The 1787 British Settlement of Sierra Leone

In 1787, a small fleet of ships carrying hundreds of Black Loyalists, poor whites, and freed slaves from London set sail for West Africa. Their destination: a stretch of coast the British called the 'Province of Freedom,' later known as Sierra Leone. This episode tells the story of that first settlement — the unlikely coalition of abolitionists, the brutal conditions that nearly destroyed it, and the resilience of the Black settlers who survived starvation, disease, and attacks. We follow the journey of Thomas Peters, a Black Loyalist veteran who led a delegation to London demanding land and rights. We examine the role of Granville Sharp and the Committee for the Relief of the Black Poor, and the clash between abolitionist ideals and colonial realities. The settlement's early collapse and its rebirth under the Sierra Leone Company in 1791 set the stage for one of the most ambitious experiments in African self-governance. Names, dates, and details drawn from contemporary accounts and recent scholarship. #SierraLeone #BlackLoyalists #GranvilleSharp #ThomasPeters #ProvinceofFreedom #Abolition #NovaScotia #1787 #Freetown #SlaveTrade #BritishEmpire #BlackPoor #AfricanHistory #Colonialism #FexingoHistory #HistoryPodcast #WorldHistory #18thCentury Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo