TELEGRAPH, May 5, 2017. https://www.thesierraleonetelegraph.com/sierra-leones-oldest-church-st-georges-cathedral-celebrates-its-two-hundred-years-history/. Wyse, Akintola J. G.. The Krio of Sierra Leone: An Interpretive History. United States: Howard University Press, 1991.
King's Yard/King's Gate
This is the site of King's Yard. The still standing King's Gate was the entry to a facility where recently liberated slaves were dropped off. In 1807 the British government outlawed the slave trade in the British Empire and began enforcing their views on slave trade in the waters around the continent of Africa. The Royal Navy's West Africa Squadron interdicted slave ships and liberated nearly 150,000 slaves. The West Africa Squadron was stationed in the Freetown Estuary and upon returning from anti-slaving operations they'd release the recently liberated slaves at King's Yard. King's Yard processed liberated slaves and offered some medical treatment. In the 1880s it was converted to a hospital which it still is today King's Gate is the remaining structure that many of the liberated slaves walked through. The significance of this site is paramount to the origins of liberated slaves that made up part of the Creole(Krio) populace in Freetown. King's Yard saw thousands of liberated slaves be released from bondage and as free men and women. These liberated slaves had origins in numerous areas from across Africa which influenced Freetown's culture as these people intermingled among the populace. Anderson, Richard. "The Diaspora of Sierra Leone's Liberated Africans: Enlistment, Forced Migration, and "Liberation" at Freetown, 1808-1863." African Economic History 41 (2013): 101-38. Accessed December 3, 2020. http://www.jstor.org.univsouthin.idm.oclc.org/stable/43863308.Schwarz, Suzanne. "Reconstructing the Life Histories of Liberated Africans: Sierra Leone in the Early Nineteenth Century." History in Africa 39 (2012): 175-207. Accessed October 30, 2020. http://www.jstor.org/stable/23471003.UNESCO, Office of the Minister of Tourism and Cultural Affairs. “The Gateway to the Old King's Yards.” The Gateway to the Old King's Yards - UNESCO World Heritage Centre, January 6, 2012. https://whc.unesco.org/en/tentativelists/5746/.
Cotton Tree
This massive cotton tree was first documented in 1787. Free black settlers from the Americas landed ashore and walked up to the towering tree. The travel weary settlers, in a foreign land, rested under the tree for awhile. The settlers then decided to hold a thanksgiving service at the tree. They sang, worshipped, and gave thanks to God for delivering them to a "free and new" land. The site and the tree still holds religious significance with many coming to give thanks and make offerings to their ancestors who's roots in Sierra Leone may have come from the party that held the thanksgiving at the tree. The cotton tree is one of the most notable landmarks in Freetown. Its historical significance and symbolism in the story of the black settlers, the creole populace, and Sierra Leone as whole makes it a very important site. The ability to see this grand tree and rest under it, as the early free black settlers did, provides a unique perspective. The cotton tree makes the history of the Freetown settlement tangible because it has stood the same for hundreds of years. Clifford, Mary Louise. From Slavery to Freetown : Black Loyalists after the American Revolution. Jefferson, N.C.: McFarland, 1999.Pybus, Cassandra. "From Epic Journeys of Freedom Runaway Slaves of the American Revolution and Their Global Quest for Liberty." Callaloo 29, no. 1 (2006): 114-30. Accessed December 3, 2020. http://www.jstor.org/stable/3805698.Schama, Simon. Rough Crossings: Britain, The Slaves and the American Revolution. New York, New York: HarperCollins , 2006.
St. John's Maroon Church
St. John's Maroon Church is one of the oldest churches in Sierra Leone. The church has major significance in the history of the Jamaican Maroon population in Freetown. Jamaican Maroons are, yet another group of Africans from "The New World." The term "Maroon" typically describes Africans in the Americas that lived outside the control of slavery. These communities were formed, typically, of runaway slaves and the indigenous people of the area. The Jamaican Maroons were sent to Freetown after they were captured during the Second Maroon War in Jamaica in 1797-96. The Maroons were deported from Jamaica, to Nova Scotia in 1796 and then to Freetown in 1800. Maroons held African beliefs that they held during their time away from the institutions of slavery in the Americas. By 1820 the Maroons had converted to Christianity, mostly via free "Nova Scotian" blacks in Freetown. However, the Maroons felt uncomfortable among the Nova Scotians so they were granted permission to construct their own church, St. John's Maroon Church. St. John's Maroon Church is significant because it directly pertains to another group of blacks that were sent to Africa. The Jamaican Maroon populace added their own influence to Freetown, more particularly, Maroon Town in which St. John's is situated in. The church shows how religion and cultural differences shaped the infastructure of Freetown. The story of the Maroons is not as prominent in the story of Freetown as the other free black groups that settled the area. Lockett, James D. "The Deportation of the Maroons of Trelawny Town to Nova Scotia, Then Back to Africa." Journal of Black Studies 30, no. 1 (1999): 5-14. Accessed December 2, 2020. http://www.jstor.org/stable/2645890.Martin, Leann. "Why Maroons?" Current Anthropology 13, no. 1 (1972): 143-44. Accessed December 2, 2020. http://www.jstor.org/stable/2741085.“St John's Maroon Church, Freetown.” Sierra Leone Heritage. Accessed December 2, 2020. http://www.sierraleoneheritage.org/sites/monuments/stjohn.
Tower Hill/Smith's Hill
Tower Hill is a geographic height slightly inland from the Freetown estuary. The hill was a natural strategic point that overlooked the coastline. Smith's Hill, as it was called during the time, was the site of the governor's house. The house was destroyed by the French in 1794 and a new house was resurrected in 1796 with a palisade built around it but it too was attacked so a stone wall was erected around it. While building the stone wall defenses, the British colonial government decided to enclose the governor's house, a barracks, post office, and the colonial secretary's office. This compound was now deemed Fort Thornton and was inhabited by the governor for years and it is still the governmental house of Sierra Leone today. Tower Hill is the site of the colonial regime that controlled Freetown during the colonial period. The fort on the hill not only was a strategic placement for defense but also played a psychological role as the ominous British fort beared down on the colonial subjects of Freetown. The notions of this type of imposing presence is still in use today as the government house is situated atop Tower Hill in the same manner as the fort. “Bastions of Fort Thornton, Freetown.” Sierra Leone Heritage. Accessed December 2, 2020. http://www.sierraleoneheritage.org/sites/monuments/fortthornton. Misevich, Philip. "The Sierra Leone Hinterland and the Provisioning of Early Freetown, 1792-1803." Journal of Colonialism & Colonial History 9, no. 3 (2008): N_A.“OFFICIAL VISITS: 'Government House, Freetown, Sierra Leone.' ,” 1958. Ministry of Information .
Martello Tower
This tower is a replica based off Martello towers which are small, round, forts. The origins of British Martello towers come from their construction to protect British territory from the French in the late 1700s and early 1800s. The tower on Tower Hill, its namesake, was built in response to attacks on Freetown and the British colonial administration located on top of Tower Hill. Governor Day received the most modern model of a Martello tower employed by the British military. Construction of the tower began in April 1805 and it is believed that no shots were ever fired in angst from the tower. In 1870, the tower was in ruins and it was converted to be a water tower to provide water for Fort Thornton and the colonial buildings on Tower Hill. It is currently incorporated into the Sierra Leonean governmental complex on the hill.This tower, like Fort Thornton shows the colonial might and prowess through imposing infrastructure used to dissuade anyone from rebelling or fighting the colonial power. The tower was built in response to indigenous African forces that attacked Freetown. This shows the tensions between the free blacks from "The New World" and the indigenous Africans in the area. It also shows that resistance to colonialism was such a concern in the colonial power's eyes they invested and installed the latest and greatest defensive structure in their repertoire. Isaac Land, and Andrew M Schocket. "New Approaches to the Founding of the Sierra Leone Colony, 1786-1808." Journal of Colonialism & Colonial History 9, no. 3 (2008): N_A.Clements, William Holliwell. Martello Towers Worldwide. Barnsley, South Yorkshire: Pen & Sword Military, 2011. “Martello Tower, Tower Hill, Freetown.” Sierra Leone Heritage. Accessed December 2, 2020. http://www.sierraleoneheritage.org/sites/monuments/martello.
