Sierra Leone's history, told by its people.
Di Tɛmɛn Tɔri
A living archive · by the people of Sierra Leone
This day in Sierra Leone history
January
1
1808
The Sierra Leone Company surrenders its charter and Sierra Leone becomes a British Crown Colony.
Sources: Wikipedia: Sierra Leone
Stories
All stories →- 01Before the Colony: Stone, Iron and RiceLong before 1787, people were making tools, pots and farms in what is now Sierra Leone. Archaeologists have been digging up their story since the 1960s.Tɔri Editorial Desk→
- 02Nomoli and the Sapi CarversSmall stone figures turn up in farmers' fields, and ivory salt cellars sit in museums across Europe and America. Both were made by the people of this coast centuries ago.Tɔri Editorial Desk→
- 03Serra Lyoa: The Coast Before FreetownPortuguese sailors, Mane armies, the Temne kingdom of Koya and the slave castle on Bunce Island: three centuries of history between 1462 and 1787.Tɔri Editorial Desk→
- 04The Cotton Tree: A City's WitnessFor more than two centuries the Cotton Tree stood at the centre of Freetown. What did it mean to the people who grew up beneath it?Tɔri Editorial Desk♪ Listen→
Question of the week · Music & fun
What music played at your house?
Answer with a photo →
Walk the city
The 1792 Settler Route
From the waterfront to the Cotton Tree: the path of Freetown's founding generation, told stop by stop.
4 stops
Start the walk →Voice notes from the past
“Tradition holds that the settlers who arrived in seventeen ninety two gathered beneath it to give thanks.”
— Sample narration (computer voice)
▶ListenWeekly quiz
How well do you know Freetown?
Take the quiz →
The Sierra Leone archive
Old photographs, stamps and film
1792 · 1900 · 1961
Open the archive →
