St. George's Cathedral

St. George's Cathedral is a Church Mission Society Anglican church. Governor Maxwell realized the need for a church in the center of Freetown. The project to build St. George's Cathedral was funded totally by the British government and construction started in 1817. The church was to help further the "civilizing mission" of converting the colony to Christianity. The church was frequented by the free blacks, Nova Scotians, from the Americas and was typically looked upon as a prestigious place to worship. Other blacks from the Americas, such as the Jamaican Maroons, felt uncomfortable worshipping at St. George's among the Nova Scotian blacks so they would build their own church.

St. George's Cathedral is a remnant of the civilizing mission propagated under colonialism. Spreading Christianity, establishing churches, etc. were all parts to show control of the colony and the subjects. Freetown, today, still has a large Christian population and St. George's is one of the highest attended churches in Freetown.

Mouser, Bruce L. "Origins of Church Missionary Society Accommodation to Imperial Policy: The Sierra Leone Quagmire and the Closing of the Susu Mission, 1804-17." Journal of Religion in Africa 39, no. 4 (2009): 375-402. Accessed December 3, 2020. http://www.jstor.org/stable/20696829.

Thomas, Abdul Rashid. “Sierra Leone's St George's Cathedral Celebrates Its Two Hundred Years History.” SIERRA LEONE TELEGRAPH, May 5, 2017. https://www.thesierraleonetelegraph.com/sierra-leones-oldest-church-st-georges-cathedral-celebrates-its-two-hundred-years-history/.

Wyse, Akintola J. G.. The Krio of Sierra Leone: An Interpretive History. United States: Howard University Press, 1991.