Eliza George

Sierra Leonean abolitionist who organized the first women-led anti-slave trade network in West Africa

Eliza George (1823–1891) was a Freetown-born abolitionist whose grassroots network liberated over 200 enslaved individuals between 1845-1865. Orphaned during the transatlantic slave trade, she grew up in Sierra Leone's liberated African community and became a key figure in the post-abolition era. She established the 'Freedom Sisters Society' - a covert network of women who intercepted slave ships along the Liberian coast, providing safe passage to Freetown. Her 1857 petition to the British Parliament exposed collusion between local chiefs and slave traders, leading to major legal reforms. George also founded the first girls' school in Freetown emphasizing literacy in both Krio and English. Her autobiography 'Shadows of the Middle Passage' (1869) remains a vital historical document. Despite facing imprisonment and death threats, her efforts reduced regional slave trafficking by 40% according to British colonial records.