Sierra Leone Creole people
| Total population | |
|---|---|
| 350,304 (5% of Sierra Leone's population) | |
| Languages | |
| Krio, Sierra Leone English | |
| Religion | |
|
Christianity 90%, majority of the Anglican Church; large minority of various Protestant denominations Islam 10%, Overwhelming majority Sunni |
|
| Related ethnic groups | |
| Americo Liberian, African American, Black British, Krio Fernandino, Saro Nigerian, West Indian, Tabom People |
Christianity 90%, majority of the Anglican Church; large minority of various Protestant denominations
The Sierra Leone Creole people (or Krio people) are an ethnic group in Sierra Leone. They are the descendants of freed African American, West Indian and Liberated African slaves who settled in the Western Area of Sierra Leone between 1787 and about 1885. The colony was established by the British, supported by abolitionists, under the Sierra Leone Company as a place for freedmen. The settlers called their new settlement Freetown. Today, the Krio comprise about 5% of the population of Sierra Leone.
Like their Americo-Liberian neighbors in Liberia, Krio have varying degrees of European ancestry because some of the settlers were descended from European Americans and other Europeans. Through the Jamaican Maroons some Krio probably also have indigenous Jamaican Amerindian Taíno ancestry. Alongside the Americo-Liberians, the Creoles are the only recognised ethnic group of African-American, Liberated African, and West Indian descent in West Africa. As with their Americo-Liberian neighbors, Creole culture is primarily westernized. The Krios developed close relationships with the British colonial power; they became educated in British institutions and held prominent leadership positions in Sierra Leone under British colonialism.
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Wikipedia