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Loyalists (often capitalized ''L'') were British North America n colonists who remained loyal subjects of the British crown during the American Revolution . They were also called Tories , King's Men, or Royalists. Those Loyalists who left and resettled in Canada are often called United Empire Loyalists . Their colonial opponents, who supported the Revolution , were called Patriots , Whig s, Congress Men, or, in view of their loyalty to the new United States of America, just Americans. From an American perspective in 1775, the Loyalists were traitors who turned against their fellow citizens and collaborated with the occupation of a foreign army. From the Loyalist perspective in 1775, the Loyalists were the honourable ones who stood by the Crown and the British Empire, and had to flee persecution from disloyal American radicals. As Anglican clergyman Samuel Seabury wrote, "If I must be enslaved let it be by a King at least, and not by a parcel of upstart lawless Committeemen. If I must be devoured, let me be devoured by the jaws of a lion, and not gnawed to death by rats and vermin." ''Letters of a Westchester Farmer, 1774-1775'' (1970) p 61 Like most Loyalists, Seabury remained in America; he became the first Episcopal bishop. BACKGROUND AND MOTIVATION OF LOYALISTS By July 4, 1776, the patriots controlled over 98% of the territory and population of the 13 states, and demanded that no resident show loyalty to a foreign power. Neutrality was permitted. The British however returned and in September, 1776, they defeated the American army and captured New York City and Long Island, which they occupied until 1783. From time to time they controlled various cities such as Boston (1775-6), Philadelphia (1777), Savannah (1778-83) and Charleston (1780-82), and various slices of coutryside. However 90% of the population lived outside the cities. The result was that the American state governments controlled 80-95% of the population. The British pulled out all their governors (except Georgia) and never allowed the Loyalists to set up any government. Britain did reestablish its colonial governor in coastal Georgia http://www.georgiaencyclopedia.org/nge/Article.jsp?id=h-2709 1779-82, with the Americans in control upstate. Elsewhere, the British were normally only in control through Army and Royal Navy activity. Loyalism in Canada In Canada, American agents were active, especially John Brown, agent of the Boston Committee of Correspondence, along with Canadian-American merchant Thomas Walker and others, during the winter of 1774-5. They won many habitants to sympathize with Congress. However others--probably a majority--remained neutral and refused to join the militia which the British had called out to protect against the American invasion in late 1775. Only a minority of the habitants expressed loyalty to King George; about 1500 militia fought for the King in defense of Montreal. In the region south of Montreal occupied by the Americans, the habitants supported the American and raised two regiments to join them. Wade, ''The French Canadians'' (1955) 1:67-9. In Nova Scotia, with a large Yankee settlement but a powerful British naval base, neutrality prevailed. Loyalists in the 13 states Historian Robert Middlekauff summarizes scholarly research on who was a Loyalist as follows:
New York City and Long Island (controlled by the British from 1776 to 1783) had the largest concentration of Loyalists, many of whom were refugees from other states. Loyalists were loosely associated with Anglicanism in that many prominent Anglicans supported the King. Loyalists tended to be older, more likely merchants, wealthier and better-educated than their Patriot opponents; but there were also many Loyalists of humble means. Some recent emigrants, especially Scots, had a high Loyalist proportion. Loyalists in the South, however, were suppressed by the local Patriots who controlled local and state government. Many people -- such as some of the ex- Regulators in North Carolina -- refused to join the rebellion as they had earlier protested against corruption by the local authorities who later became rebel leaders. Such pre-Revolutionary War oppression by the local Whigs contributed to the reason that much of North Carolina (mainly backcountry areas) remained loyal to their king and crown. Historians estimate that about 15-20% of the white population of the thirteen states was Loyalist, but the number was constantly declining as thousands of Loyalists fled the country every year, and few returned. In Georgia and the Carolina people changed back and forth. Including the black and native American populations, which were more pro-British,McDonnell in ‘A companion to the american revolution’, Blackwell Publishers, 2000, Chapter 43 the proportion of loyalists may have been a quarter or more of the population. Due to the highly political nature of the war, a large proportion of the white population remained neutral (estimated between a third and a half).
Black Loyalists and slavery : ''See also Black Loyalist '' Free Blacks supported the Revolution, and often fought in militia units. Very few became Loyalists. However the few slaves in Virginia who were in a position to make a decision were overwhelmingly in Africa after 1787, where they became part of the ruling elite. The vast majority of blacks --over 75,000-- were taken as slaves to the West Indies, where living conditions were much worse and life expectancy far shorter. {Link without Title} An often cited statement by John Adams , in which he seemed to suggest that about one-third of the people were Loyalists, is said to have been rhetorical and not intended to be statistical. DURING THE WAR The largest concentration of Loyalists was in New York City and Long Island (controlled by the British Army from September, 1776 until the evacuation in late 1783). Consequently many Loyalist families fled to New York City. Other Loyalists supported the reestablished British colonial government in Georgia ; nowhere else did the British attempt to restore colonial government in which Loyalists might participate, preferring instead a military rule. Elsewhere Loyalists were subject to confiscation of property. Loyalists were often subjected to Tar And Feathering . They could be arrested for being loyal to the British, some were abused, threatened, and attacked by mobs of patriots. However relatively few Loyalist civilians are thought to have been killed by mobs and none were officially executed. In September 1775, Willilam Drayton and loyalist leader Colonel Thomas Fletchall signed a treaty of neutrality in the interior community of Ninety Six, South Carolina . In October 1775, Congress passed a resolution calling for the arrest of all loyalists who are dangerous to "the liberties of America." Military service The Loyalists rarely attempted any political organization. They were often passive unless regular British army units were in the area. The British planned much of their strategy around raising Loyalist companies and regiments. The British provincial line, consisting of Americans enlisted on a regular army status, enrolled 19,000 American loyalists (50 units and 312 companies). Another 10,000 served in loyalist militia or "associations." The maximum strenth of the provincial line was 9,700 in December 1780. (Smith 264-7; Calhoon 502) According to Hugh Bicheno, of those Americans who actually took up arms in the American Revolution, as many joined the Loyalists as joined the Rebels. & Holmes, 'Rebels and Redcoats', Harper Collins, 2004 . EMIGRATION A majority of the Loyalists remained in America during and after the war but some began leaving early in the war when transport was available. An estimated 70,000 Loyalists, approximately 62,000 whites and 8,000 blacks, about 3% of the total American population, left the thirteen states: 46,000 to Canada; 7,000 to Britain and 17,000 to the Caribbean. Beginning in the mid-1780s until the end of the century a small percentage returned from the Caribbean and Nova Scotia. Following the end of the Revolution and the signing of the (including modern-day New Brunswick , receiving in total some 32,000 Loyalist refugees) and Canada (including the Eastern Townships and modern-day Ontario , receiving altogether some 10,000 refugees). Realizing the importance of some type of consideration, on November 9, 1789, Lord Dorchester , the governor of Quebec, declared that it was his Wish to "put the mark of Honour upon the Families who had adhered to the Unity of the Empire..." As a result of Dorchester's statement, the printed militia rolls carried the notation:
The initials "U.E." are rarely seen today, but the influence of the Loyalists on the evolution of Canada remains. Their ties with Britain and their antipathy to the United States provided the strength needed to keep Canada independent and distinct in North America. The Loyalists' basic distrust of republicanism and "mob rule" influenced Canada's gradual "paper-strewn" path to independence. In effect, the new British North American provinces of Upper Canada (the forerunner of Ontario) and New Brunswick were founded as places of refuge for the United Empire Loyalists. ''(For a consideration of Loyalists' role in the formation of English Canadian identity, see Canadian Identity .)'' The richest and most prominent Loyalists went to Britain to rebuild their careers; many received pensions. Many Southern Loyalists, taking along their slaves, went to the West Indies and the Bahamas , particularly to the Abaco Islands. Thousands of Iroquois and other Native Americans were expelled from New York and other states and resettled in Canada. The descendents of one such group of Iroquois , led by Joseph Brant Thayendenegea , settled at Six Nations Of The Grand River , the largest First Nations Reserve in Canada. A group of Black Loyalists settled in Nova Scotia but, facing discrimination there, emigrated again for Sierra Leone . Many of the Loyalists were forced to abandon substantial amounts of property, and restoration of or compensation for this lost property was a major issue during the negotiation of the Jay Treaty in 1795. PROMINENT LOYALISTS
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