Mozart is, once again, on the ball.
The Loyalists were war refugees who sacrificed their homes and belongings to retain their loyalty to the British Crown during the American War of Independence (1775-1783). They were from all walks of life and of many different ethnic backgrounds.--------
The vast majority of the Loyalists (350-400,000) 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 Great 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 Treaty of Paris in 1783, Loyalist soldiers and civilians were evacuated from New York and resettled in other colonies of the British Empire, most notably in the future Canada: the two colonies of Nova Scotia (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:
Those Loyalists who have adhered to the Unity of the Empire, and joined the Royal Standard before the Treaty of Separation in the year 1783, and all their Children and their Descendants by either sex, are to be distinguished by the following Capitals, affixed to their names: U.E. Alluding to their great principle The Unity of the Empire. The initials "U.E." are rarely seen today, but the influence of the Loyalists on the evolution of Canada remains. Their ties with Great 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 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.
The richest and most prominent Loyalist exiles went to Great 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. -
Wikipedia
