structural:expansion
European trading

The 15th century marked the beginning of European interaction with Sierra Leone, highlighted by Portuguese explorer Pedro de Sintra mapping the region in 1462 and naming it after the lioness mountains. This naming has been subject to historical reinterpretation, suggesting earlier European knowledge of the region. Following Sintra, European traders established fortified posts, engaging primarily in the slave trade, which shaped the socio-economic landscape significantly.

Traders from Europe, such as the Dutch Republic, England and France started to arrive in Sierra Leone and establish trading stations. These stations quickly began to primarily deal in slaves, who were brought to the coast by indigenous traders from interior areas, undergoing conflicts over territory. The Europeans made payments, called Cole, for rent, tribute, and trading rights, to the king of an area. Local Afro-European merchants often acted as middlemen, the Europeans advancing them goods to trade to indigenous merchants, most often for slaves and ivory.