Mr. Speaker, on January 15, 1792, 15 ships filled with African Nova Scotians set sail from Halifax for the west coast of Africa in order to establish a new country called “Sierra Leone”. Most of these African Nova Scotians were former slaves who had fled America for Nova Scotia and were now hoping for a new life in Africa. These hardy souls established what is today Freetown, the capital city of Sierra Leone.
There are still homes in Freetown built the same way they were in Nova Scotia in 1792. There are still streets with Nova Scotia names. People can still name the Nova Scotia towns where their ancestors once lived. The amazing thing to me is that I knew nothing about this significant piece of Nova Scotia history until I visited Sierra Leone a few years ago on a parliamentary mission with the Speaker. I urge those who are interested in this incredible story to go to the Internet and search out “Nova Scotia settlers”, and this amazing story will unfold before their very eyes.