The United Empire Loyalists

1. The United Empire Loyalists British North America & The Aftermath of the American Revolution

2. Who were the Loyalists? • 50 000 came to remaining British colonies during/after the American Revolution • Very diverse group - white, African, native • Varied backgrounds - wealthy/ poor, business/ agriculture, urban/rural • various political beliefs, from strong monarchists to supporters of the "rights of Englishmen"

3. Who were the Loyalists? • Common bond: decision to remain loyal to Britain during/ after American Revolution • Common experience: persecuted, jailed, property confiscated during revolution • Common sense of identity and a feeling that Britain owed them something because of their suffering and sacrifice • 50 000 took shelter in New York as revolution ends (evacuated by Quebec Governor Sir Guy Carleton, later named Lord Dorchester) • Most travel north to the remaining British colonies

4. The Loyalist arrival: New Brunswick • 1783: 15 000 Loyalists settle along St. John River • Distant from colonial government in Halifax • Lacked supplies during first winter (hardship, pioneer wilderness) • 1784: Britain creates colony of New Brunswick, with separate colonial government & capital at Fredericton • Fledgeling "loyalist" colony gradually carved out of wilderness

5. The Loyalist arrival: Nova Scotia • 20 000 Loyalists enhance an equal number of Acadian, English & German settlers • Major settlement: Port Roseway (Shelburne) - 10 000 Loyalists • Poor soil forced most to move elsewhere • 3000 Black Loyalists settle throughout Nova Scotia • 1792: one-half leave for Sierre Leone • Remaining Black Loyalists provide basis of Nova Scotia's present day African Canadian population

6. The Loyalist arrival: Nova Scotia • Northeastern Nova Scotia also settled by Loyalists • Guysborough founded by Loyalist pioneers • Dorchester (Antigonish) settled by Loyalist regiment led by Colonel Timothy Hierlihy • Black Loyalist settlements created at Lincolnville, Sunnyville & Upper Big Tracadie

7. The Loyalist arrival: Quebec • Most Loyalists travelled overland from neighboring New York during American Revolution • Settled south and west of Montreal, separate from French Catholic population • Others settled along northern shore of Lake Ontario and the Niagara Peninsula • 10 000 arrived by 1783 • Native Loyalists among immigrants, particularly Joseph Brant and the Mohawk (Brantford) • Other Six Nations (Iroquois) tribes move north into Quebec

8. The Loyalist arrival: Quebec • 1791: British Parliament passes Constitutional Act, creating separate colonies of Upper (English Loyalist) & Lower (French Catholic) Canada • Excellent farmland in Upper Canada - great potential for agriculture (wheat) and export via St. Lawrence River • Most Loyalists were pioneer settlers used to wilderness conditions of colony

9. The Loyalist Legacy • A) Transformation of British North America • Creation of new colonies: New Brunswick (1784), Upper & Lower Canada (1791) • First large English immigration to British North America: basis of colonial population • Reinforced British system of government, land distribution, and culture

10. The Loyalist Legacy • B) Reinforced and personalized Canada's complex relationships with Britain and the United States • Loyalists preferred British institutions and imperial ties • Loyalists also determined to assert their political rights • Linked by family ties, historical roots, and geography to the United States

11. The Loyalist Legacy • C) Beginning of Loyalist tradition in Canada • Loyalism linked to strong conservatism in politics and society • Loyalty to British Empire forms basis of political beliefs • Essential basis and focus of English Canadian society created by Loyalist migration