63. Creating Sierra Leone: The Land of the Free

In this episode of the "Empire" podcast, Anita Anand and William Dalrymple interview historian Maya Jasanoff about the establishment of Freetown in Sierra Leone. The discussion covers the initial failed attempt by Granville Sharp to create a colony for freed slaves, the involvement of Thomas Peters in recruiting black loyalists from Nova Scotia and New Brunswick, and the Sierra Leone Company's efforts to foster free labor. The episode explores the challenges faced by the settlers, including climate, slave traders, and indigenous rulers, as well as the impact of French attacks and the authoritarian governance of Zachary Macaulay, which led to an uprising crushed by the British with the help of Jamaican Maroons. The conversation concludes with the long-term impact of the Sierra Leone experiment on abolition and the creation of Liberia as a template for a free black colony.