William Clevland (1720 – 6 December 1758) was an

Anglo Anglo is a prefix indicating a relation to, or descent from England, English culture, the English people or the English language, such as in the term ''Anglosphere''. It is often used alone, somewhat loosely, to refer to people of British d ...

Scot Scottish people or Scots (; ) are an ethnic group and nation native to Scotland. Historically, they emerged in the early Middle Ages from an amalgamation of two Celtic peoples, the Picts and Gaels, who founded the Kingdom of Scotland (or ...

who became the self-appointed King of the

Banana Islands The Banana Islands are a group of islands that lie off the coast of Yawri Bay, south west of the Freetown Peninsula in the Western Area of Sierra Leone. Three islands make up the Banana Islands: Dublin, Banana Islands, Dublin and Ricketts, Si ...

off the coast of present-day

Sierra Leone Sierra Leone, officially the Republic of Sierra Leone, is a country on the southwest coast of West Africa. It is bordered to the southeast by Liberia and by Guinea to the north. Sierra Leone's land area is . It has a tropical climate and envi ...

Early life and family

William Clevland was the son of Commodore William Clevland, a Scotsman who settled at Tapeley Park, near

Bideford Bideford ( ) is a historic port town on the estuary of the River Torridge in north Devon, South West England. It is the main town of the Torridge District, Torridge Districts of England, local government district. Toponymy In ancient records Bi ...

Devon Devon ( ; historically also known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by the Bristol Channel to the north, Somerset and Dorset to the east, the English Channel to the south, and Cornwall to the west ...

. His brother was John Clevland, who was appointed as

Secretary of the Admiralty The Parliamentary and Financial Secretary to the Admiralty also known as the Parliamentary and Financial Secretary to the Board of Admiralty was a position on the Board of Admiralty and a civil officer of the British Royal Navy. It was usually ...

Career

In the 1730s Clevland was working for the

Royal African Company The Royal African Company (RAC) was an English trading company established in 1660 by the House of Stuart and City of London merchants to trade along the West African coast. It was overseen by the Duke of York, the brother of Charles II of Eng ...

, which had a monopoly on trade at Sierra Leone. He was on board a

slave ship Slave ships were large cargo ships specially built or converted from the 17th to the 19th century for transporting Slavery, slaves. Such ships were also known as "Guineamen" because the trade involved human trafficking to and from the Guinea ( ...

that was wrecked off the Banana Islands. He and surviving African slaves made their way to the islands, which they settled. Clevland took power and named himself king. His children included: *By Kate Corker, daughter of King Skinner Corker: ** John Clevland (1740–1764) ** Elizabeth Clevland Hardcastle (1741–1808) who settled in

South Carolina South Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders North Carolina to the north and northeast, the Atlantic Ocean to the southeast, and Georgia (U.S. state), Georg ...

. *By Ndamba, a Kissi woman. Their children included: **

James Cleveland James Edward Cleveland (December 5, 1931 – February 9, 1991) was an American gospel singer, musician, and composer. Known as the "King of Gospel," Cleveland was a driving force behind the creation of the modern gospel sound by incorporating ...

(1754? – 1791) Both Elizabeth and James were sent to England for their education. John succeeded his father as sovereign of the Banana Islands, but died in 1764. He was succeeded by James Cleveland. In this period, the British had a trading post at the mouth of the Sierra Leone River and by 1792 had established a colony of freedmen at

Freetown Freetown () is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Sierra Leone. It is a major port city on the Atlantic Ocean and is located in the Western Area of the country. Freetown is Sierra Leone's major urban, economic, financial, cultural, e ...

References

Sources

* 1758 deaths Year of birth unknown

William William is a masculine given name of Germanic languages, Germanic origin. It became popular in England after the Norman Conquest, Norman conquest in 1066,All Things William"Meaning & Origin of the Name"/ref> and remained so throughout the Middle ...

Shipwreck survivors Sierra Leonean people of Scottish descent 1720 births {{SierraLeone-bio-stub