B. The Coming of the Loyalists

From HCO Jr

Part 4. British North America 1760-1830 → A. American Revolution → B. Coming of the Loyalists → C. Colony of Lower Canada → D. Colony of Upper Canada → E. War of 1812

Not every colonist supported the American Revolution. Some people supported the British. These people are called the loyalists. Those who supported the revolution were called patriots. When the revolution ended many loyalists decided to leave their homes. They came from many walks of life. Some loyalists were wealthy and some were poor. There were British loyalists, but some of them were German and Dutch colonists who did not want to stay in America after the revolution. African-Americans also came to British North America (the name for all of the colonies in Canada). Slavery was still allowed in the British Empire. British loyalists brought 2000 slaves with them to Canada. There were also 3000 freed African-Americans who came north. Some First Nations people also left.

Loyalist Groups Preparing to Leave New York

Why did they leave? Some loyalists were harassed and persecuted after the American Revolution. They had their homes and farms burned to the ground. Some of them were beaten by mobs. Loyalists who ran businesses lost customers who would not shop at their stores any longer. Some were even tarred and feathered: hot tar was poured on their bodies and feathers were dumped on them.

Some loyalists returned to Britain. Many, however, came up to Quebec and the Maritime colonies. When they arrived in Canada it caused many changes. In this chapter you will learn about those changes, and how Canada became a very different place after the American Revolution.

Top^

Loyalist Numbers

Loyalists reach Lower Canada

How many loyalists were there? This is difficult to tell. John Adams, one of the leaders of the revolution, thought that one-third of the population supported Britain during the war. Historians today think that fiteen to twenty percent of the population supported Britain. This was about 250,000 colonists.

Of all these loyalists, about 50,000 headed north to Canada. About 25,000 returned to Britain. Some loyalists went to other British colonies in the Caribbean. Eventually, after time passed, some returned to the United States. Many loyalists, however, stayed in Canada and started new lives. They could not return to the United States. They lost their homes, property and their jobs. Loyalists had no choice but to start over.

Loyalists arrive at Saint John; May 18, 1783

About thirty thousand loyalists journeyed to the Maritimes, mainly Nova Scotia. Almost half of these loyalists settled in the St. John River Valley. This area was far away from the capital of Halifax. The loyalists soon felt that they needed their own colony. Travelling to Halifax took many days. Eventually the British government agreed. It split Nova Scotia in two, and created the new colony of New Brunswick.

Creating New Brunswick made good sense to the British government. It had just lost all of its colonies in the United States. It did not want to create discontent amongst the loyalists in Nova Scotia. Also, a new government in New Brunswick meant jobs. Loyalists who had worked for the British government in the old American colonies could now be given jobs in the New Brunswick colonial government.

Founding of New Brunswick

Another ten to fifteen thousand loyalists arrived in a part of Quebec called the Eastern Townships. It is just north and south of the St. Lawrence River. Even today this is a part of Quebec that has a large English speaking population. Some of these people are descendants of the original loyalists who settled there.

Lastly, about ten thousand loyalists made their way into the Niagara peninsula and along the north shore of Lake Ontario. There were some British forts in this area that could provide the loyalists with supplies and protection. There was still a chance that another war could start between the United States and Britain.

Top^

Maritime Loyalists

Loyalists encountered many problems when they settled in the Maritimes. In some parts of Nova Scotia the land was already cleared. Acadian settlers many years before had worked hard to create prosperous farms. When they were expelled by the British other English settlers took this land over. They too worked to clear the land. In the St. John River Valley, however, life was very hard for the settlers.

First, the land in the St. John's River Valley was not available. Wealthy people had bought the land or it was given to them by the government of Nova Scotia. This land had to be freed for the new settlers. The Governor of Nova Scotia, John Parr, passed a law making all of the land available. Each male head of a family received about 100 acres of land, and an additional 40 acres for every member of his family. Settlers who had been part of the British army received even more land.

When the first settlers landed there was hardly enough room in the forests for them to put up their tents. The government did not provide them with enough tools or food. Some people starved to death that winter. Everyone worked hard to clear the land as quickly as possible. However, the loyalists continued to struggle.

Shelburne, Nova Scotia, 1789

A number of other loyalists (about 10,000) settled at Port Roseway. They later renamed in Shelbourne. Governor Parr wanted loyalists to settle there because it had a very good harbour for shipping and fishing. The area grew very quickly. By 1784 there were over 12,000 people living there. For a short time it was one of the largest cities in North America. Eventually some loyalists left Shelbourne. The land in the area was not very good for farming. Soon the land became exhausted, and crops began to fail. People left to settle in other parts of the Maritimes.

Very few settlers chose to live on St. John Island (present-day Prince Edward Island). All of the land on the island had been given to wealthy British families. In fact, sixty-seven families owned all of the land on the island. They rented this land out to farmers. These rents were very high. A few hundred settlers did farm on St. John Island, but many eventually left. They resented paying high rents and never being able to own their farms.

Top^

First Nations and Loyalists

Carleton Purchases Toronto Region from Mississauga, Aug, 1788

When loyalists began to arrive in the Niagara Peninsula and along Lake Ontario a problem soon emerged. These people needed land to settle on and farm. However, all of this land belonged to the First Nations people who lived there: the Anishinabeg. Settlers could not just take this land and begin to farm it. The British government needed to sign treaties with the First Nations.

The governor of Quebec, Guy Carleton (and later Frederick Haldimand), sent men to the area to negotiate with the First Nations. They signed treaties with the British to allow settlers to use their land. These treaties were very large. They covered hundreds of thousands of acres of land. In 1788 the Toronto Purchase was signed. It was for all of the land that the present day City of Toronto occupies.

At first, the treaties worked well. First Nations thought they were sharing their land with the British. In return the British agreed to give the First Nations supplies and goods. Over time, as more settlers arrived, it became clear that the British wanted all of the land. Slowly the First Nations people lost the land they had occupied for many years

Settling the Loyalists in Quebec

Loyalists Drawing Lots

Governor Haldimand had the land from the Niagara Peninsula to the Ottawa River divided into eight townships. Once the land was divided into townships he had surveyors begin dividing the townships up into lots. These lots were given to settlers to own so they could begin farming. Settlers were given their land by drawing lots. Settlers in one area would gather and draw a location ticket from a hat. That ticket told them what land they had.

Most of the early settlements were close to the water. There were no roads at this time. Travelling by water was the easiest and fastest way to move in the colony. Settlers in one area would travel together on large flat-bottomed boats. Five or six families would be on a single boat with all of their possessions.

Planting a Homestead

One a family arrived at their land there was a lot of work to do. None of the land was cleared. Large trees, underbrush and rocks had to be cleared. While most settlers had axes and saws very few had oxen to pull out the stumps. Usually trees were cut down, and the settlers planted their crops between the stumps. They could not wait to pull out the stumps. If they did they would not have enough food.

In addition to clearing the land they had to build homesteads. These were simple log homes. Usually they were one large room that everyone shared. When settlers began to occupy land further back from Lake Ontario they had to dig wells for fresh drinking water. Firewood had to be chopped every day. Every member of the family worked hard to avoid starvation and to make their lives successful.

Top^

Settling the First Nations

Joseph Brant

As noted earlier, some First Nations supported the British during the American Revolution. When the British lost these First Nations did not think it was safe to remain in their traditional land. They were afraid the Americans would seek revenge against them. Many of these First Nations were from the Six Nations of the Iroquois (the Haudenosaunee). They left their land in New York State and travelled to the colony of Quebec.

Two leaders led different groups of Iroquois: Thayendanegea and Deserontyon. At first the government wanted to settle both groups on the Bay of Quinte (near the present day city of Belleville). However, Thayendenaga (also known as Joseph Brant) did not want to settle there. Amongst his group were people from the Seneca nation (part of the Six Nations). If they settled at the Bay of Quinte they would be too far away from their traditional land in New York.

Governor Haldimanded ordered that two treaties be negotiated to settle the Iroquois. Anishinabeg people already lived in these areas. The government needed their permission to settle the Iroquois on this land.

The government signed a treaty with the Anishinabeg of the Bay of Quinte for Deserontyon's group. Deserontyon's people received approximately 93,000 acres of land. Today the descendants of these people live in Tyendinaga Township. Their land today is 18,000 acres. Another treaty was signed with the Anishinabeg who lived along the Grand River for Joseph Brant's people. This was a large piece of land. It extended back 10 kilometers from both sides of the Grand River. The Iroquois at the Grand River received 675,000 acres.

Top^

The Constitutional Act, 1791

The modern provinces of Ontario and Quebec were all part of the same large colony after the American Revolution: the colony of Quebec. This arrangement worked fine until the arrival of the loyalists. When thousands of British loyalists arrived in Quebec some of them began to complain about the situation.

Outdoor Methodist Meeting

First, they did not like living under the Custom of Paris. They wanted English civil law to be applied in the colony. Many did not want to share political power with French colonists. They also did not like the Quebec Act. The Quebec Act did not give Quebec an elected colonial legislature. Quebec was controlled by a governor (who was appointed by the British government). The governor appointed advisors to help him run the colony. Loyalists had arrived from colonies that had elected legislatures. They wanted the same thing in Quebec.

There were other important differences that made it difficult for French and English to get along in a single colony:

English loyalists were Protestants. They wanted the government to help create Protestant churches. Many church services, such as those held by the Methodists, were held outside. French colonists, who were Catholic, did not support this.
French colonists wanted to keep the Custom of Paris. They also wanted to protect their right to practice the Catholic religion.
French colonists wanted to keep the seigneurial system. English colonists wanted to have the English system of land ownership (called free-hold tenure).

The British government had to find a way to keep both the English and French colonists happy. Their decision was divide Quebec in two and create a new constitution in 1791. It was called the Constitutional Act. The new constitution did a number of things.

It divided the colony into Lower Canada (Quebec) and Upper Canada (Ontario). The border between the two colonies would be the Ottawa River.
Both Upper and Lower Canada were given their own colonial government.
Both Upper and Lower Canada's colonial governments could raise taxes
It allowed the seigneurial system to remain in Lower Canada. However, it could not expand any further.
It set aside land in Upper Canada for the Anglican Church. This land was called the clergy reserves. The Anglican Church could sell this land to raise money.

Upper and Lower Canada, 1791

By dividing the old colony of Quebec the British government could keep both the French and the English happy. Within Lower Canada the Catholic Church could be maintained. In Upper Canada the different Protestant religions could establish their own churches. It was a way for English and French Canadians to live together, and maintain elements of their own cultures.

Top^

The New Governments of Upper and Lower Canada

The Constitutional Act changed the governments of both colonies. The new government worked like this.

The British government still controlled both Upper and Lower Canada. Through the Colonial Office in London, England, the British government put new policies in place that ran all of their colonies throughout the world.

Both Upper and Lower Canada now had its own lieutenant-governor (in Lower Canada he was called the governor). The lieutenant-governor was appointed by the British government. He was usually from a noble family, and often had military experience. The lieutenant-governor had the power to appoint a people to important government positions in the colony.

Below the lieutenant-governor was the Executive Council. This group was appointed by the lieutenant-governor. They acted as advisors. Another council, called the Legislative Council, was also appointed by the lieutenant-governor. He could appoint anyone he wanted. Usually the lieutenant-governor appointed men who agreed with him, or who were his friends.

At the bottom was the Legislative Assembly. This was the only elected body in the colonies. Only men were allowed to vote (women did not have the right to vote at this time). However, not every man had the right to vote. You had to own so much land to vote. Free Blacks and First Nations people were also not allowed to vote. However, many people in the colony owned land. More people in the colonies had the right to vote compared to people in Britain. By today's standards, however, it was not a free or fair system of voting.

The Legislative Assembly could create new laws. However, if it did it needed to get the approval of the Legislative Council, Executive Council and the lieutenant-governor. Either one of these three could veto (say no) to the law. None of the colonies in British North America were democracies like Canada is today. Over time some people in the colony would start to resent this. They wanted more power for the Legislative Assembly. However, it would take many years for this to happen.