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

2. Who were the Loyalists?
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
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: 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
Loyalists enhance an equal number of Acadian, English & German settlers
Major settlement: Port Roseway (Shelburne) 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
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