This paper looks at how a country rich in natural resources such as diamonds and gold, The Republic of Sierra Leone has suffered political upheavals and instability throughout history. Slavery, corruption, foreign domination, and smuggling have contributed to ongoing and brutal civil unrest that has left the country in shambles and reversed economic, cultural, and political progress. Under a fragile and controversial peace treaty, the recent decade-long civil war has ended for now, but no one knows for sure whether order will ever truly be restored to this devastated country. 11.5 pgs. 30 f/c. 12b.