According to abbreviationfinder, Freetown is the commercial center and capital of Sierra Leone. It is located on the Sierra Leone peninsula extending along the coast of the Atlantic Ocean. Its economy rests on the city’s port, which is the largest and most important in the country, through which most of the export merchandise moves.
History
The city of Freetown was founded in 1787 by former slaves sent from England by the English abolitionists who started the Sierra Leone campaign. In 1790 the settlement was burned by the tribes that opposed it but a new expedition of slaves arrived in 1792 in the area where the city is located today and they settled there, this time they came from Nova Scotia.
In 1794 the town is assaulted by the French but survived the assault, years later in 1800 the settlers rebelled against the British, they put down the rebellion and regained control of the city, then starting a wide expansion typical of those times. which led to the creation of present-day Sierra Leone.
In 1808 the community was declared a British colony and from that year until 1874 the city became the base of operations and capital of the British colony in West Africa. Due to the mass liberation of thousands of slaves for their collaboration in the Napoleonic Wars under British orders, many of these freed slaves came from all the British colonies to the region and settled in the city, which led to extraordinary growth. The descendants of free slaves were called creoles (criollos) and currently play an important and leading role in the capital although they are a national minority.
The United Kingdom maintained a naval base in Freetown throughout the period spanning World War II.
Starting in 1990 the city was involved in heavy fighting and by 1998 ECOWAS troops seized power in the city and restored President Ahmad Tejan Kabbah to the leadership of the country. Then the United Revolutionary Front attacked the city but the operation failed.
Economy
The economy of Freetown rests fundamentally on its port, which is where the vast majority of exports move not only from the city but from the whole country, in the industrial part the city is mainly dedicated to the production of cigars, the refining of oil, fishing, the carving of [[diamonds, among other activities and in the branch of [[agriculture, the cultivation of coffee, cocoa, dates and gingers stands out.
Culture
Freetown has important cultural centers of the country such as the National Museum, which has a large collection of masks, there is also the Palace of the Courts, the Church of San Juan that dates from 1820, another important center is the cathedral of San Jorge that dates from 1828, another important building built in 1830 is the Foulah Town mosque, the city also has the Cathedral of the Sacred Heart, built in the 19th century.
A symbol of the city is the Cotton tree located next to the court building, which has more than 500 years of existence.
Districts
To the east of the city are the working-class neighborhoods: Wellington, Kissy, Cline Town, Fourah Bay, Kossa Town and Foulah Town.
To the west are the bourgeois neighborhoods: Congo Town, Murray Town, Wilberforce and Aberdeen.
Education
The city has all levels of education including university and is home to the University of Sierra Leone.
Sightseeing
The city has beautiful beaches among which those of Hamilton, Luley and Lakka stand out.
Sierra Leone
Population
With an annual growth rate of just over 2%, Sierra Leone is one of the African countries with the slowest growth in population, due to the fact that the death rate remains too high, despite the fact that the birth rate is also high. Other indicators of the level of development, such as life expectancy, which barely exceeds 43 years, and the literacy rate, which stands at around 24%, show us that it is a very depressed country. See population of Sierra Leone.
The ethnic diversity is considerable, with more than 18 different groups, among which the Mendés, the most numerous, the Temnes, the Limbas, the Konos, or the Sherbros stand out. There is also a large colony of Lebanese and Asian merchants in the cities. The population is around 4,600,000 residents, with a density of 64 h / km², and a percentage of Sierra Leoneans of 32%, who live in urban areas, mainly in the capital, Freetown, and its surroundings. Other urban centers to mention are Koidu, Kenema and Bo. The official language is English, although the dominant language is Krio, a mixture of English with African dialects; the religion The majority is the animist, practiced by half the population, followed by the Muslim, with 40%; the rest are Catholics and Protestants.
Administration and government
The political form is the presidential Republic, headed by the President, who is elected for seven years and appoints the government. However, the 1992 military coup has suppressed republican institutions and given power to a Provisional Military Council. Multi-partyism has been allowed in the country since 1991.
The country is organized into four administrative divisions, and belongs to the UN, the OAU and the ECOWAS (Economic Community of West African States).
