- A country of western Africa on the Atlantic coast. First visited by the Portuguese in the 1460's, the region became a British protectorate in 1896 and achieved independence in 1961. Freetown is the capital and the largest city. Population, 3,381,000.塞拉利昂：非洲西部一国家，位于大西洋沿岸。15世纪60年代，葡萄牙人最先到达此地1896年这一地区成为英国的保护领地，1961年获得独立。弗里敦是其首都和第一大城市。人口3,381,000