The Krios of Sierra Leone

Explore the history of the Krio people of Sierra Leone and discover the dress, architecture, language, lifestyle and tradition of their community in the London, Sugar and Slavery gallery’s latest display at the Museum of London Docklands.

The Krios of Sierra Leone includes contemporary objects from the collections of Krio Londoners as well as 19th century objects related to British colonial rule in Sierra Leone from the museum’s collections. Together, this will highlight the diversity of cultures brought to Sierra Leone that became uniquely Krio.

Today’s Krios descend from the first settlers sent to Sierra Leone in the late 18th & 19th century by the British including London’s black poor, black Loyalists freed during the American revolution, Jamaican Maroons and Africans freed from illegal slave ships after the abolition of the slave trade in 1807.

From its origins in transatlantic slavery through to the involvement of prominent abolitionists, the story of the Krio ties in to the wider themes of the gallery and is central not just to the story of the museum’s building and the surrounding docks but to the story of London itself.

The Krios of Sierra Leone is delivered with the support of Iyamide Thomas of The Krios Dot Com.

The Krios of Sierra Leone closed on 4 July 2021.