Lesson RC 6-4 - Freetown

At the end of the Revolutionary War, there were still people in the new United States who were loyal to Great Britain. They wanted no part of the young country. Many of these people moved north to Canada. About 30,000 Loyalists settled in Nova Scotia. Among them were about 4,000 African Americans. Most were already free but some were still slaves.

The British, who still ruled Canada, promised grants of land to all the Loyalists. However for many African Americans the promises never came true. There was no free land for them. The Sierra Leone Company in London heard about their problems. The trading company had a colony in West Africa in need of settlers. So the Sierra Leone Company said they would give free passage to any African Americans who were willing to settle in the new colony. More than 500 families agreed to begin a new life in West Africa.

In 1792, a fleet of 15 ships sailed from Nova Scotia. On board were 1,196 African Americans. These brave men, women and children helped the colony in Sierra Leone to grow. They founded a new port city there called Freetown. Today it is the capital of the nation of Sierra Leone.

In 1992 African Americans who still live in Nova Scotia gathered for the bicentennial, or 200th anniversary, of the voyage to Sierra Leone. They celebrated both the families who stayed in Canada and those who went back to Africa.

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Questions:

1. At the end of the Revolutionary War many Loyalists moved to

a. Britain
b. Canada
c. Mexico

2. Sierra Leone is in

a. India
b. South Africa
c. West Africa

3. How many families left for Sierra Leone?

a. more than 200
b. more than 500
c. more than 1,196

4. In 1792

a. 15 ships sailed from Nova Scotia
b. the Loyalists moved from the United States to Canada
c. there was an epidemic

5. Freetown is

a. the capital of Nova Scotia
b. the capital of Sierra Leone
c. a small village in Britain, near London

6. A bicentennial is a

a. 100th anniversary
b. 200th anniversary
c. 300th anniversary

7. This article does not tell

a. where Nova Scotia is
b. when the Loyalists left Canada
c. how the Loyalists made a living in Sierra Leone

8. A synonym is a word with the same meaning as another. A synonym for colony is

a. kinship
b. split
c. settlement

9. In this story grants means

a. people who are greedy for money
b. crusts of browned breadcrumbs on top of food
c. a gift of land for a special purpose

10. Company can have the following meanings. Mark the meaning used in the second paragraph.

a. a business enterprise
b. a guest or visitor
c. a group of performing artists

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