The Loyalists
Before 1776, the British had concluded that the St. Lawrence Valley would remain French because the English-speaking colonists preferred to settle in the Thirteen Colonies. The American Revolution completely changed this situation. As of 1783, the Thirteen Colonies now formed a new country, the United States of America. Those who wanted to remain loyal to the king had to leave their home and village, and move to British territory. These people were the Loyalists.
As the Loyalists left the United States, they were harassed and hunted by their former neighbours, who had chosen to create a new country. They flocked in large numbers to the Province of Québec. So that they would not have to share a colony with the French-speaking Catholics of the St. Lawrence Valley, they obtained the creation of Upper Canada in 1791 when the Constitutional Act was passed.
However, some of them decided to live in Lower Canada anyway. Many settled in the Upper Richelieu area and obtained the creation of a new zone that was not divided into seigneuries, but into townships, the Eastern Townships. A lot of this area was occupied by the W8banaki (Abenaki) Nation. Many loyalists also settles in the Outaouais region, which is the territory of the Anishinabeg (Algonquin Nation). For these First Nations, Loyalist settlements resulted in a loss of access to some of the resources (game, fish, edible and medicinal plants, etc.).
See also – Traces of the past:
See also:
