ocr: Freetown was toundedin 1787 and became a British colony in 1808; the interior was annexedin 1896. - - 1961 Independence. - - - 1968 Sialca Stevens prime minister. 1978 Single-party republic under Stevens. National bankruptcy. 1991 Liberian rebels invade Sierra Leone in protest at its participation in ECUWAS force in Liberia. Sierra Leonean rebels join the tighting. 1992 Army coup installs Captain Strasser. Executions after alleged counter-coup widely criticized.
