Although the loyalists enjoyed after the American Revolution, they also faced monumental challenges in Nova Scotia. The revolution led to granting of liberty to the British Crown’s loyalists. For the first years, they enjoyed some freedom, but it was never easy under the British Administration in Nova Scotia. Life was challenging, and they encountered many difficulties, making their stay in Nova Scotia tough, especially for the Black Loyalists. To better understand the experience of loyalists, this paper argues that discrimination and racism, famine, excessive hard work, and less payment were some of the major difficulties they experienced in Nova Scotia.
Discrimination and racism defined the life of loyalists in Nova Scotia. This was especially experienced by Black loyalists. The major form of discrimination was experienced during the reign of Governor Parr, who treated the loyalists ill in Nova Scotia. The most evidenced form of discrimination was through land division, where the process proved “chaotic, inefficient, complex, and slow,” creating discontent among the loyalists, who the administration had promised better lands.[1] This process led to treating the Black loyalists as underserving as Parr considered them pretenders and always demonstrated hatred towards them. This made life hard for the loyalists because they were in a new land and had no power over whatever was happening there. In addition to the discrimination under Parr, the Black loyalists faced racism “at Shelburne in 1784” through the restrictions they faced concerning where they “could fish and settle… along with a myriad of other racially based discriminatory laws”.[2]As a result, the loyalists underwent through time times in the area, forcing others to flee or revert to slavery, which they had experienced. Another incidence of discrimination experienced by loyalists was the oppression and injury they received from the “Subtilty of law,” which they expected to offer them security.[3] This made it hard to acquire justice in Nova Scotia, threatening the lives and conditions of the Loyalists. As a result, Loyalists found it hard to psychologically and physically navigate the province. This implies life was extremely hard for them as they were treated badly and differently from the White Loyalists, making them undergo hurting and hopeless situations under the British administration.
Another difficulty encountered in Nova Scotia was the famine they experienced in Birchtown. The famine made survival for jobless Negros significantly challenging. For instance, the famine forced the Black loyalists to sell their properties and clothes to support their lives and families. In addition, the famine made the Negroes experience extreme hunger, forcing others to eat their cats and dogs for survival.[4] This meant that this famine made the loyalists experience one of the hardest times in Nova Scotia, especially since they were poor and had no jobs. This famine also forced the loyalists to work all night to get some wage that could help them raise their families. This was extremely tiring, but they had no other opportunity to earn money. The famine also made life challenging for the Black Loyalists as they were forced to “sell themselves to the merchants” for years to get something to manage their lives.[5] This was stressful for them, making life in Nova Scotia very difficult. Therefore, the famine in Birchtown was one of the draining situations encountered by the loyalists, which made their life very hard and undesirable.
Lastly, excessive work and less pay defined the life of a loyalist in Nova Scotia. Loyalists were “obliged to work hard and to feel straits.”[6] By working hard and excessively, the loyalists became dissatisfied as they toiled for long hours. This also made them experience “fatigue and many hardships” as they had no other means of improving their lives than doing the work.[7] As a result, they found it hard to have a happy life in a land they were promised a better life. This also made them grow impatient and experience a tormenting of their brains as the experiences were disgusting. From the reader’s point of view, this denied them peace compared to other occupants in the land. Again, the loyalists experienced tiny payments for their immense labor. In most cases, they were paid with few potatoes.[8] This was discouraging and disheartening for them as they had to endure much work pressure only to receive less money to sustain themselves. This means that life was difficult for them even when they lacked something else to do. Thus, the less pay and excess work done by the loyalists made life difficult for loyalists in Nova Scotia.
Although loyalists enjoyed some minimal freedom after the American Revolution (under the British Crown), they, to a greater,extent, underwent challenging circumstances in Nova Scotia. For instance, they experienced discrimination, oppression, and racism from the administration, especially on the issue of land grants and personal security. Again, the famine at Birchtown was another difficult encounter in Nova Scotia. This famine forced many of them to live in hunger, sell themselves to slaveholders, or sell their clothes and household items to get money for survival. Lastly, they underwent excess hard work and less pay, making them discouraged and hopeless in the province. Therefore, life was not easy in Nova Scotia.
Bibliography
“Suffering Much by Toil and Want”: Loyalists in Nova Scotia. 72-87.
[1] “Suffering Much by Toil and Want”: Loyalists in Nova Scotia, 73.
[2] “Suffering Much by Toil and Want”: Loyalists in Nova Scotia, 74.
[3] “Suffering Much by Toil and Want”: Loyalists in Nova Scotia, 82-83.
[4] “Suffering Much by Toil and Want”: Loyalists in Nova Scotia, 78.
[5] “Suffering Much by Toil and Want”: Loyalists in Nova Scotia, 79.
[6] “Suffering Much by Toil and Want”: Loyalists in Nova Scotia, 83.
[7] “Suffering Much by Toil and Want”: Loyalists in Nova Scotia, 83.
[8] “Suffering Much by Toil and Want”: Loyalists in Nova Scotia, 84.
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