# data[].attributes.body
Sierra Leone was first colonized by the Portuguese in 1495, but the mountains in the harbour had previously been mapped out by explorer Pedro de Sintra in 1462. Originally named Serra de Leoa- which means Lioness Mountains in Portuguese- the name was changed through the years to the current rendition. The first true town built in Sierra Leone was Granville Town followed by Freetown, which is the capital. Freetown originally coined its name from the freed slaves that established it after being returned to Africa from Nova Scotia. Sierra Leone was colonized to provide a main trading post for Portugal to provide slaves brought from interior Africa by slavers.

# data[].attributes.body
The arrival of the British to Sierra Leone caused wars, political issues and social hysteria. Many lives were lost in battles against superior European weapons and men were forced to leave their villages due to lacking job availability. Traditional African culture was lost when natives were taken from their positions of power and replaced with Brits and culture was also lost through European education systems being established and enforced upon the Africans. Enemies were joined together and allies were separated by the borders created in the Berlin Conference.

# data[].attributes.body
Many of today's problems in Sierra Leone have roots in the manner the area was established. Britain made Sierra Leone a naval base in 1797, and it soon became the largest under British control in the South Atlantic. Britain was forced to grant independence to the country in 1961, but failed to give control to the people and put dangerous families in control who later pillaged, plundered and destroyed the land. This new government collapsed despite Britain trying to supply weapons to revive it.

# data[].attributes.body
Continual economic and power struggles throughout the years led to the notorious civil war. This war lasted a total of 10 years, 9 months, 3 weeks and 5 days starting March 23, 1991 and ending January 18, 2002. An estimated minimum 50 000 people were killed, hundreds of thousands were affected and approximately 2 000 000 people were displaced due to warfare.

# data[].attributes.body
https://period6-5imperialism10.wikispaces.com/Negative+Effects+of+Imperialism October 5

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sierra_Leone October 5

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2002/may/14/sierraleone1 October 6

http://www.marxist.com/sierra-leone-nightmare-imperialism.htm October 6

http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/543356/Sierra-Leone/274792/Civil-war October 7