This study examines from a materialist perspective the socio-economic, historical and political factors contributing to the political instability and underdevelopment of Sierra Leone. Tools of analysis from different methodological perspectives such as class and ethnicity are critically reviewed and utilized in the analysis and identification of colonial class formation, the behavior of political groups and their economic bases. The emphasis is on the dominant colonial social forces that shaped the evolution and development of the decolonization process, including the formation of colonial social classes, colonial state and the political relation that developed.