Sources

All online sources were accessed between 29 September and 1 October 2026.

1. 1.Encyclopaedia Africana Project. "Sierra Leone." Encyclopaedia Africana (African Union flagship project), 2025, updated 2026. encyclopaediaafricana.com
2. 2.Encyclopaedia Britannica. "History of Sierra Leone." britannica.com
3. 3.Encyclopaedia Britannica. "Pedro de Sintra." britannica.com
4. 4.Wikipedia. "Pedro de Sintra" (citing M. Fyle, Concord Times). en.wikipedia.org
5. 5.Permanent Mission of Sierra Leone, Geneva. "History of Sierra Leone." missionsierraleone.ch
6. 6.Wikipedia. "Lion Mountains." en.wikipedia.org
7. 7.World Monuments Fund / Google Arts & Culture. "Tracing the Trade in Enslaved Africans back to Bunce Island, Sierra Leone." artsandculture.google.com
8. 8.Charleston City Paper. "Prof. Joseph Opala speaks on the Gullah Geechee and Sierra Leone connection." 1 March 2018. charlestoncitypaper.com
9. 9.African American Registry. "Bunce Island, Slave Trade Facility Opens." aaregistry.org
10. 10.Wikipedia. "Joseph Opala." en.wikipedia.org
11. 11.Wikipedia. "Freetown." en.wikipedia.org
12. 12.Africanews / AFP. "Sierra Leone's symbolic 'Cotton Tree' destroyed in rain storm." 25 May 2023. africanews.com
13. 13.Atlas Obscura. "Cotton Tree." atlasobscura.com
14. 14.Sierra Leone Web. "Sierra Leonean Heroes: 19th Century Upcountry." sierra-leone.org
15. 15.Dictionary of African Christian Biography. "Pieh, Sengbe." dacb.org
16. 16.Encyclopaedia Britannica. "Joseph Cinqué." britannica.com
17. 17.US Capitol Visitor Center. "Lithograph, Joseph Cinquez (Sengbe Pieh), c. 1839." visitthecapitol.gov
18. 18.Wikipedia. "Joseph Cinqué." en.wikipedia.org
19. 19.Wikipedia. "Fourah Bay College." en.wikipedia.org
20. 20.Paracka, Daniel J. "The Athens of West Africa: International Education at Fourah Bay College, 1814–2002." East Carolina University (after Paracka, Routledge, 2003). aaas.ecu.edu (PDF)
21. 21.University of Manchester. "African Agency and Colonial Committees at Fourah Bay College." Docomomo Journal. research.manchester.ac.uk
22. 22.African Education. "Fourah Bay College." africaeducation.org
23. 23.Sierra Leone Grammar School. "Our History." slgs.edu.sl
24. 24.Wikipedia. "Annie Walsh Memorial School." en.wikipedia.org
25. 25.Africa Almanac. "Africa's 50 oldest schools," 2003 (reproduced by Anwar-Ul-Islam Grammar School). anwar-ul-islam.com
26. 26.University of Edinburgh. "James 'Africanus' Beale Horton." ed.ac.uk
27. 27.King's College London. "Africanus Horton." kcl.ac.uk
28. 28.Wikipedia. "William Broughton Davies." en.wikipedia.org
29. 29.Wikipedia. "Samuel Lewis (barrister)" (citing J.D. Hargreaves, A Life of Sir Samuel Lewis). en.wikipedia.org
30. 30.Wikipedia. "Hut Tax War of 1898." en.wikipedia.org
31. 31.Wikipedia. "Bai Bureh." en.wikipedia.org
32. 32.Atlas Obscura. "Madam Yoko's Grave." atlasobscura.com
33. 33.University of Aberdeen Museums. "Madam Yoko's Snuff Box and Collections from Sierra Leone." abdn.ac.uk
34. 34.Meeting of Minds. "Madam Yoko: Heroine of the people or colonial traitor?" meetingofmindsuk.uk
35. 35.Wikipedia. "Star of Sierra Leone" (citing The New York Times, 4 October 1972). en.wikipedia.org
36. 36.Cape Town Diamond Museum. "The 8 Largest Diamonds in the World." capetowndiamondmuseum.org
37. 37.Wikipedia. "Languages of Sierra Leone" (citing the CIA World Factbook). en.wikipedia.org
38. 38.US Department of State. "Keynote Address on the Legacy of the Special Court for Sierra Leone." state.gov
39. 39.Office of the UN Special Representative for Children and Armed Conflict, via ReliefWeb. "Special Court for Sierra Leone: First convictions on recruitment and use of child soldiers." 21 June 2007. reliefweb.int
40. 40.UN Office of Legal Affairs. "Opening remarks, Special Court for Sierra Leone legacy conference." 16 January 2022. un.org (PDF)
41. 41.Human Rights Watch. "Sierra Leone: Landmark Conviction of Liberian Ex-President." 26 April 2012. hrw.org
42. 42.UN News Centre (via GlobalSecurity.org). "Security Council welcomes conviction in war crimes trial of Charles Taylor." 27 April 2012. globalsecurity.org
43. 43.Healio, quoting WHO. "WHO declares Sierra Leone free of Ebola virus transmission." 9 November 2015. healio.com
44. 44.AFP via Malay Mail. "WHO declares end of Ebola outbreak in Sierra Leone." 7 November 2015. malaymail.com
45. 45.Ministry of Tourism and Cultural Affairs, Sierra Leone. "Sierra Leone Secures Its First UNESCO World Heritage Site." July 2025. tourism.gov.sl
46. 46.IUCN. "From rainforests to reefs: New World Heritage Sites signal conservation breakthroughs." July 2025. iucn.org
47. 47.UNESCO World Heritage Centre. "Gola-Tiwai Complex." whc.unesco.org
48. 48.Tourism Sierra Leone. "Tiwai Island Wildlife Sanctuary." tourismsierraleone.com
49. 49.Office of the President of Sierra Leone. "Presidential Press Kit." statehouse.gov.sl
50. 50.ECOWAS. "The Chairman of the Authority." ecowas.int
51. 51.Office of the President of Sierra Leone. "President Bio Rallies Africa's Push for UN Security Council Reform." 25 April 2025. statehouse.gov.sl
52. 52.Parks Canada. "Thomas Peters National Historic Person (c. 1738–1792)." parks.canada.ca
53. 53.Colonial Williamsburg, Slavery and Remembrance. "Thomas Peters." slaveryandremembrance.org
54. 54.Wikipedia. "John Clarkson (abolitionist)." en.wikipedia.org
55. 55.Encyclopedia of World Biography via Encyclopedia.com. "Edward Wilmot Blyden." encyclopedia.com
56. 56.Sierra Leone Web. "Sierra Leonean Heroes: Responses to Colonial Rule (1930s–1940s)." sierra-leone.org
57. 57.Wikipedia. "I. T. A. Wallace-Johnson." en.wikipedia.org
58. 58.Wikipedia. "West African Youth League" (citing LaRay Denzer, African Studies Review). en.wikipedia.org
59. 59.Wikipedia. "Constance Cummings-John." en.wikipedia.org
60. 60.African Feminist Forum. "Constance Cummings-John." africanfeministforum.com
61. 61.Sierra Leone Web. "Sierra Leonean Heroes: Achievement of Independence." sierra-leone.org
62. 62.Encyclopaedia Britannica. "Sir Milton Margai." britannica.com
63. 63.Wikipedia. "Ella Koblo Gulama." en.wikipedia.org
64. 64.Lucan, Talabi Aisie. The Life and Times of Paramount Chief Madam Ella Koblo Gulama. Sierra Leone Association of Writers and Illustrators, 2003. books.google.com
65. 65.Wikipedia. "Davidson Nicol." en.wikipedia.org
66. 66.The Lancet. "Remembering health workers who died from Ebola in 2014." thelancet.com
67. 67.CDC Museum. "Tragedy in Kenema, Sierra Leone." cdcmuseum.org
68. 68.State House, Sierra Leone (via Cocorioko). "Government Press Release on the death of Ebola hero Dr Sheik Umar Khan." 30 July 2014. cocorioko.net
69. 69.Gire, S.K., Goba, A., et al. "Genomic surveillance elucidates Ebola virus origin and transmission during the 2014 outbreak." Science 345 (2014): 1369–1372. DOI 10.1126/science.1259657. science.org
70. 70.Science News. "Ebola's heavy toll on study authors." 2014. science.org
71. 71.Broad Institute via ScienceDaily. "Genomic sequencing reveals mutations, insights into 2014 Ebola outbreak." 28 August 2014. sciencedaily.com
72. 72.Conciliation Resources. "Sierra Leonean women and the peace process." Accord: Sierra Leone. c-r.org
73. 73.UN Women. "Women's Situation Room aims to prevent conflict and ensure peaceful elections in Sierra Leone." November 2012. unwomen.org
74. 74.Inter Press Service. "The Ups and Downs of Zainab Bangura." October 2008. ipsnews.net
75. 75.Konnect Africa. "Zainab Bangura: Champion of Human Rights." konnectafrica.net
76. 76.Wikipedia. "Ebenezer Calendar." en.wikipedia.org
77. 77.Wikipedia. "Palm-wine music" (citing John Collins, 1989). en.wikipedia.org
78. 78.Real World Records. "S.E. Rogie." realworldrecords.com
79. 79.Morning Star. "Rogie: music that has aged like fine palm wine." morningstaronline.co.uk
80. 80.Wikipedia. "Dead Men Don't Smoke Marijuana." en.wikipedia.org
81. 81.Wikipedia. "Sierra Leonean literature." en.wikipedia.org
82. 82.Poda-Poda Stories. "Syl Cheney-Coker on Writing through Exile." poda-poda.com
83. 83.Wikipedia. "Ishmael Beah." en.wikipedia.org
84. 84.Poda-Poda Stories. "Ishmael Beah on Storytelling and Activism." poda-poda.com
85. 85.Olympedia. "Eunice Barber." olympedia.org
86. 86.Wikipedia. "Mohamed Kallon." en.wikipedia.org
87. 87.Wikipedia. "Blackwater fever." en.wikipedia.org
88. 88.Wikipedia. "John Farrell Easmon" (citing Adell Patton, Physicians, Colonial Racism, and Diaspora in West Africa, 1996). en.wikipedia.org
89. 89.Royal College of Surgeons of England. "Wellesley-Cole, Robert Benjamin Ageh (1907–1995)." Plarr's Lives of the Fellows. livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk
90. 90.SOAS Archives. "Black History Month 2014: Papers of Robert Wellesley Cole." blogs.soas.ac.uk
91. 91.Wikipedia. "Robert Smith (surgeon)." en.wikipedia.org
92. 92.Women in World History via Encyclopedia.com. "Ighodaro, Irene (1916–1995)." encyclopedia.com
93. 93.Wikipedia. "Irene Ighodaro." en.wikipedia.org
94. 94.Wikipedia. "Matilda J. Clerk" (on Agnes Yewande Savage). en.wikipedia.org
95. 95.The Lancet. "How did Sierra Leone provide free health care?" 2011. thelancet.com
96. 96.Oxford Policy Management. "Evaluation of the Free Health Care Initiative in Sierra Leone." opml.co.uk
97. 97.Bulletin of the World Health Organization. "Now it's free, how to pay for it? Sierra Leone's dilemma." 88(12), 2010. scielosp.org
98. 98.MIT Technology Review. "Innovator in chief." 24 October 2019. technologyreview.com
99. 99.National Geographic. "His ingenuity has benefited amputees and a whole nation." nationalgeographic.com
100. 100.Phys.org. "MIT African teen guest fashions battery, plans windmill." November 2012. phys.org
101. 101.Encyclopedia of World Biography via Encyclopedia.com. "J. E. Casely Hayford." encyclopedia.com
102. 102.Wikipedia. "Ladipo Solanke." en.wikipedia.org
103. 103.Wikipedia. "Stella Thomas." en.wikipedia.org
104. 104.Wikipedia. "Lati Hyde-Forster" (citing Concord Times, 2001). en.wikipedia.org
105. 105.Wikipedia. "Enid Forde." en.wikipedia.org
106. 106.Wikipedia. "Sheik Umar Khan." en.wikipedia.org
107. 107.Global Policy Forum. "Special Court for Sierra Leone" (news archive). archive.globalpolicy.org
108. 108.Abdullah, Ibrahim. "Sierra Leone Country Paper" on women and the peace process. UK government research archive. assets.publishing.service.gov.uk (PDF)
109. 109.Visit Sierra Leone. "Freetown." visitsierraleone.org
110. 110.New World Encyclopedia. "Freetown." newworldencyclopedia.org
111. 111.Wikipedia. "Tiwai Island." en.wikipedia.org
112. 112.Sierra Leone Web. Sierra Leonean Heroes: Fifty Great Men and Women Who Helped to Build Our Nation (contents page; editorial consultant Muctaru R. A. Kabba; historical consultants C. Magbaily Fyle and Joseph Opala). sierra-leone.org
113. 113.Sierra Leone Web. "Sierra Leonean Heroes: Forward" (foreword by President J. S. Momoh; editorial committees of 1987 and 1988). sierra-leone.org
114. 114.Sierra Leone Web. "Sierra Leonean Heroes: Ancient History." sierra-leone.org
115. 115.Sierra Leone Web. "Sierra Leonean Heroes: Early Freetown." sierra-leone.org
116. 116.Sierra Leone Web. "Sierra Leonean Heroes: 19th Century Freetown." sierra-leone.org
117. 117.Sierra Leone Web. "Sierra Leonean Heroes: 1898 Rebellion Era." sierra-leone.org
118. 118.Sierra Leone Web. "Sierra Leonean Heroes: Freetown in the Twenties." sierra-leone.org
119. 119.Flickr (user Sludge G). "Sierra Leone Tourist Brochure 1980s. Hotel Bintumani, Sierra Hotel, Africoast Holidays." flickr.com
120. 120.Sierra Leone Web. "Sierra Leonean Heroes: The APC Era." sierra-leone.org
121. 121.Sierra Leone Web. "Sierra Leonean Heroes: Our Cultural Heritage." sierra-leone.org
122. 122.Sierra Leone Web. "Sierra Leonean Heroes: History of Sierra Leone, Significant Dates." sierra-leone.org
123. 123.Sierra Leone Web. "The National Anthem and National Pledge" (with score and audio). sierra-leone.org
124. 124.Sierra Leone Web. "Sierra Leone Books" (lists the heroes book as commissioned by the Sierra Leone government, 1988). sierra-leone.org
125. 125.Dewar, Michael (ed.). The Republic of Sierra Leone: A Golden Jubilee Celebration, 50th Anniversary. Lowndes Group, 2011. Foreword by President Ernest Bai Koroma; statement by Professor C. Magbaily Fyle. sierra-leone.org (PDF)
126. 126.Wikipedia. "High We Exalt Thee, Realm of the Free." en.wikipedia.org
127. 127.NationalAnthems.info. "Sierra Leone." nationalanthems.info
128. 128.Wikipedia. "Clifford Nelson Fyle." en.wikipedia.org
129. 129.Unicode Consortium. The Unicode Standard, Version 17.0, Chapter 19, section 19.8, "Mende Kikakui." unicode.org
130. 130.Wikipedia. "Mende Kikakui script." en.wikipedia.org
131. 131.Jacob's Pillow Dance Interactive. "Asadata Dafora." jacobspillow.org
132. 132.New York Public Library, Schomburg Center. "Asadata Dafora papers, 1933–1963." archives.nypl.org
133. 133.The Washington Post. "Africans' New Leader Is Wily Referee." 17 July 1980. washingtonpost.com
134. 134.Wikipedia. "Organisation of African Unity" (list of summits). en.wikipedia.org
135. 135.Politico SL. "Sierra Leone reopens Bintumani Hotel." politicosl.com
136. 136.SierraLeoneWar.com. "Photos of the old Cape Sierra Hotel." sierraleonewar.com
137. 137."The Effects of Tourism on the Economic Development of Sierra Leone" (journal article via Index Copernicus). indexcopernicus.com (PDF)
138. 138.Hotel Management. "As Sierra Leone's complications slacken, hotel investment finds fertile ground." hotelmanagement.net
139. 139.Sierra Leone Investment and Export Promotion Agency. "Tourism." sliepa.gov.sl
140. 140.IndexMundi, from World Bank indicator ST.INT.ARVL. "Sierra Leone: International tourism, number of arrivals." indexmundi.com
141. 141.APA News, citing the Sierra Leone Civil Aviation Authority. "Sierra Leone sees significant increase in passenger arrivals in 2024." apanews.net
142. 142.Wikipedia. "Tourism in Sierra Leone." en.wikipedia.org
143. 143.The News (Nigeria). "Sierra Leone Set to Host ECOWAS Mid-Year Summit as Leaders Tackle Regional Challenges." 10 July 2026. thenewsnigeria.com.ng
144. 144.Tourism Sierra Leone. "Top 6 Animals to Spot in Sierra Leone." tourismsierraleone.com
145. 145.Great Britain, Parliament. Report by Her Majesty's Commissioner and Correspondence on the Subject of the Insurrection in the Sierra Leone Protectorate 1898. July 1899. Digitised by Sierra Leone Web. sierra-leone.org (PDF)
146. 146.Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater. "Asadata Dafora." ailey.org
147. 147.Wikipedia. "University of Sierra Leone." en.wikipedia.org
148. 148.Sierra Leone Heritage. "History of the National Museum." sierraleoneheritage.org
149. 149.ECOWAS. "ECOWAS holds summit on the future of regional integration in West Africa and 69th Ordinary Session of the Authority of Heads of State and Government in Sierra Leone." July 2026. ecowas.int
150. 150.Wikipedia. "John Karefa-Smart." en.wikipedia.org
151. 151.Wikipedia. "Banja Tejan-Sie." en.wikipedia.org
152. 152.Wikipedia. "Sorie Ibrahim Koroma." en.wikipedia.org
153. 153.Visit Sierra Leone. "Loma Mountains & Mount Bintumani." visitsierraleone.org