Leone from Jamaica after the conclusion of the Second Maroon War. A final group of settlers that were deposited in Sierra Leone in the years after 1807 were the Africans who had been freed by the British Royal Navy from slave ships that they captured after the British abolition of the slave trade in 1807. These freed blacks came from various areas along the West African coast. Cuffe's first venture to Sierra Leone, in 1811 Paul Cuffe had for some years taken an interest in the colonial settlements in Africa. One of his close Quaker friend and business partner, William Rotch Sr., had traveled to London shortly after the Revolutionary War ended at a time when there was much discussion in government and the press about the first settlement of blacks from Britain in Sierra Leone. When Rotch returned to America and settled in New Bedford he potentially informed Paul Cuffe about these undertakings. Subsequently Cuffe wrote as follows: I have for these many years past felt a lively interest in their behalf, wishing that the inhabitants of the colony might become established in truth, and thereby be instrumental in its promotion amongst our African brethren. From March 1807 on, Cuffe was encouraged by Quaker and abolitionist friends in Philadelphia, Baltimore, and New York City to help the fledgling efforts to improve Sierra Leone. Cuffe mulled over the logistics and chances of success for the movement before deciding in 1809 to join the project. On December 27, 1810, he left Philadelphia on his first expedition to Sierra Leone. Cuffe reached Freetown, Sierra Leone, on March 1, 1811. He traveled the area and investigated the social and economic conditions of the region. He met with some of the colony's officials, who were opposed to American commercial vessels coming to Sierra Leone and competing with local merchants. His own attempts to sell goods yielded poor results, particularly because of high tariff charges on trade to and from the colony. On Sunday, April 7, 1811, Cuffe met with the foremost black entrepreneurs of the colony. Together, they wrote a petition for the African Institution in London, stating that the colony's greatest needs were for settlers to work in agriculture, merchandising, and the whaling industry, saying that these three areas would best facilitate the growth of the colony. Upon receiving this petition, the members of the Institution agreed with their findings. Cuffe and the