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| African American Loyalists | |
|---|---|
| Name | African American Loyalists |
| Caption | Recruitment broadside for Black Loyalists, 1775–1783 |
| Era | American Revolutionary War |
| Regions | British America, United States |
African American Loyalists were people of African descent who supported the British Empire during the American Revolutionary War (1775–1783), often in pursuit of freedom, protection, or economic opportunity. Their choices intersected with policies such as Lord Dunmore's Proclamation and Sir Henry Clinton's Philipsburg Proclamation, and their wartime service affected postwar settlements in places including Nova Scotia, Sierra Leone, and the Bahamas. Scholarship on their experiences engages with figures like George Washington, King George III, John Murray, 4th Earl of Dunmore, William Howe, and institutions such as the British Army and the Royal Navy.
The outbreak of the Boston Massacre-era tensions and the wider American Revolution placed enslaved and free Black people at the center of contested loyalties involving leaders such as Thomas Jefferson, Samuel Adams, John Adams, and Patrick Henry. Policies like Lord Dunmore's Proclamation (1775) and later Philipsburg Proclamation (1779) promised freedom to enslaved people who fled rebel masters to join British forces, linking the fates of Black subjects to commanders including Lord Cornwallis, Sir Henry Clinton, and William Howe. Urban centers such as New York City, Philadelphia, and Charleston, South Carolina became hubs for recruitment and refuge, while ports like Boston and Savannah, Georgia provided naval access for the Royal Navy and for commanders such as Admiral George Rodney.
Many enslaved and free Black people responded to proclamations by escaping from plantations and households associated with patriots like George Washington and Ralph Izard to join British encampments and garrisons under leaders such as Lord Dunmore and Sir Henry Clinton. In cities including New York City, Philadelphia, and Portsmouth, New Hampshire, Black refugees served as laborers, guides, spies, cooks, and sailors for units commanded by officers like John Graves Simcoe and Banastre Tarleton. Encounters with engagements such as the Siege of Charleston (1780), Battle of Monmouth, and coastal operations involving Admiral Mariot Arbuthnot shaped their wartime experiences. Black Loyalists often faced harsh conditions, disease, and reprisals from prisoners and militias such as the Continental Army and state units of Virginia, South Carolina, and Georgia.
Several organized Black units and companies were formed or attached to British formations, including the Black Pioneers, the Company of Negroes, and units raised by officers like John Murray, 4th Earl of Dunmore and Sir William Erskine. Notable commanders who interacted with Black soldiers included Sir Henry Clinton, Lord Cornwallis, and Charles Cornwallis. Black seamen served aboard ships such as HMS Victory and in flotillas under admirals including Samuel Barrington. Engagements linked to Black Loyalist service touched on campaigns like the New York and New Jersey campaign and the Southern theatre of the American Revolutionary War. After hostilities, records such as the Book of Negroes documented Black Loyalist enlistments, evacuations, and claims.
Following the Treaty of Paris (1783), the British evacuation of New York and other ports prompted mass movements of Black Loyalists to British territories. Many boarded transports under officials including Sir Guy Carleton and settled in destinations such as Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, the Bahamas, and later Sierra Leone. Evacuees included prominent individuals recorded in the Book of Negroes and families resettled in communities like Birchtown, Nova Scotia and Shelburne, Nova Scotia, where conditions were shaped by colonial administrators such as John Parr (Nova Scotia) and Joseph Gerrish. Later migrations to Sierra Leone involved organizers like the British Sierra Leone Company and figures such as Thomas Peters and John Clarkson.
Postwar legal regimes under colonial governors including John Parr (Nova Scotia) and administrators such as Sir Guy Carleton influenced land grant policies, enfranchisement, and legal petitions by Black Loyalists like Thomas Peters and David George. Promises of allotments and pensions often collided with settler resistance from United Empire Loyalists and officials in Nova Scotia and New Brunswick. Economic activities ranged from farming in settlements like Birchtown, Nova Scotia to maritime labor in Halifax, Nova Scotia and irrigation and trade in the Bahamas. Disputes over land grants and arrears prompted petitions to figures such as Lord Shelburne and appeals to the Board of Trade in London.
Black Loyalist settlements interacted with Indigenous nations including the Mi'kmaq in the Maritimes and the Wolof and Mende in parts of Sierra Leone. Alliances, trade, and tensions emerged as communities like Birchtown, Nova Scotia negotiated territory with settlers and Indigenous groups under colonial administration by officials such as Peregrine Thomas Hopson and John Montagu (Royal Navy). Migration to Sierra Leone involved coordination and conflict with local rulers and competing European interests including the British Sierra Leone Company.
The experiences of Black Loyalists have been central to studies by historians such as James W. St. G. Walker, C. L. R. James, Gordon S. Wood, and Emanuel K. S. Foner, and to public memory expressed in museums like the Black Loyalist Heritage Centre and in archives preserving the Book of Negroes. Debates about identity, loyalty, and freedom feature in scholarship on figures including Olaudah Equiano and narratives in works such as The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano. Commemorations occur across sites in Nova Scotia, Sierra Leone, and the United States, and inform contemporary discussions around reparations, diasporic ties, and the legacies of the British Empire and the American Revolution.
Category:African American history Category:Loyalists in the American Revolution