Sierra Leone Through History: Who Ruled Its Lands
The land of today's Sierra Leone appears on 39 historical border maps from 500 BC to today. Over that time it was held, in whole or in part, by 4 different states, among them Sierra Leone, Liberia, Mali, First Samori Empire.
Sierra LeoneExplore the history of Sierra Leone in the interactive map
Who ruled the land of Sierra Leone, map by map
Share of sample points inside today's borders held by each state on each map. Areas with no organised state on the map are left out.
| Map | Main states on this land |
|---|---|
| 1650 | Mali 6% |
| 1700 | Mali 6% |
| 1815 | Sierra Leone 62% |
| 1880 | Sierra Leone 53% · Liberia 35% |
| 1900 | Sierra Leone 50% · Liberia 35% · First Samori Empire 12% |
| 1914 | Sierra Leone 100% |
| 1920 | Sierra Leone 100% |
| 1930 | Sierra Leone 100% |
| 1938 | Sierra Leone 100% |
| 1945 | Sierra Leone 100% |
| 1960 | Sierra Leone 100% |
| 1994 | Sierra Leone 100% |
| 2010 | Sierra Leone 100% |
Questions
Which empires and states ruled the territory of Sierra Leone?
On the border maps from 500 BC to today, the largest shares of the territory of modern Sierra Leone belonged to Sierra Leone, Liberia, Mali, First Samori Empire.
What was Sierra Leone part of in 1900?
On the border map for 1900, most of the territory of today's Sierra Leone lay within Sierra Leone.
Further reading
Last updated 9 November 2026. Sources: border data from historical-basemaps, land and rivers from Natural Earth; texts written for Chronica Maps from standard reference works. How we make the maps.