Sierra Leone
Sierra Leone is a nation of west Africa, bounded by Guinea to its north and east, Liberia to its south-east, and the Atlantic Ocean to its west. Freetown, now the capital city, was founded in 1787 as a home for former slaves who had fought for the British during the American War of Independence, and became a formal British colony in 1808. The interior of what became Sierra Leone became a British protectorate in 1896. Sierra Leone achieved independence from Britain in 1961. Bertween 1991 and 2002 the country and its opeople suffered huge damage in a civil war, finally ended by the intervention of British troops.
Sierra Leone has an area of 27,699 square miles (71,740 sq km) and a population (2007 est) of 6.1 million. The capital city is Freetown.
