Sierra Leone Colony and Protectorate
Sierra Leone, 1808–1961. Draft, not yet reviewed
The Colony and Protectorate of Sierra Leone was the British colonial administration in Sierra Leone from 1808 to 1961. The Crown colony, which included the area surrounding Freetown, was established in 1808. The protectorate was established in 1896 and included the interior of what is today known as Sierra Leone. On 27 April 1961 Sierra Leone was granted independence at a large ceremony in Freetown.
Seat of power: Freetown
Rulers
Stephen John Hill
Governor of Sierra Leone, 1854–1863
He was a governor of, in turn, four British colonial possessions. In 1854 he became governor of Sierra Leone. From 1860 through 1861 he was made governor of Sierra Leone for a second time.
Portrait of Stephen John Hill: William Notman, Public domain, file
Arthur Kennedy
Governor of Sierra Leone, 1869–1872
He was a British colonial administrator who served as governor of a number of British colonies, namely Sierra Leone, Western Australia, Vancouver Island, Hong Kong and Queensland. In December 1867 he was knighted (KCB) and appointed Governor of the West African Settlements. He was appointed a Judge in the Mixed Commission Court at Sierra Leone.
Portrait of Arthur Kennedy: Unknown authorUnknown author, Public domain, file
Samuel Rowe
Governor of Sierra Leone, 1875–1881
He was a British doctor and colonial administrator who was twice governor of Sierra Leone. In his first tour of duty as governor of Sierra Leone he was supported by the Colonial Office in pursuing a policy of aggressive colonial intervention in the interior. He led two successful expeditions against the Sherbro people.
Portrait of Samuel Rowe: Unknown authorUnknown author, Public domain, file
.jpg){kind=link}
Frederic Cardew
Governor of Sierra Leone, 1894–1900
He was a British Army officer and colonial governor. He was Governor of Sierra Leone from 1894 to 1900. The hut tax that he introduced led to the Hut Tax War of 1898.
Charles King-Harman
Governor of Sierra Leone, 1900–1904
In December 1900 he took up the post of Governor of Sierra Leone Colony and Protectorate, serving as such until September 1904. He completed a tour through the protectorate after his return, in February 1903.
Portrait of Charles King-Harman: Henry Van der Weyde, Public domain, file
Leslie Probyn
Governor of Sierra Leone, 1904–1910
In Sierra Leone, he increased native suffrage and sought to make sure that laws were not enacted without active native participation in the process. He held referendums with the indigenous population to judge whether or not there was popular support for proposed policies. As governor of Sierra Leone, Probyn took a stand against the practice of cannibalism, which he declared illegal.
Portrait of Leslie Probyn: Unknown authorUnknown author, Public domain, file
Edward Merewether
Governor of Sierra Leone, 1911–1916
In March 1911, Merewether was appointed Governor and Commander-in-Chief of Sierra Leone. His ship, the SS Appam, was captured by the Imperial German Navy raider SMS Möwe on 15 January 1916, and he was taken prisoner. He and his wife were released when the Appam arrived under control of its German prize crew in Norfolk, Virginia, in early February.
Portrait of Edward Merewether: Page held by Julia Keld, photographer unknown, Public domain, file
Richard James Wilkinson
Governor of Sierra Leone, 1916–1922
As governor of Sierra Leone, Wilkinson insisted that Africans receive the same pay as Europeans when doing the same work. He also expanded the postal service in the colony and hired Africans to work on it.
Ransford Slater
Governor of Sierra Leone, 1922–1927
He was Governor of Sierra Leone from 1922 to 1927. In Sierra Leone, Slater ordered the wages of all Africans who worked for the British government to be raised. From January 14 to February 26, 1926, all grades of the African workers within the Railway Department of the Sierra Leone Government participated in a strike.
Portrait of Ransford Slater: Walter Stoneman (Life time: 1876-1958), PD-US, file
.png){kind=link}
Joseph Aloysius Byrne
Governor of Sierra Leone, 1927–1931
He was made Governor of Sierra Leone from 24 September 1927 to 1929, and again from 1930 to 23 May 1931. As governor of Sierra Leone, Byrne made a habit of appointing European-educated Africans to as many posts as possible, particularly in the city of Freetown.
Douglas James Jardine
Governor of Sierra Leone, 1937–1941
He was appointed Governor of Sierra Leone in 1937. As Governor of Sierra Leone he took care to improve relations with the native population.
Hubert Craddock Stevenson
Governor of Sierra Leone, 1941–1947
He was Governor of Sierra Leone from 1941 to 1947. As governor, he was particularly keen on restoring harmony between the Chiefs and their educated competitors.
Portrait of Hubert Craddock Stevenson: Royal Navy official photographer, Public domain, file
George Beresford-Stooke
Governor of Sierra Leone, 1947–1952
He was later appointed Governor of Sierra Leone from September 1947 until December 1952. In 1951, he revised the Constitution of Sierra Leone to expand the franchise to women in areas of the interior where, up until that point, only men were allowed the right-to-vote on local matters.
Robert de Zouche Hall
Governor of Sierra Leone, 1952–1956
Hall was Governor of Sierra Leone from December 1952 to 1 September 1956. Robert de Zouche Hall reduced the income requirement for women from £100 to £60 per year in order to qualify for the franchise. This dramatically increased the portion of women in the country who were able to vote.
Maurice Henry Dorman
Governor of Sierra Leone, 1956–1961
He was appointed as the colonial governor of the Sierra Leone Colony and Protectorate in 1956, and remained in his position after the independence of Sierra Leone until 7 July 1962. On 21 September 1964, he became the first Governor-General of Malta and held the position until 21 June 1971.
Culture
- The British government abolished the slave trade in 1807. It took responsibility of Sierra Leone in 1808 and made it a Crown colony.
- A new colony was built on another site and became known as Freetown. The Settler descendants gradually developed as an ethnicity known as the Sierra Leone Creole people.
- On 1 January 1928 the British abolished domestic slavery. In 1932 Sierra Leone Selection Trust, a subsidiary of the British Consolidated African Selection Trust (CAST), was set up to mine diamonds.
Picture
Bunce Island is an island in the Sierra Leone River that houses a castle built by the Royal Africa Company in c.1670.
Image: Cnes - Spot Image, CC BY-SA 3.0, file
Sources
- Sierra Leone Colony and Protectorate (Wikipedia)
- Sierra Leone Colony and Protectorate (Wikidata)
- About the picture (Wikipedia)
Text adapted from the Wikipedia articles listed as sources, CC BY-SA 4.0.