2. The American War of Independence
• Britain was in debt after the Seven Years’ War and
wanted to save money.
• It wanted to keep their troops in the Thirteen Colonies
but decided to make the colonies pay for it.
• Britain raised the taxes, but the colonist refused to pay
– They believed that they had no right to be taxed because
they had no elected representative in the British
parliament.
– They came up with the slogan “No taxation without
representation.”
3. • In 1775 the protested turned into a rebellion.
• George Washington took command of an
army raised in the Thirteen Colonies to fight
the British rule.
• In 1776, the United States declared
themselves independent from Britain and
began a war called The American war of
Independence, or the American Revolution.
• Lasted until 1783.
4. • The war dived the people of the thirteen
colonies in to two groups: The “Patriots” and
the “Loyalists”.
• The Patriots supported the rebellion and the
Loyalist opposed it.
• The Loyalist wanted to remain with the British
empire and loyal to the crown.
5. The Loyalist Migration
• The War of Independence caused people to take
a side, whether or not they supported the British.
• During and after the war, many people who
supported Britain fled, seeking refuge in other
British colonies in Quebec and Nova Scotia.
• These people called themselves Loyalist and had
British ancestors. They included:
– 3000 Black Loyalists
– 2000 Haudenosaunee
– 3000 German Mennonites
7. Challenges of the Loyalist Migration
• Impacts on Canadiens
– Increased the number of British people in Quebec
– Before the migration there were very few British
settlers living in Quebec but by 1790 the
population had increased to 10%.
– The British Settlers wanted British laws and
customs
– The Canadiens were worried about the rights they
had obtained in the Quebec Act and how the
British had affected this.
8. • Impacts on the First Nations
– Loyalists were mostly farmers and their arrival
marked a shift in the agreements Britain made
with the First Nations.
– Before the loyalists arrived Britain negotiated
treaties of “peace and friendship.”
– These were signed to gain the support of the
Mi’kmaq during the American war of
independence
– After the Loyalists arrived Britain negotiated
treaties as a way to give loyalists land
– First Nations people lost a lot of land between
1781 and 1792
9. Loyalist Press for Changes
• Nova Scotia
– Many Loyalists joined existing settlements when
they arrived
– People migrated here after the Seven Year War
– A large group of Loyalists established settlements
along the St. John River in what is today New
Brunswick
• These people felt separated from the people of Nova
Scotia because of geography and politics
10. • Quebec
– English settlers in Quebec petitioned Britain to
allow them to use British laws and customs
instead of French laws and customs
– This caused Britain a problem because they owed
these loyalists for helping Britain during the
war, but they had already passed the Quebec Act
of 1774 to help secure the help of the Canadiens
11. Britain’s Response to Loyalist Concerns
• Because of Loyalist settlers around the St.
John River, Britain divided Nova Scotia into
several new colonies in 1784
• This gave the St. John Rive settlers their own
colony, New Brunswick
– This also created the colonies of Cape Breton
Island and St. John Island
• In 1791 Britain passed the Constitutional Act
of 1791
12. The Constitutional Act of 1791
• Divided Quebec into Upper and Lower Canada
• Established British civil and criminal law in Upper
Canada
– It also reaffirmed the arrangements under the Quebec Act
of 1774 in Lower Canada
• They set aside land for Protestant Churches, and
guaranteed the Canadiens rights to the Catholic Church
• Established officials and legislative council that was
appointed by Britain in each of the colonies
– This meant that Upper and Lower Canada had
“representative government.”
