Black Loyalists in British North America

Black Loyalists in British North America

Birchtown Muster of Free Blacks

On the orders of the governor of Nova Scotia a collection of records began in July 1784. The records contained names, descriptions, age, occupation, and any other important information of all the African Americans that evacuated from New York along with British Loyalist following the American Revolution.

The "Book of Negroes"

The Shelburne Race Riots

The "Book of Negroes" was an important document containing the names and descriptions of about 3000 Black refugees registered on the vessels leaving New York to Nova Scotia in 1783 following the British loss in the American Revolution.

On July 26, 1784 White Loyalists in Shelburne, Nova Scotia were disgruntled with poverty and lack of work for which they blamed the Black Loyalists for because they were taking a lot of jobs for cheap labour. The riots saw White Loyalists destroying Black Loyalist property for roughly ten days, the White Loyalists saw themselves as a priority over the Black Loyalists and because of the hardships they were facing they took it out on the Black Loyalists because they believed they were superior.

Broken Promises

Early Struggles

Brief History

Upon arrival the Black Loyalists were faced with extreme adversity many dealt with starvation, severe winters, lack of educational opportunities, exploitation of cheap labour, racism, and shortages of food and clothing. Many came over thinking there would be a fresh start with new land and support from the British after their allegiance in the war but as history shows is was quite the opposite.

On top of the hardships they had to deal with after settling, they were also faced with broken promises of land. They were promised a farm of 100 acres for each head of the household and an additional 50 acres for each family member in the household, they never received this. On top of that roughly 30 000 White Loyalists who arrived around the same time were also waiting for the land they were promised. Even though Black Loyalists were at the end of the waiting list, this only sparked further racism towards the Black Loyalists.

Enslaved African Americans were encouraged to fight alongside British soldiers against the Americans during the American Revolution. They were eager to help as they were promised freedom and a farm for their duties, many were intrigued and agreed to help the British in exchange for their promises.

Departure to Sierra Leone

American Revolution comes to an end

The Americans were on the brink of winning and gaining independence from Britain, Loyalists began to flee the country. Roughly 3000 Black Loyalists arrived in British North America between 1783 and 1785 settling mainly in Nova Scotia in towns like Shelburne, Birchtown, Annapolis Royal,Preston, and Digby. Several hundred also arrived in Upper Canada along the St. Lawrence River to the bay of Quinte and Niagra Peninsula along the Detroit River.

The Black Loyalists felt that they were betrayed in the conditions they were facing and lack of help from the government for survival and the land they were promised. After the riots a Black Loyalist preacher named David George had enough of the racial injustice and felt as though the "free" Black Loyalists in British North America were just as enslaved as they were in America. In 1792 he took action, accompanied by a British company who supported the rights of the Black Loyalists they brought about 1200 Black Loyalists out of British North America and emigrated to Sierra Leone in West Africa where they became a new colony of freed people which they named Freetown. For the roughly 2500 that stayed in British North America, they found that living standards gradually improved although racism and ethnic divisions were still at large.

Bibliography

“Black Loyalists in British North America.” The Canadian Encyclopedia. Accessed February 20, 2021. https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/black-loyalists-in-british-north-america.

“Editorial: The Arrival of Black Loyalists in Nova Scotia.” The Canadian Encyclopedia. Accessed February 20, 2021. https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/black-loyalists-feature.

“The Book of Negroes.” The Canadian Encyclopedia. Accessed February 20, 2021. https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/the-book-of-negroes.

Nova Scotia Archives. “African Nova Scotians in the Age of Slavery and Abolition.” Nova Scotia Archives, December 4, 2003. https://archives.novascotia.ca/africanns/book-of-negroes/.

Black Loyalist. Accessed February 20, 2021. http://www.blackloyalist.info/sourcedetail/display/18.