United Empire Loyalist

United Empire Loyalists is the name given to the portion of British Loyalists who resettled in British North America when they were forced to leave the United States after the British defeat in the American Revolutionary War. It also applies to British and allied soldiers who served in the war. This group of Loyalists settled in the two colonies of Quebec (including the Eastern Townships), modern-day Ontario and Nova Scotia (including modern-day New Brunswick). Their arrival marked the beginning of a predominantly English population in the future Canada west of the Quebec border.

Modern-day descendants of those original refugees sometimes apply the term United Empire Loyalist to themselves, using "UE" as postnominal letters; the honorific is the only hereditary title of Canada. The practice is rare, even in the original Loyalist strongholds like southeastern Ontario. However, it is used extensively by historians and genealogists.

The word "Loyalist" appears frequently in school, street, and business names in loyalist-settled communities such as Belleville, Ontario.

See also

• Loyalist (American Revolution)

Further reading

• Christopher Moore; "The Loyalists: Revolution, Exile, Settlement"; 1984, ISBN 0771060939.
• W. Stewart Wallace; "The United Empire Loyalists: A Chronicle of the Great Migration"; Volume 13 of the "Chronicles of Canada", (32 volumes ); 1914, Toronto.

External links

• The United Empire Loyalists of Canada - fraternal association for descendants of Loyalists
• Example of Loyalist claim from New York state
• E-text of Wallace's Chronicle at Project Gutenberg
• Biography of Loyalist Philip Crouse, ca.1760-1856