Sierra Leone Under Colonial Rule, in Government Reports, 1893-1961 - Key Data

The United Society Partners in Gospel (USPG) is a UK-based Anglican missionary organisation that operates around the world. During the 18th, 19th, and early-20th centuries, the USPG went by the name of the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign Parts (SPG). 

This collection contains letters and supplementary material compiled by its various West African branches during the period 1700-1850. Material from the collection coalesces around British West Africa, which contains the modern day nation-states of Sierra Leone, Ghana, and Guinea. The collection also includes the papers of Thomas Perronet Thompson, the first governor of the Colony of Sierra Leone, who was appointed in the wake of the outlawing of the slave trade in British colonies. Overall, against the backdrop of British expansionism and the Transatlantic Slave Trade, this collection paints a vivid picture of the interaction between indigenous cultures and colonial-driven Christianity during the 18th and 19th centuries. 

Further information on the Annual Departmental Reports relating to Sierra Leone can be found in the guide to the microfilm edition, written by David C. Doward.