The Sea & Me Manual BLACK LOYALIST HISTORY

Stories and exercises written by: Rhonda Tufts-Blades, B.A., M.A. and Lisette Jones

Separate PDF documents are available by topic

Introduction Life Experiences Fishing Life Skills Holidays Seasons Parenting Rural Life Black Loyalist History Acadian Culture Native History A Patchwork of Ideas Rural ABC's Bibliography Pets in the Country

TABLE OF CONTENTS

BLACK LOYALIST HISTORY "Searching for Freedom" Comprehension Questions Spelling Word Search Black Loyalist History Answer Key

BLACK LOYALIST HISTORY

The following information is provided thanks in part to the Shelburne County Cultural Awareness Society, a group responsible for bringing about an important archaeological dig in Birchtown, just outside Shelburne, Nova Scotia, in 1994. The Society has also erected a monument to the Black Loyalist settlers of Birchtown, located in Birchtown, and they continue to work towards increasing the public's awareness of the important role Black Loyalists played in the settlement of Port Roseway (later renamed Shelburne) in the 1780's. To learn more about the Shelburne County Cultural Awareness Society, please contact Elizabeth Cromwell, who is a resident of Birchtown and president of the group. The Shelburne County Cultural Awareness Society is located at PO Box 1194 Shelburne, NS BOT 1WO, or 902-875-2114 (telephone).

The research for this section was also gathered from the Internet, at the following address: http://www.ednet.ns.ca/educ/museum/arch/sites/birch/ Another valuable source of information on this topic was Marion Robertson's King's Bounty(3), still considered the authoritative voice on the history to Shelburne County. (See Rural ABC's for a brief history of Marion Robertson and her work.)

For an understanding of the broader picture of the history of the Black Loyalists of Nova Scotia, some excellent sources were Beneath the Clouds... of the Promised Land - The Survival of Nova Scotia's Blacks, 1600-1800 by Bridglal Pachai, and The Black Loyalists - The Search for a Promised Land in Nova Scotia and Sierra Leone, 1783-1870 by James W. St. G. Walker. Both these books offer a great deal more information on the often painful history of Blacks from ancient times to the last century than we can give within the scope of these exercises.

3 Marion Robertson, King's Bounty (Halifax: Nova Scotia Museum, 1983 83-106.

Words to Preview

American revolution Birchtown Rebel Loyalist

Sierra Leone Commandant Patriot

SEARCHING FOR FREEDOM

Birchtown is a very small community three miles west of Shelburne. About 130 people live there today. But in 1784, there were 1,531 people living there. What happened to bring on this change?

All these people came to Birchtown because of the way the American Revolution ended in 1782. The Revolution happened because some Americans wanted to break free from British rule. They were called Rebels or Patriots. But there were other Americans who wanted to stay under British rule. They were the Loyalists. The Rebels won the Revolution, and many Loyalists left America because it was not safe.

During the war, the Loyalists had offered freedom to any Rebels' slaves if the slaves would run away from their owners to fight and work for the Loyalists. This was too good an offer to pass up, and hundreds of slaves risked death to escape their masters.

When the war ended, many of the masters came looking for their slaves. In some cases, they grabbed the Blacks right off the streets. With others, they tore them from their beds at night. But the Loyalists wanted to honour their promise to the Free Blacks, even though the war was over. They arranged to send any Free Blacks to the safety of Nova Scotia. Many white Loyalists had already come to Shelburne, or Port Roseway as it was called first. In the late 1700's, Nova Scotia was mostly still wilderness. The British, who still owned Nova Scotia, wanted to send people here to help settle the land.

The Free Blacks were promised land, food, and help in building a new life. This was a reward for helping the Loyalists during the war. They were sent to an area on the northwest side of Port Roseway Harbour. They named it Birchtown, after General Samuel Birch. Birch had been commandant of New York City during the last part of the Revolution. He had helped the Free Blacks get to Nova Scotia. Birchtown became the first major settlement of Freed Blacks in all of North America.

The Black Loyalists came to Birchtown in September 1783. They did not have much time to build huts and gather enough food to see them through the hard winter. Many of these people came from warmer places, like Carolina, Georgia, and Florida. They were not used to hard winters, and many died.

To make matters worse, Birchtown was a very rocky piece of land. The Black Loyalists could not grow much on it. The farm lots promised to them were not granted until 1787, three years after they came. Worse still, these lots were five miles from Birchtown, near what is now Beaverdam and Clyde River. Some Black Loyalists tried to work in Port Roseway, but too many other people needed jobs. They soon learned that life was not as good as they had hoped it would be. They were supposed to be free, but many people still treated them like slaves. They were not treated as equals by many white people. But many Black Loyalists said they would rather starve than become slaves again.

Just when things were at their worst, the Black Loyalists were given new hope. There was a place in West Africa, called Sierra Leone, that needed settlers.

They would get free passage to Africa, and free land. They had very little here. Some had nothing to eat and only rags to wear. They could not help but jump at the chance for something better. Through all their years of pain and fear, they had never given up on the hope of someday being really free. In all, 1,190 Blacks from around the province set sail for Africa in 1792, and 544 of them were from Shelburne and Birchtown. This was half the area's black population. The voyage across the Atlantic Ocean was not easy. The ships carrying the Free Blacks were over- crowded. Many people died along the way. But those who survived the voyage to Sierra Leone helped settle the town called Freetown. Many of them were very successful. And they were happy. Some of them had been born in Africa. They had been captured there when they were young and sent to America to be slaves. One man who decided to leave Birchtown to return to Africa said he would rather die in his own country than in "this cold place."

The Black Loyalists who decided not to go to Africa struggled for many years to build decent lives for themselves and their families here in Nova Scotia. But their descendants are living proof of their strength and determination. They should remind us all of what can be done if we believe in something and fight hard to get it.

"Searching for Freedom" Comprehension Questions

1. What was the American Revolution?

2. How did so many Black Loyalists end up in Birchtown?

3. When did the Black Loyalists arrive in Birchtown?

4. Name three problems the Black Loyalists met with in Birchtown.

5. Where is Sierra Leone and why did so many Birchtown Blacks go there?

[View answers]

Reading Between the Lines

1. Why do you think the British wanted to get the Rebels' slaves on their side during the Revolution?

2. Why do you think the Black Loyalists did not get everything they were promised when they came to Nova Scotia?

3. What made the Black Loyalists move from America to Nova Scotia, and from Nova Scotia to Sierra Leone

4. Why do you think the Black Loyalists named their new home in Africa "Freetown"?

"Searching for Freedom" Spelling

Circle the correct spelling of each word in each row.

1. Brichtown Birshtown Birchtown Birchtowne 2. Americian Amirican Ammerican American 3. Revulotion Revolution Reevolution Revolusion 4. Rebel Reble Rebbel Rebel 5. Loyilist Loyalist Loilist Loyolist 6. slave slav slafe slaeve 7. Bluck Blacke Blak Black 8. fre frea free frae 9. Rosway Roseway Rooseway Roseweigh 10. Africa Afrika Atrica Afreca 11. voyege voyge voiage voyage 12. Freatown Freetowne Freetown Fritown [View answers]

"Searching for Freedom" Word Search

AFRICA FREE REVOLUTION AMERICAN FREETOWN ROSEWAY BIRCHTOWN LOYALIST SLAVE BLACK REBEL VOYAGE

B L A C K A B C D E R F G R H I F R E E J K L M O N E E O P R Q R S T U V W S B X V Y Z I A B C D E F G E H I O J K C L M N O P Q L W R S L N T A E U V W X Y O A Z A U W B C V D N N E F Y Y G H T O I J A K W L A M A N O P I T Q R L S O T U C L V W X O H Y Z S A T B C D I E F G N C H I J K E L M N S R O P Q R R S T U E V W X T Y E Z A I B C D E R F G H I J K M L B M N O P F V O Y A G E Q A

BLACK LOYALIST HISTORY ANSWER KEY

—> Searching for Freedom" is suitable for Level Two learners who are fairly comfortable with attempting more difficult material. It will provide them with an interesting history lesson, as well as introduce them to many new words. It may be necessary to read it over more than one session.

"Searching for Freedom" Comprehension Questions

1. The American Revolution was a war between people who wanted to live in America under British rule (Loyalists) and people who wanted to become independent (Rebels).

2. The Black Loyalists had fought for the British during the war, and the British had promised them freedom in Nova Scotia in return.

3. The Black Loyalists arrived in Birchtown in 1783.

4. The problems the Black Loyalists met with in Birchtown were as follows: Winter was almost upon them when they got here and they hadn't had much time to build huts or gather food; they weren't used to the cold; Birchtown was very rocky and not good for farming; the farm lots they were promised weren't granted until three years after they got here, and they were five miles away; there was a lot of competition for jobs in Shelburne; they were often still treated like slaves.

5. Sierra Leone is in West Africa. The Black Loyalists went there because there was little for them in Nova Scotia, and they were offered free passage to Africa and free land once they got there. Africa was home to many of them.

"Searching for Freedom" Spelling

—> Note to tutors: have your learner try to identify the correct spelling of each word without referring to the story for guidance.

1. Birchtown 5. Loyalist 9. Roseway 2. American 6. slave 10. Africa 3. Revolution 7. Black 11. voyage 4. Rebel 8. free 12. Freetown