Leicester, Sierra Leone

Leicester, Sierra Leone
Leicester, Western Area
Location in Sierra Leone
Coordinates: 8°27′N 13°13′W / 8.450°N 13.217°W / 8.450; -13.217Coordinates: 8°27′N 13°13′W / 8.450°N 13.217°W / 8.450; -13.217
Country Sierra Leone
Region Western Area
District Western Area Rural District
Population (2015)
 • Total 18,678
Time zone UTC-5 (GMT)

Leicester is a coastal town in the Western Area Rural District of Sierra Leone. The town lies approximately fifteen miles east of Freetown. The town has an estimated population of 18,678. Leicester is largely populated by the Krio people. The Krio language is the primary language of communication in the town.

History

Leicester was founded in 1809 provide accommodation for liberated enslaved Africans, who had been brought to Freetown by the British Royal Navy West Africa Squadron.[1]:122 A hospital was founded here, and John Macaulay Wilson, one of the first Africans to be given European medical training worked here as an Assistant Colonial Surgeon.[2]:62

Notable people

References

  1. ↑ Sanneh, Lamin (2009). Abolitionists Abroad: American Blacks and the Making of Modern West Africa. Cammbrideg, Mass.: Harvard University Press. |access-date= requires |url= (help)
  2. ↑ Patton, Adell (1996). Physicians, colonial racism, and diaspora in West Africa. Gainesville [u.a.]: Univ. Press of Florida. ISBN 978-0-8130-1432-6.


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