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Sierra Leone Under Colonial Rule, in Government Reports, 1893–1961

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Freetown, Sierra Leone, the way we looked at it in 1949.

Annual Departmental Reports relating to Sierra Leone, 1893–1961

It was only after the establishment of the Sierra Leone Protectorate that British colonial administration and technical departments began to assume a complexity which warranted separate departmental reports
David C. Doward,  Guide to the Microfilm Edition

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Explore key government reports that chart Sierra Leone's journey towards independence

A stamp depicting a city scene and an inset of King George VI, with inscription Freetown from the Harbour, circa 1940.

Sierra Leone Under Colonial Rule, in Government Reports, 1893-1961 contains papers from the colonial government in Sierra Leone. They reveal the approach the British took to colonial rule in this country. The reports are divided into nine distinct volumes for convenience. These are Administration, Finance, Judicial and Police, Natural Resources, Social Services, Transport and Public Works, Communications and Post Office Savings, Commerce, and Staff Lists and Miscellaneous.

The government reports contained in this collection cover several important developments and events in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, including the First and Second World Wars, social services during colonial governance, and Sierra Leone achieving independence in 1961. The reports, therefore, provide students and academics with a unique insight into the history of Sierra Leone and the development and eventual dissolution of British colonialism in West Africa.

This collection is accompanied by a guide to the microfilm edition, by David C. Doward.

Contents

Sierra Leone Under Colonial Rule, in Government Reports, 1893–1961...

Annual Departmental Reports relating to Sierra Leone, 1893–1961

Discover 
Troops embarking at Freetown, Sierra Leone for German Cameroon. 1914.

Highlights

Section of a report titled Report on the Income Tax Department, Sierra Leone, covering the period 1 January 1946 to 31 March 1947.

Licensed to access Income Tax, 1946-1961

Income tax was introduced in Sierra Leone in 1944. This document includes detailed reports from the Income Tax Department, that shed light on the development and purpose of income tax under British colonial rule.

Section of a report titled Report on the Accounts and Working for the Year 1908, featuring the Sierra Leone Government Railway letterhead, dated 30 June 1909.

Licensed to access Railway, 1908-1924

This document contains details of the establishment and development of a railway network within Sierra Leone. It therefore provides insight into how the British aimed to develop infrastructure within the British colonies.

Section of a report titled Sierra Leone Labour Report, 1939-1940, featuring a stamp reading The Royal Institute of International Affairs on the top of the page.

Licensed to access Labour, 1939-1961

H.A. Nisbet assumed duties as Labour Secretary in Sierra Leone on 22nd July 1939. His duties were to oversee the mobilisation and utilisation of native labour within Sierra Leone as part of the British war effort. This document includes details on the success of this effort.

Section of an index to The Proceedings of the First and Second Meetings of the Protectorate Assembly.

Licensed to access Protectorate Assembly, 1947-1955

In 1945–46, constitutional amendments were enacted by the British to establish a Protectorate Assembly as a means of countering the political aspirations of the Colony's educated elite. They did this by enlisting the support of the more conservative provincial Chiefs and as part of a belated attempt to redress the political, economic, and developmental imbalance between the Colony and Protectorate. This document includes the proceedings of the Protectorate Assembly.

Insights

  • These reports are arranged by department. Comparison of reports over time yields insights into how each area of government developed throughout the period of British colonial rule.

  • These papers cover the First and Second World Wars, social services during colonial governance, and Sierra Leone achieving independence in 1961.

  • The contents page at the front of each report lists the departments which existed at that time. Comparison of these contents pages reveals how the structure of the colonial government changed over time.

  • Audits, Estimates, and other financial reports provide a wealth of quantifiable information and statistics on the allocation of resources by and within the Colonial Government. Detailed within the Finance collection is the introduction of income tax in 1944.

  • Given the period this collection covers, students and academics are able to use these resources to trace the gradual transfer of power from the British Empire to Sierra Leone, culminating in Sierra Leone achieving independence in 1961.

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