Taylor was the first head of state convicted by an international court since the trials of Nazis after World War Two and the sentence set a precedent for the emerging system of international justice.
In an 11-year war that ended in 2002, Sierra Leone's Revolutionary United Front rebels murdered, raped and mutilated their way across Liberia's West African neighbour, helped by Taylor as he profited from a trade in so-called blood diamonds.
He was found responsible for aiding and abetting some of the most heinous and brutal crimes in recorded history.
Special Court for Sierra Leone's presiding judge Richard Lussick, emphasised that the world was entering a new era of accountability''.
Although shorter than the 80 years that prosecutors had sought, the sentence set a precedent for an international justice system aimed at deterring future war crimes.
The court rejected defence appeals for leniency.
Geraldine Mattioli-Zeltner of Human Rights Watch said it is really significant that Taylor's status as a former head of state was taken as an aggravating factor as far as his sentence was concerned.
Accused of genocide in Darfur, Sudan's President Bashir is wanted by the International Criminal Court.
The court will soon start the trial of Cote d'Ivoire's ex-president, Laurent Gbagbo.
President Assad does not currently face charges over the bloody suppression of an
uprising.
Dressed in a blue suit and yellow tie, Taylor sat impassively through the roughly 45-minute sentencing.
Hands clasped in front of his mouth and brow furrowed, Taylor shifted uneasily when the camera broadcasting proceedings settled on him.
For Edward Conteh, a Sierra Leonean whose left arm was hacked off by the rebels, the sentence was welcome.
Sierra Leone's average life expectancy dipped to 37 years during the war, in which an estimated 50,000 people were killed.
Taylor is due to serve his sentence at a high security prison in Britain, and the six years he spent in detention during the trial will count against his term.
The lawyer who led Taylor's defence said that rather than promoting international justice, the sentence would only encourage embattled leaders to fight to the end rather than give in and face possible trial.
Taylor stepped down as Liberian president under a peace deal in 2003 when rebels overran his capital, Monrovia.
In Monrovia, the Taylor family called the trial a mockery of justice.
They did this because America and Britain want to use our resources,''spokesman Sando Johnson said, pointing to recent offshore oil discoveries.
Not all Sierra Leoneans agreed with the sentence either, some arguing that it was not only Taylor to blame for a war in a country that had for decades been as wracked by corruption, tribalism and neglect as any in Africa.
The defence said it would appeal against the sentence.
Its focus is on payments the prosecution made to its witnesses, which it said were prejudicial.
Chief prosecutor Brenda Hollis says all payments were disclosed to the court and were legitimate expenses.
The prosecution could appeal to seek Taylor's conviction for direct criminal involvement, a more serious crime.
Taylor’s sentence, justice for the Liberian people
Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Martin Uhomoibhi says the 50 years sentence given to former Liberian leader Charles Taylor is justice for the Liberian people, Africa and the world.
Uhomoibhi hoped the lessons of the experience will not be lost, and that it will be imbibed by the international community.
International judges at The Hague in Netherlands sentenced Taylor to 50 years in prison on Wednesday.
They said he was responsible for some of the most heinous and brutal crimes recorded in human history by arming and supporting Sierra Leone rebels in return for blood diamonds.
Uhomoibhi, who noted that the judgment would serve the interest of peace in Liberia, also expressed hope that the true meaning of the sentence would dawn on leaders.
According to him, Nigeria is a signatory to the Rome status and works to promote the value of democracy , good governance and respect for Human Rights.
Taylor is the first former Head of State convicted by an international war crimes court since World War II.
The judges said they had no precedent when deciding his sentence.
He was convicted last month on 11 charges of aiding and abetting the rebels, who went on a savage rampage during the decade-long war that ended in 2002 with more than 50,000 dead.
Prosecutors accused him of selling arms, ammunition and other supplies in return for blood diamonds that were mined using slave labour.
Presiding Judge Richard Lussick told Taylor his crimes were of the utmost gravity in terms of scale and brutality, and the lives of many more innocent civilians in Sierra Leone were lost or destroyed as a direct result of his actions.
Taylor is expected to serve his sentence in a British jail.
His lawyers, however, said they would appeal the convictions, a process that will likely keep him in a jail in The Hague for months.
Taylor, who was the 22nd President of Liberia, ruled from Aug. 2 1997 to Aug. 11, 2003.
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