The majority of them—about 33,000—went to Nova Scotia 14,000 of these to what would become New Brunswick), 6,600 went to Quebec (which at the time included modern-day Ontario), and 2,000 to Prince Edward Island.

Many were prominent colonists whose ancestors had originally settled in the early 17th century, while a portion were recent settlers in the Thirteen Colonies with few economic or social ties.

[4] A later wave of roughly 30,000 Americans, who came to be known as 'Late Loyalists' were lured by the promise of land upon swearing loyalty to the King and voluntarily moved to Ontario in the 1790s into the first decade of the 1800s.

[6] The reasons that the Loyalists remained pro-British were either loyalty to the King and unwillingness to rebel against the Crown, or the belief in peaceful and evolutionary independence.

Therefore, during the revolution he formed a guerrilla force to disrupt the Continental (American) Army's supply lines, demoralize settlers, and attack Patriot paramilitary groups not unlike his own.

In 1765, at the time of the Stamp Act agitation, large crowds in Boston attacked and destroyed the houses of Andrew Oliver and Lieutenant Governor Thomas Hutchinson.

"They broke down the doors with broadaxes, destroyed the furniture, stole the money and jewels, scattered the books and papers, and, having drunk the wines in the cellar, proceeded to the dismantling of the roof and walls.

To teach the colonials a lesson the British Parliament passed the Intolerable Acts, which stripped Massachusetts of its traditional self-rule and sent General Thomas Gage to govern the province.

Following the end of the Revolution and the signing of the Treaty of Paris in 1783, Loyalist soldiers and civilians were evacuated from New York and resettled in other colonies of the British Empire, most notably in the future Canada.

Some unknown number, but in places a large percentage, of refugees were unable to establish themselves successfully in British North America especially in Nova Scotia, and eventually returned to the United States or moved to Ontario.

Many in Canada continued to maintain close ties with relatives in the United States, and as well conducted commerce across the border without much regard to British trade laws.

Smaller group of Iroquois settled on the shores of the Bay of Quinte in modern-day Southeastern Ontario and on the Akwesasne Reserve in Quebec.

The government settled numerous Black Loyalists in Nova Scotia, but they faced inadequate support on arrival.

The government was slow to survey their land (which meant they could not settle) and awarded them smaller grants in less convenient locations than those of white settlers in Nova Scotia.

Haldimand, like the previous governors of the Province of Quebec, appreciated the hard-working Canadiens and acted in his power to keep the English merchants in line.

The arrival of 10,000 Loyalists to Quebec in 1784 destroyed the political balance that Haldimand (and Carleton before him) had worked so hard to achieve.

To restore stability to his largest remaining North American colony, King George III sent Carleton back to Quebec to remedy the situation.

Specifically, there was no possibility of restoring the previous political balance — there were simply too many English people unwilling to reach a compromise with the 145,000 Canadiens or its colonial governor.

Therefore, Governor Haldimand (at the suggestion of Carleton) drew Loyalists away from Quebec City and Montreal by offering free land on the northern shore of Lake Ontario to anyone willing to swear allegiance to George III.