1776 1815 The Loyalists Who were the Loyalists

(1776 -1815) The Loyalists

Who were the Loyalists? • Political refugees who moved to Quebec & Nova Scotia for safety • They were loyal to the British Empire • Did not want to separate from Britain. • Most farmers, others merchants, doctors, & lawyers • AKA “Tories”

Tarred and Feathered A favourite punishment was to Tar and Feather Loyalists ou y e e r a , r a w o r t? ” o N “ orie rio t T a P a a you

Where the Loyalists Went • Quebec: travelled by land (1776 -1785) • Nova Scotia: travelled by sea • By 1785, nearly 100, 000 Loyalists left the United States • 40, 000 - 45000 British NA • 34, 000 Nova Scotia

The coming of the Loyalists • Many Loyalists found themselves in a hostile country, forced to flee. • Resulted in two new colonies: • New Brunswick formed from a part of Nova Scotia • Upper Canada and Lower Canada

Loyalists and Constitutional Act 1791 • Idea for union of remaining colonies of British North America (in wake of creation of United States) – Loyalist immigrants petitioned to have Quebec (used to stretch from St. Lawrence to Great Lakes) split into two • Upper Canada- in the West (which would later become ON) which would be English • Lower Canada- in the East (which would province of Quebec later) would be French

Bad Idea? • Splitting Quebec on cultural and linguistic lines has created the problem we have today (separatism) • Knee jerk response- American Revolution convinced Britain the problem was TOO MUCH FREEDOM – Sought to limit “mob rule” of democracy – Constitutional Act, thus, strengthened the role of the Governor • Decisions made directly by Governor and appointed Council • There was an elected assembly, but they did not have final say

f o t n nse o c ld o h h w t o i l l w a is ld d u r o o C bill Governor Generalrep. British authority Council- appointed by the governor to help him run the colony (usually aristocracy) Assemblyrepresenting male landowners