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Example research essay topic: Sierra Leone Freed Slaves - 1,781 words

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... ra Leone that caused a problem was the large amount of Lebanese immigrant traders that entered the country and are still there today. Before the Lebanese traders arrived, native traders were able to make a decent living by selling goods such as rice and kola nut. These Lebanese traders entered the country around the time that a railway was introduced to the towns of Pendembu and Make, and quickly took to selling imported goods in the street.

By their modest lifestyle and fierce determination the Lebanese quickly worked their way up to owning their own shops (Conteh-Morgan, Dixon-File pg. 44). These traders limited the role of the local upper-class as well as not affording native Sierra Leone traders the chance to do much more than petty trading (Mukonoweshero pg. 33). Furthermore, they quickly dominated not only the market but also transportation. Before long, they monopolized ownership of the small transportation units known as lorries. Soon the Krio's had to rely upon their competitors in order to get around town. Also, the Lebanese were involved in diamond mining business.

With their links to government officials they quickly became involved in the diamond smuggling deal (Conteh-Morgan, Dixon-File pg. 96). For these reasons the Lebanese are greatly despised by Still there is also the argument that Sierra Leones woes are the result of the many unqualified leaders that the country has had since it gained independence. Sierra Leone offers powerful proof of what can be accomplished by forty years of misrule (Traub p. 61). Roy MacGregor-Hastie provides a great argument for this opinion. MacGregor-Hastie blamed these leaders for making the country unaccustomed to conventional democracy. Beginning with Albert Morgan, and extending into the eighties, every Sierra Leone leader has been a dictator.

These are the same leaders that plundered the diamond wealth of the country, thus, not only misleading Sierra Leone but also taking away any chance of harnessing the wealth that accompanies its natural resource to take care of the countrys people. The country became used to electing a leader and then having that leader either: a) get overthrown by a military coup date, b) severely suppress all opposition, c) use their position corruptly (such as with the exploitation of the countrys diamonds), or d) do all of the above. Once President Kabbah came into office and earnestly tried to make Sierra Leone a real democracy, there were bound to be complications. After spending decades being ruled by leaders who refuse to allow any opposition to their own political party one surely can not expect a country to make such a sudden transition to democracy smoothly. MacGregor-Hastie also points to the governmental setup of the country. The country was subdivided into the chiefdom's that were ruled by locally chosen paramount chiefs.

This led to no real federal laws because the paramount chiefs acted as president of their own section of the country. Once again, one might ask: what effect does this have on Sierra Leones current situation? One could argue that this does not unite the country. Since there was not any real show of presidential power from the president of the country (because it is very difficult for the president to assert his power over the country since he rarely left the capital to go to other parts of the country and the people never saw him), one can see how people regarded their local chief as the real source of authority. Due to this, they had no real reason to show loyalty or care to anyone outside of their chiefdom. This would make it very easy for any sort of revolutionary group to start a ruckus in the country.

One can see his point of view by imagining how the United States would function without any sort of centralized form of communication such as television and (with the high illiteracy rate in the countryside), newspapers, and there was only one person to rule each state as they wanted. These are easy breeding grounds for a governmental opposition group. Another thing that must be looked at is the role that tribalism played in the problem. Author Robin Hallett closely examines this factor. Ever since the country was founded, there were problems between the many different tribes in Sierra Leone (although in colonial times it was more or less the natives of the land pitted against the newly freed slaves from England and America). The Krio [descendants of the freed slaves that were brought to the country], tribe regards the other tribes[which are descendants of the lands natives], with a snobbish mixture of fear and contempt. (Hallett p. 367).

The British even noticed the problem early on. In letters they sent to the Secretary of State, it was pointed out that Krio's needed to be closely watched because they only care about what happens to their own, not really caring about the natives. They strongly recommended that the natives be properly educated so they could join the staff of different governmental departments (Wyse pg. 135). This lack of unity makes it quite easy for different revolutionary groups to sprout up. As a matter of fact, in an attempt to appeal to other tribes in order to gain a broader support base Johnny Paul Koroma, the leader of the rebel group Armed Forces Revolutionary Council (AFRC), brought up the point that President Kabbah and his officers threw many non-SLPP officials out of higher ranking positions (Conteh-Morgan, Dixon-File pg. 146). Since the SLPP more or less associated with the Mende tribe, he was trying to accuse the President and his cabinet of blatant tribalism.

This clearly shows the levels that these rebel groups can sometimes sink to in order claim that they are simply looking out for the best interests of their tribe. By making their ambitions seem noble and not revealing the means they are taking to their end, these groups easily gain young members who they can then brainwash into In conclusion, if one is looking to say that one party in particular led to the countrys demise, it is impossible. what we can say, however, is that there are a couple of main elements in Sierra Leones history that made the events of January 1999 through March 2000 inescapable. Namely, the lack of able leaders to guide the country and the lagging economical situation. And while it may not have happened in the same time frame, these factors definitely assured that some sort of disaster would have happened eventually.

Little of Sierra Leones problems can be blamed on the British colonial rule. The British acted like many other imperialists of their time. If any other country were to have colonized Sierra Leone, it is very possible that the same unfortunate outcome would have been produced. Also, much has to be said of their willingness to quietly grant the country its independence.

On the same note, MacGregor-Hastie's view on the role of the countrys governmental setup does not cut the proverbial cake. While this argument is an interesting one, the writer does not believe it to be convincing enough. Sierra Leone has had the exact same governmental setup for a majority of its independent existence yet, there has never been a violent uprising of the magnitude of the RUFs January 1999 assault. The writer included the argument because it is extremely important to look at and evaluate as many factors as possible before reaching a satisfactory conclusion. It is important to take notice of the fact that the chiefdom's never stopped the country from prospering (when there was a good leader in office and the economy was booming), but the same can not be said of the country during times when an inept leader was in power or when the economy was not on the up and running. Much of the same can be said for the role of ethnic favoritism/ tribalism in the war.

Since tribalism has been such a part of Sierra Leone history many have learned to live, and deal with it. Even though tribalism can sometimes lead to fighting, it very rarely anything more than verbal fighting or mudslinging from the opposing sides. Sierra Leonean's would not condone the atrocities that took place in 1999 through 2000 under any circumstances least of which includes tribalism. The economy of any country is always directly linked to that countrys leadership, so Sierra Leone is no exception.

With the major factor that effects the Sierra Leone economy being the exportation of its diamonds, the type of ruler the country has plays a very critical role. As previously discussed, Sierra Leones ruler basically sets the pace for diamond smuggling. Some say that the day that all of Sierra Leones diamond resources have been tapped is the day that the country will finally rest from the constant fighting and will no longer have to worry about having a repeat of January 6, 1999. However, the writer disagrees with that. She believes that the day when Sierra Leone has a strong leader who can harness the wealth that the diamonds can (and will), generate in order to forward the progress of the republic, is the day that all of this will come to an Bibliography: Are, J (1990). A New History of Sierra Leone.

New York: St Martins Press. Conteh-Morgan, E. and Dixon-File, M. (1999). Sierra Leone at the End of teh Twentieth Century: History, Politics, and Society. New York: Peter Lang Publishing. Cutter, C.

H. (1998). Africa 1998. Harpers Ferry, West Virginia: Stryker-Post Publications. Deals, S. (1999 ed. ). Sierra Leone The World Book Encyclopedia Gilford, H. (1981). Gambia, Ghana, Liberia, and Sierra Leone.

New York: Franklin Watts. Hallett, R. (1974). Africa Since 1875: A Modern History. Ann Arbor: The University of Michigan Press. Harris, J. E.

Ph. D (1998). Africans and Their History. New York: Penguin Books. Iliffe, J. (1995). Africans: The History of a Continent.

Cambridge, England: Cambridge University Press. Lamb, D. (1983). The Africans. New York: Vintage Books.

MacGregor-Hastie, R. (1967). Africa: Background For Today. New York: Criterion Books. Mukonowashero, E. (1993). Colonialism, Class Formation, and Underdevelopment in Sierra Leone. Lanham, Maryland: University Press of America.

Richards, P. (1996). Fighting For the Rain Forest: War, Youth and Resources in Sierra Leone. London: Villiers Publications. Say, S. Personal Interview. 12 July 2000. Spitzer, L. (1997).

Lands and Peoples Vol. 1: Africa. Danbury, Connecticut: Grolier Incorporated. Traub, J. (2000, June). The Worst Place on Earth. The New York Review. 11 61 - 66. Turner, B. (Ed. ). (2000).

The Statesman's Yearbook: The Politics, Culture and Economics of the World. New York: St. Martins Press. Wyse, A. (1991). The Krio of Sierra Leone An Interpretive History. Washington, D.

C. : Howard University Press.


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Research essay sample on Sierra Leone Freed Slaves

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