Who Were the Loyalists?
Background information for Teachers

Biographies of the Loyalist Era

Sir Frederick Haldimand, Governor

Frederick Haldimand was born at Yverdon, Switzerland on August 11, 1718. He died there on June 5, 1791.

He was an army soldier and then officer who fought in Prussia and Holland. He joined the British army in 1756. He was in North America from 1756 to 1763, during the Seven Years' War, fighting against the French. After the fall of New France, he served as the military governor of Trois-Rivières. Then he became governor of Québec after Sir Guy Carleton, in 1777-8. Haldimand was Governor until 1786, though he only stayed in Canada until 1784.

As Governor, he welcomed the Loyalists to Quebec. He also tried to improve the province's military. He sent soldiers, like Roger's Rangers, into the American frontier to attack rebel troops and recruit Loyalists to join the British. When the Revolutionary War ended in 1783, he took in ??? of these Loyal political refugees from the now United States of America. He set up "refugee camps" like the one at Mamiche, across the Saint Lawrence River from Sorel, Quebec. He was able to settle these Loyalists as farmers and craftsmen in pioneer villages.

He spent his time creating homes for the Loyalist refugees. He sent them west to lands along the Saint Lawrence River (now Ontario) and east into the Eastern Townships and Gaspe in Quebec. Land was surveyed and "cut" into rectangular pieces. Land grants were given to those who petitioned (asked) the government for land. They had to prove they had come to Canada because they were loyal to the British during the Revolutionary War. He used the military to complete this very efficient settlement of Loyalists. He left Canada a much bigger and "more British" colony than it had been when he came.

He was also important for his role in resettling the Iroquois Six Nations in Canada. Many had been loyal to the British and fought for them during the Revolutionary War. They moved to the Niagara Peninsula and along the Grand River, near present-day London, Ontario.

In politics, Haldimand agreed with the French representatives in the Quebec Assembly. The Quebec Act of 1774 was the law of the land. It created the system of government in Quebec. He ignored the English-speaking community leaders' demands for the creation of English institutions. They wanted the law courts, the churches, the schools, the hospitals, the system of land grants, etc. to be like those in England. They wanted to get rid of all French institutions. Haldimand kept to the Quebec Act and protected French rights. He left Canada in 1784, though he remained the Governor until 1786.