---
title: "Freetown, Sierra Leone — AP African American Studies"
description: "Freetown was the British West African settlement where Paul Cuffee relocated 39 African Americans in 1815, a defining example of emigrationism in Topic 2.18."
canonical: "https://fiveable.me/ap-african-american-studies/key-terms/freetown-sierra-leone"
type: "key-term"
subject: "AP African American Studies"
unit: "Unit 2"
---

# Freetown, Sierra Leone — AP African American Studies

## Definition

Freetown, Sierra Leone was a British settlement of free Black people in West Africa where Black abolitionist Paul Cuffee relocated 39 African Americans in 1815, making it the earliest concrete example of nineteenth-century emigrationism on the AP African American Studies exam.

## What It Is

[Freetown](/ap-african-american-studies/unit-2/18-colonization-and-belonging-in-america/study-guide/nYvYLqQghOZ7QK9T "fv-autolink") was a settlement on the West African coast founded by the British as a home for free Black people, including formerly enslaved people freed within the British Empire. By the early 1800s it already had a large population of Afro-descendants, which is exactly what made it attractive to American emigrationists. In 1815, [Paul Cuffee](/ap-african-american-studies/key-terms/paul-cuffee "fv-autolink"), a wealthy Black Quaker shipowner and abolitionist, used his own ship and his own money to relocate 39 African Americans there.

For the AP exam, Freetown is less about West African geography and more about what the choice of destination reveals. Emigrationists like Cuffee picked places in [West Africa](/ap-african-american-studies/unit-1/5-the-sudanic-empires-ghana-mali-and-songhai/study-guide/9Z0Xy4gouUYuqDCS "fv-autolink"), Latin America, and the Caribbean because of shared histories, existing Afro-descendant communities, and favorable conditions (EK 2.18.A.2). Freetown checked every box. It was proof of concept that Black Americans could build free, self-governing lives outside a United States that, especially after decisions like *Dred Scott*, refused to treat them as citizens.

## Why It Matters

Freetown sits in **Topic 2.18 (Debates About Emigration, Colonization, and Belonging in America)** in **[Unit 2](/ap-african-american-studies/unit-2 "fv-autolink"): Freedom, Enslavement, and Resistance**. It directly supports learning objective **[AP African American Studies](/ap-african-american-studies "fv-autolink") 2.18.A**, which asks you to explain how nineteenth-century emigrationists pursued Black freedom and self-determination. Cuffee's 1815 voyage to Freetown is the textbook evidence for that objective. It shows emigrationism wasn't just talk. A Black abolitionist actually organized, funded, and carried out relocation decades before the Civil War. Freetown also gives you the other half of the 2.18 debate. Anti-emigrationists like Frederick Douglass pushed back, arguing African Americans held birthright citizenship and belonged in America (EK 2.18.B.1). You can't explain that argument well without knowing what it was arguing against.

## Connections

### [Paul Cuffee (Unit 2)](/ap-african-american-studies/key-terms/paul-cuffee)

Freetown and Cuffee are a package deal on the exam. He was the first person to relocate African Americans to Africa, and his choice of an already-established Black settlement shows strategic thinking, not a leap into the unknown.

### [Emigrationism (Unit 2)](/ap-african-american-studies/key-terms/emigrationism)

Freetown is the concrete case study for an abstract idea. When a question asks what [emigrationism](/ap-african-american-studies/key-terms/emigrationism "fv-autolink") looked like in practice, the 1815 voyage to Freetown is your go-to example of Black-led freedom and self-determination.

### [Dred Scott case (Unit 2)](/ap-african-american-studies/key-terms/dred-scott-case)

Dred Scott (1857) ruled that Black Americans were not citizens, which made the emigrationist argument feel urgent rather than extreme. Freetown shows the early version of the movement; Dred Scott explains why it gained momentum later.

### [Anti-emigrationists (Unit 2)](/ap-african-american-studies/key-terms/anti-emigrationists)

Figures like [Frederick Douglass](/ap-african-american-studies/key-terms/frederick-douglass "fv-autolink") rejected leaving for places like Freetown, insisting on birthright citizenship and full integration in America. Topic 2.18 wants you to be able to argue both sides of this debate.

## On the AP Exam

Freetown shows up most often in multiple-choice stems that pair it with Paul Cuffee and ask you to identify the ideological position it represents (emigrationism) or to analyze why Cuffee picked that destination. Be ready to answer questions like "Who was the first person to relocate African Americans to Africa?" and "What does the choice of Freetown reveal about Cuffee's strategy?" The strategic answer is that Freetown already had a free Black population, British abolitionist backing, and a shared history with African Americans, matching the criteria in EK 2.18.A.2. No released FRQ has used Freetown verbatim, but it works as specific evidence in a short-answer or essay response about the emigration debate, especially when contrasting emigrationist and anti-emigrationist visions of Black belonging.

## Freetown, Sierra Leone vs Liberia (American Colonization Society)

Both are West African destinations for Black Americans, but who organized the move matters enormously. Freetown was where a Black abolitionist, Paul Cuffee, voluntarily led emigration on his own terms in 1815. Liberia was later established through the American Colonization Society, a largely white-led colonization effort that many Black abolitionists distrusted because it aimed to remove free Black people from the U.S. rather than empower them. On the exam, Freetown signals Black-led emigrationism; ACS colonization signals a movement many African Americans rejected.

## Key Takeaways

- Freetown, Sierra Leone was a British settlement of free Black people in West Africa, and Paul Cuffee relocated 39 African Americans there in 1815.
- Cuffee's voyage made him the first person to relocate African Americans to Africa, and it is the earliest concrete example of emigrationism in Topic 2.18.
- Emigrationists chose Freetown for strategic reasons, including its existing Afro-descendant population, shared histories with African Americans, and favorable conditions (EK 2.18.A.2).
- Freetown represents Black-led, voluntary emigration, which is different from white-led colonization schemes like the American Colonization Society's Liberia project.
- Anti-emigrationists like Frederick Douglass rejected leaving for places like Freetown, arguing that African Americans held birthright citizenship and belonged in the United States.
- Use Freetown as specific evidence when explaining how nineteenth-century emigrationists pursued Black freedom and self-determination (LO 2.18.A).

## FAQs

### What is Freetown, Sierra Leone in AP African American Studies?

Freetown was a British settlement of [free Black people](/ap-african-american-studies/unit-2/14-freedom-womens-rights-and-education/study-guide/bp2sHi0HFb0u4pX4 "fv-autolink") in West Africa where Paul Cuffee relocated 39 African Americans in 1815. It's the key example of nineteenth-century emigrationism in Topic 2.18.

### Was Freetown the same thing as Liberia?

No. Freetown in Sierra Leone was a British-backed settlement and the destination of Cuffee's Black-led 1815 voyage, while Liberia was later founded through the white-led American Colonization Society, which many Black abolitionists opposed.

### Why did Paul Cuffee choose Freetown as a destination?

Freetown already had a large free Black population, abolitionist support, and a shared history with African Americans. That matches the emigrationist criteria in EK 2.18.A.2 and shows Cuffee picked a place where settlers could realistically thrive.

### Did most African Americans want to emigrate to Freetown?

No. Emigrationism was one side of a real debate. Anti-emigrationists like Frederick Douglass argued African Americans held birthright citizenship and should fight for abolition and full integration in the United States instead of leaving.

### Who was the first person to relocate African Americans to Africa?

Paul Cuffee, a Black abolitionist and shipowner, who brought 39 African Americans to Freetown, Sierra Leone in 1815, funding the voyage himself. This is a common multiple-choice question.

## Related Study Guides

- [2.18 Debates About Emigration, Colonization, and Belonging in America](/ap-african-american-studies/unit-2/18-colonization-and-belonging-in-america/study-guide/nYvYLqQghOZ7QK9T)

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