Why Nova Scotia Failed to Join the American Revolution

The following paper, through the mind and words of a fictionalized character, examines the crucial issues and various changes the imperial relationship between Great Britain and its North American colonies underwent in the mid-to-late eighteenth century. Drawing upon various historical events and enactments, the story of Gerald Gardner, a Bostonian merchant, will try to synthesize these events and provide a reflection upon the American Revolution from the point-of-view of those who shared his line of work. While the following opinions expressed display the feelings and attitudes of one man, the same cannot be applied historically to all of the merchant class. The characters and

     With the American offences being stopped, and heroic men coming forth, Canadian nationalism was on the rise. Since most of the war had been fought in Upper Canada, retaining of the vast majority was as much a moral victory as a material one. The end of the war brought significant immigration from the United States into Upper and Lower Canada. Canadians resented this because they still regarded Americans as the enemy. Being banded together in the War of 1812 forced the people of the Canadas to feel as though they were a unified nation. The English-speaking Canadians could better understand the French-speaking Canadians and vice

Many colonists were loyal supporters of the French and Indian War and when the war came to the forefront, they wanted nothing more than to fight alongside the British Army. The two shared many of the same ideals and values

In contrast, some divisions of the colonial population supported Britain whole-heartedly with their lives. They delighted in the short-lived emboldened ties. A New England minister proclaimed “…the Children of New England may be glad and triumph, in Reflection on Events past, and Prospects for the future…” (Document E). Comprehensibly, he felt that Britain gave them a future, that they owed their lives to their mother country. “…Mother, who has most generously rescued and protected us, [must] be served and honored…” (Document E). This is a deep contrast to the ways of thinking possessed by the soldiers and Native Americans, and it would not last long.

Due to the bitter rivalries of their mother countries, the two sides also had a strong feels of animosity against one another. This animosity was furthered when the French surrendered New France. This cession of French territory to the British occurred after the French and Indian Wars of the mid 18th century; specifically after the treaty of Paris in February 20th of 1763. The essential annexation brought about much anger within the French. This was illustrated during the highlights of the Patriote movement (the rebellions of 1837 and 1838) and the secession of New France to become British. These events, along with prior rivalry with Britain and its colonies brought forth a substantial amount of Francophone nationalism. Though the rebellion was also caused by famine and poverty on some level, it was the strong French nationalism was the spark that brought about Canada’s first “civil war.”

During the time of 1763-1775, one of the occurrences that happened to affect the colonists’ perception of the British was the French and Indian War. The war itself was not the main reason the colonists’ had trouble with the British, but the time after the war was the actual cause of eventual trouble. During the war, the British fought with France around the Ohio valley for the control of land. The Ohio valley was very important to both of the empires, because of the land value and the strategic location it held in the years to come. Both had their struggles especially with the Native Americans that called this area their home. Most of the Native Americans sided with either the British or the French because they thought that if they had sided with

Upper and Lower Canada were the closest British imperial possessions that were vulnerable to U.S. military and naval power. The rapid growth of their economies in the early nineteenth century, particularly in the timber trade, had transformed them into a significant resource for Great Britain during its protracted maritime struggle against France; this reinforced the American desire to seize them, and fostered a strategy of invasion. To the extent that the British were able to carry the war to the Americans, it was by sea; thus, especially after the summer of 1814, the theater of operations expanded to include the mid‐Atlantic coast and the American territories around the Gulf of Mexico. For this reason, a war that commenced as an invasion of Canada in 1812 concluded in a defense of the city of New Orleans in the early months of

“I believe, from all that I can learn that the Provinces will, ere long, be one great country or nation, from the Pacific to the Atlantic. Never before was there such an important meeting as this held in the history of British America; and it may yet be said that here, in little Prince Edward Island, was that Union formed which has produced one of the greatest nations on the face of God’s earth.” However the conference went undecided on a conclusion which led to the Quebec

Another reason that Canada is said to have lost this war is that the war hit Upper Canada the hardest. The Niagara Peninsula was taken by the Americans and they idealized that it could be used as a sort of base for them. Instead, guerilla warfare ensued, which to this day Americans are reluctant to mention. York was burned by Americans. It is believed that Upper Canada only survived the war because of the tremendous support from the British forces. This may be true, but without the British, the Canadians would not have been in the war to begin with. Upper Canada was also changed dramatically in terms of economics. Farms became

The research in this proposal primarily focuses on the rebellions that took place in both upper and Lower Canada during 1838. The time line of this proposal will include events prior to the actual rebellions as they are significant to the understanding of the causes of these uprisings. In 1837 and 1838, insurrections against the British colonial government arose in Lower and Upper Canada. Moderates hoped to reform the political system, while radicals yearned for a restructuring of both administration and society (Read , 19-21). During this time period an economic crisis had swept both Upper and Lower Canada. In Lower Canada many French habitants were suffering from famine and the accumulation of huge debts due to poor harvests. In Upper

For a better part of the eighteenth century, the American colonists expressed vexation and disapproval of the "coercive " acts, which the British Government perpetrated on the colony through series of legislative acts by the British Parliament. Prior to the acts that the colonists in America termed as atrocious and oppressive, they were willing to cooperate and reaffirm loyalty to the King of England. Some of the legislations and declarations that colonists participated in was the sustenance of British soldiers in the colony, payment of import tariffs and other forms of taxes to support the British central government. These are but a few, the reasons as to why colonists objected to the mode of British rule in America. Another concern was the "Rights violations" by the English government regarding economic progress and representation. Because of these grievances, British colonists in America stepped up agitation through violation of the "tyrannical" Acts and petitions through the Continental Congress. The essay explores the grievances that Colonists in America held against the British government, in riposte to "My Dear America Cousin" letter.

Loyalists opposed independence from Britain since they had given the colonies security from other nations. Britain also had not sent their entire army to attack the colonies, which can cause in loss of lives and money. As state in a letter from the Pennsylvania newspaper by an anonymous writer, “ The peace and security we already enjoyed under British protection, before mistaken taxation took place…” (Document B), Britain has given them the opportunity to go to the new land, but now they are saying that they don’t need them. The colonies don’t have the money to aid the army, and many will lose many colonial lives.

A large percentage of American loyalist shows that this American identity did not develop overnight but grew from American dissatisfaction. Despite the common belief although Loyalists did not believe in independence they did share some common American beliefs. They did think that their rights were being infringed upon but remaining true to conservatives ideals they thought the situation in the colonies was bearable. One loyalist states “But tell me friend, which is better, to be ruled by one tyrant three thousand miles away, or by three thousand tyrants not a mile away” (D). A common loyalist belief was that it was better to be ruled by a tyrant colonists are used to rather than many new tyrants and ideas. Never the less, the fact that even loyalist recognized this oppression shows that the popular opinion of British maltreatment was very present in the colonies. On the other hand, in a book by

The relations between England and the British North American colonies could always be considered precarious. Prior to 1750 British essentially followed a policy of benign neglect and political autonomy in the American colonies. (Davidson p.97) The colonies were for the most part content with benign neglect policy, relishing in a “greater equality and representative government”(Davidson p.95) within the colonies. Competition among European Imperial nations began to effect British policy toward North America colonies causing rapid shifts from 1750 to 1776. During this period, the British Empire made a series of policy decision that sealed the fate of the British North American

Henceforth, the overall rundown of the book is based off the British view of the the American Revolution and how they viewed the colonist from a retrospect in the events happening. To begin with, King George the III had been placing taxes on the colonist, which made them furious over their relationship with him. The loyalist saw these “acts” as a part of