The Sea & Me
Manual
BLACK LOYALIST
HISTORY
©1998 Shelburne
County Learning
Network
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
Holidays
Parenting
Life Skills
Seasons
Rural Life
Black Loyalist History
Native History
Rural ABC's
Pets in the Country
Acadian Culture
A Patchwork of Ideas
Bibliography
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
Sierra Leone
Commandant
Patriot
Loyalist
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 overcrowded. 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
AMERICAN
BIRCHTOWN
BLACK
FREE
FREETOWN
LOYALIST
REBEL
REVOLUTION
ROSEWAY
SLAVE
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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.
2.
3.
4.
Birchtown
American
Revolution
Rebel
5.
6.
7.
8.
Loyalist
slave
Black
free
9.
10.
11.
12.
Roseway
Africa
voyage
Freetown