War and Peace in Freetown

Abstract

This chapter is a narrative of conflicts in Freetown after the departure of Governor John Clarkson and attempts by the new governor to impose property rent in contravention of promises to the settlers. This chapter also discusses the Maroons, runaway Jamaican slaves who resisted the British. Many Maroons were exiled to Nova Scotia before they were resettled in Sierra Leone. The Maroons arrived in Freetown at a time of war between the settlers and British authorities in which the Maroons fought for the British. This chapter also covers the Courts of Mixed Commission established to monitor British anti-slave trade laws, including Le Louis case in which Lord Stowell held the sovereign equality of states and equal rights to the use of the unappropriated parts of the oceans.