Sierra Leone Creole Settlers
The Sierra Leone Creole Settlers are the North American, Caribbean, and European freed slave ancestors of the Sierra Leone Creole people and included the Black British residents London), Black Loyalists (from Nova Scotia), Black Nova Scotians (who are of African American ancestry), Maroons (from Jamaica), West Indians (mainly from the West India Regiment who were disbanded in Sierra Leone in 1819), and 38 African Americans who were taken there by Paul Cuffe. The Elizabeth (Mayflower of Liberia) also left New York Harbor and took 86 African Americans to Freetown, Sierra Leone and they also settler there. Many of these freed colored people were of European and/or Native American descent. These ancestors of the creole are the descendants of slaves and in the beginning they only intermarried among themselves and not among the Sierra Leone Liberated Africans who came later than the settlers. Though the 'settlers were roughly around 1200, their influence over Freetown and the modern day Sierra Leone creole was enormous considering their small population. The Settlers comprised a little over ten percent of the overall Krio population. The settlers were the first creoles to be an elite society in Freetown and looked down on the 'recaptives'. Eventually the 'settlers' began to lose their influence as the Liberated Africans became successful traders. As the recaptives and settlers mixed, the fusion between the two distinct groups became the essence of creole society; education, trade, Christianity, and important government posts. Most of the settlers lived in Wilberforce, Regent, Gloucester, Leicester, Charlotte, Bathurst, or Glassfield all of which were the Central or Mountain district of Freetown. The Liberated Africans settled in the Eastern or River District in towns such as Kissy, Hastings, Wellington and Waterloo. Because of the movement of people throughout Freetown, many descendants of the Settlers and Liberated Africans can be found in different parts of Freetown.
Creole settlers and Americo-Liberians
The history of the Sierra Leone Creole settlers is quite similar to that of the Americo-Liberian in the sense of they are all Repatriated Africans and descendants of slaves from Europe and North America. Both ethnic groups did not mingle or mix with the indigeneous people in who GeneRally lived in the interior. Both valued education and both exercised their influence over their respective countries economies. Both groups also eventually intermarried with liberated recaptive slaves who were brought to their lands (in the case of the creole settlers the 'recaptives' and in the case of the Americo-Liberians the 'congos'). The main difference between the Creole and the Americo-Liberians is that Liberia was never a colony and was dominated in the political scene by wealthy Americo-Liberian familes, while Sierra Leone was colonised by the British and the Krios never exercised full control over the country. While Americo-Liberians were 'the cream of the crop', creoles were only considered elite when in comparison with other groups. The creoles never gained control in government, except in the case of Andrew Juxon-Smith and Valentine Strasser. Status among the creole community had nothing to appearance but with education; in Americo-Liberian society there were divisions among ethnicity and appearance.
Sources
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