Ethnic prejudice could also factor into the decision. In New England, recent Scottish immigrants faced considerable prejudice from the largely Anglo populace. This tended to make them less sympathetic to anti-British demonstrations led by many of their old antagonists.
Many Native American groups, including five of the six Nations of the Iroquois, joined the British side because they believed British government would be more likely to honor their land claims than an independent United States. Finally, British promises of freedom in exchange for military service lured thousands of slaves away from Patriot plantations. Between 60, and 80, Americans left the country by Around of them settled in Great Britain, while others made homes in the Caribbean, Spanish Florida, or Canada, or alternatively attempted to return to the United States.
Most Loyalists faced considerable hardship in their new homes. Although Parliament attempted to recompense them for their losses, many suffered from poverty and homesickness.
Most tragic was the fate of the thousands of Black loyalists. Most ended their lives dying of disease or in poverty in Canada or England, or were resold into slavery in the Caribbean.
In February of , merchant James Clarke wrote of his lost home in Newport: "My Attachment to our native Country is so fervent and sincere that I could freely give up my Life, and Ten Thousand more if I posses them, could I restore dear Rhode Island to its former happy, happy Situation. Massachusetts merchant Samuel Curwen, writing from Exeter, England in early , admitted that he now would have faced "insults, reproaches and perhaps a dress of tar and feathers" rather than his present life of exile.
He concluded, "Wherever I turn mine eyes I see ruin and misery all around me. Notes 1. Cassandra Pybus estimates that of the approximately twenty thousand slaves who fled to British lines over the course of the war, only around two thousand successfully gained their freedom at war's end.
Bibliography: Brown, Wallace. Providence, R. Calhoon, Robert M. New York alone furnished about 23, loyalist troops, perhaps as many as all the other colonies combined. The loyalist fighters aroused a vengeful hatred among the patriots as the American Revolutionaries called themselves , and when taken in battle they were treated as traitors. United States: State politics The treatment of loyalists was also a theme of intense political dispute after the war. Despite the protests of men such as Alexander Hamilton, who urged restoration of property and rights, in many states loyalists were driven out and their estates seized and redistributed in forms of auction,….
Begin typing your search term above and press enter to search. Press ESC to cancel. African Americans piloted vessels, handled ammunition, and even served as pilots in various state navies.
Another all-black unit came from Haiti with French forces. At least 5, black soldiers fought for the Revolutionary cause. Many former slaves who were promised freedom in exchange for their service in the Continental Army, however, were eventually returned to slavery. Tens of thousands of slaves escaped during the war and joined British lines; others simply escaped on their own to freedom without fighting.
Many who escaped were later enslaved again. This greatly disrupted plantation production during and after the war. When they withdrew their forces from Savannah and Charleston, the British also evacuated 10, slaves, now freedmen. Altogether, the British were estimated to have evacuated nearly 20, freedmen including families with other Loyalists and their troops at the end of the war.
More than 3, freedmen were resettled in Nova Scotia while others were transported to the West Indies of the Caribbean islands.
Others traveled to Great Britain. Augustine after the war never gained their freedom. American Indian tribes were divided over whether to support Great Britain or the Patriots during the American Revolution.
During the American Revolution, the newly proclaimed United States competed with the British for the allegiance of American Indian nations east of the Mississippi River. Most American Indians who joined the struggle sided with the British, based both on their trading relationships and hopes that colonial defeat would result in a halt to further colonial expansion onto American Indian land.
Other native communities were divided over which side to support in the war and others wanted to remain neutral. The first American Indian community to sign a treaty with the new United States government was the Lenape. The only Iroquois tribes to ally with the colonials were the Oneida and Tuscarora. Frontier warfare during the American Revolution was particularly brutal and numerous atrocities were committed by settlers and native tribes alike.
Noncombatants suffered greatly during the war. Military expeditions on each side destroyed villages and food supplies to reduce the ability of people to fight, as in the frequent raids by both sides in the Mohawk Valley and western New York. The largest of these expeditions was the Sullivan Expedition of , in which American colonial troops destroyed more than 40 Iroquois villages to neutralize Iroquois raids in upstate New York. The expedition failed to have the desired effect, as American Indian activity became even more determined.
The British made peace with the Americans in the Treaty of Paris , through which they ceded vast American Indian territories to the United States without informing or consulting with the American Indians. The United States initially treated the American Indians, who had fought as allies with the British as a conquered people who had lost their lands.
Although most members of the Iroquois tribes went to Canada with the Loyalists, others tried to stay in New York and western territories to maintain their lands. The state of New York made a separate treaty with Iroquois nations and put up for sale 5 million acres of land that had previously been their territories.
The state established small reservations in western New York for the remnant peoples. Privacy Policy. Skip to main content. The American Revolution: — Search for:. Patriots and Loyalists. The Patriots Patriots were members of the 13 British colonies who rebelled against British control during the American Revolution. Learning Objectives Identify characteristics of patriotism during the American Revolution. Key Takeaways Key Points The British policy of salutary neglect, which unofficially condoned self-government of the colonies, fueled the movement for independence.
The Patriot rebellion was based on the political philosophy of republicanism, which entailed a rejection of monarchy and aristocracy and an emphasis on civic virtue.
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