Loyalist Studies Microfilm Project

Corporate body

Loyalist Studies Microfilm Project

n.d.

The Loyalists were American colonists of varied ethnic backgrounds who supported the British cause during the American Revolution (1775-83). The main waves of Loyalists came to what is now Canada in 1783 and 1784. The Maritime Provinces became home for upwards of 30 000; most of coastal NS received Loyalist settlers, as did Cape Breton and St John's Island [PEI]. The 2 chief settlements were in the Saint John River valley and temporarily at Shelburne, N.S. The Loyalists swamped the previous population of 20 000 Americans and French, and in 1784 New Brunswick and Cape Breton were created to deal with the influx. Of about 2000 who moved to present-day Québec, some settled in the Gaspé on Chaleur Bay and others in the seigneury of Sorel at the mouth of the Richelieu River. About 7500 moved into what would become Ontario, most settling along the St Lawrence River to the Bay of Quinte. There were also substantial settlements in the Niagara Peninsula and on the Detroit River, with subsidiary and later settlements along the Thames River and at Long Point. The Grand River was the main focus of Loyalist Iroquois settlement. The Loyalist influx gave the region its first substantial population and led to the creation of a separate province, Upper Canada, in 1791. Loyalists were instrumental in establishing educational, religious, social and governmental institutions. Though greatly outnumbered by later immigrants, Loyalists and their descendants exerted a strong and lasting influence. Modern Canada has inherited much from the Loyalists, including a certain conservatism, a preference for "evolution" rather than "revolution" in matters of government, and tendencies towards a pluralistic and heterogeneous society.

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