Black refugees were black people who escaped

slavery in the United States The legal institution of human chattel slavery, comprising the enslavement primarily of Africans and African Americans, was prevalent in the United States of America from its founding in 1776 until 1865, predominantly in the South. Slave ...

during the

War of 1812 The War of 1812 (18 June 1812 – 17 February 1815) was fought by the United States, United States of America and its Indigenous peoples of the Americas, indigenous allies against the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United Kingdom ...

and settled in

Nova Scotia Nova Scotia ( ; ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces. Nova Scotia is Latin for "New Scotland". Most of the population are native Engl ...

New Brunswick New Brunswick (french: Nouveau-Brunswick, , locally ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces. It is the only province with both English and ...

, and

Trinidad Trinidad is the larger and more populous of the two major islands of Trinidad and Tobago. The island lies off the northeastern coast of Venezuela and sits on the continental shelf of South America. It is often referred to as the southernmo ...

. The term is used in Canada for those who settled in Nova Scotia and New Brunswick. They were the most numerous of the African Americans who sought freedom during the War of 1812. The Black refugees were the second group of

African Americans African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of enslav ...

, after the

Black Loyalists Black Loyalists were people of African descent who sided with the Loyalists during the American Revolutionary War. In particular, the term refers to men who escaped enslavement by Patriot masters and served on the Loyalist side because of the Cr ...

, to flee American enslavement in wartime and settle in Canada. They make up the most significant single immigration source for today's African Nova Scotian communities. During the

antebellum period In the history of the Southern United States, the Antebellum Period (from la, ante bellum, lit= before the war) spanned the end of the War of 1812 to the start of the American Civil War in 1861. The Antebellum South was characterized by the ...

, however, an estimated 10,000 to 30,000 Black refugees reached freedom in Canada, often traveling alone or in small family groups. Those who settled in Trinidad were generally from Virginia and Maryland, and Georgia and Spanish Florida, via Bermuda, where they were evacuated on British ships from the East Coast. Some were settled in Trinidad in 1815. Those African Americans who bore arms for the British in the second

Corps of Colonial Marines The Corps of Colonial Marines were two different British Marine units raised from former black slaves for service in the Americas, at the behest of Alexander Cochrane. The units were created at two separate periods: 1808-1810 during the Napo ...

, recruited from the younger of the total of 4,000 refugees, settled in Trinidad in 1816, where they became known as the

Merikins The Merikins or Merikens were African-American Marines of the War of 1812 – former African slaves who fought for the British against the US in the Corps of Colonial Marines and then, after post-war service in Bermuda, were established as a co ...

(also spelled as Merikens).

Background

During 1813 and the War of 1812 with the United States, Vice Admiral

Warren A warren is a network of wild rodent or lagomorph, typically rabbit burrows. Domestic warrens are artificial, enclosed establishment of animal husbandry dedicated to the raising of rabbits for meat and fur. The term evolved from the medieval Angl ...

was ordered to receive aboard his ships any blacks who might petition him for assistance. These he was to receive as free men, not as slaves, and send them to any of several of His Majesty's colonies. Captain

Robert Barrie Rear-Admiral Sir Robert Barrie KCB, KCH (5 May 1774 – 7 June 1841) was a British officer of the Royal Navy noted for his service in the War of 1812. He was helped early in his naval career by the patronage of his uncle, Sir Alan Gardner ...

of reported to Admiral Warren "there is no doubt but the blacks of Virginia and Maryland would cheerfully take up arms and join us against the Americans." By the time that the Admiralty received the report, they had already decided to order Warren's successor, Vice-Admiral Sir Alexander Cochrane, to encourage emigration of African-American slaves. As with the precedents of

Lord Dunmore Earl of Dunmore is a title in the Peerage of Scotland. History The title was created in 1686 for Lord Charles Murray, second son of John Murray, 1st Marquess of Atholl. He was made Lord Murray of Blair, Moulin and Tillimet (or Tullimet) and ...

's Proclamation of November 7, 1775 and the

Philipsburg Proclamation The Philipsburg Proclamation is a historical document issued by British Army General Sir Henry Clinton on 30 June 1779, intended to encourage slaves to run away and enlist in the Royal Forces. Text General Clinton issued the following proclamat ...

, Cochrane issued a Proclamation in partial implementation of instructions from his superiors. He made no explicit mention of slaves, although he presumed it would be read as encouraging them to join the British: :: 'A Proclamation :: Whereas it has been represented to me that many persons now resident in the United States have expressed a desire to withdraw therefrom with a view to entering into His Majesty's service, or of being received as free settlers into some of His Majesty's colonies. :: This is therefore to give notice that all persons who may be disposed to migrate from the United States, will with their families, be received on board of His Majesty's ships or vessels of War, or at the military posts that may be established upon or near the coast of the United States, when they will have their choice of either entering into His Majesty's sea or land forces, or of being sent as free settlers to the British possessions in North America or the West Indies where they will meet with due encouragement. :: Given under my hand at Bermuda this second day of April, 1814, by command of Vice Admiral. :: Alex Cochrane' Cochrane's proclamation made no mention of slaves, and it was widely misinterpreted by some American slaveholders as an incitement to violent revolt by their slaves. The flow of African-American refugees to the British had already been considerable. Cochrane's action did no more than confirm what had been happening for over a year. Some years after the arrival in Nova Scotia of the Black refugees, a plan was proposed for them to be sent to the Colony of

Freetown, Sierra Leone Freetown is the capital and largest city of Sierra Leone. It is a major port city on the Atlantic Ocean and is located in the Western Area of the country. Freetown is Sierra Leone's major urban, economic, financial, cultural, educational and po ...

. Nearly 2,000 of their African-American brethren had relocated there in the late 18th century, but the plan was only partly fulfilled. For the most part the Black refugees remained in Nova Scotia and New Brunswick. A small group responded to a related invitation to move to Trinidad. To a limited extent like the Black Loyalists, some of the Black refugees' names were recorded in a document called the ''Halifax List: Return of American Refugee Negroes who have been received into the Province of Nova Scotia from the United States of America between 27 April 1815 and 24 October 1818''. This list took no account of the considerable number of African Americans who had arrived earlier.

Outcome

In total, about 4000 Africans escaped to the British by way of the Royal Navy, the largest group emancipation of African Americans prior to the American Civil War. About 2000 settled in Nova Scotia and about 400 settled in New Brunswick. Together they were the largest single source of African-American immigrants, whose descendants formed the core of African Canadians. Black refugees in Nova Scotia were first housed in the former prisoner-of-war camp on Melville Island. After the War of 1812, it was adapted as an immigration facility. From Melville Island, they moved to settlements around Halifax and in the Annapolis Valley. These settlements were given as licensed property for the refugees entering Nova Scotia. While it wasn't land they owned completely, it gave the refugees the chance to start communities of their own. The passengers on the shipwrecked HMS Atalante (1808) included twenty American refugee slaves from the

James River The James River is a river in the U.S. state of Virginia that begins in the Appalachian Mountains and flows U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map , accessed April 1, 2011 to Chesape ...

in Virginia. They were among the first of the Black refugees of the

to reach Canada. Other Black refugees were settled in Trinidad, most having served in the

. They included around 200 refugees from Louisiana and East and West Florida. The community in Trinidad became known as the Merikins and their villages, established by members of different companies, still exist.

Descendants

The Black refugees make up the largest single source of ancestors for

Black Nova Scotians Black Nova Scotians (also known as African Nova Scotians and Afro-Nova Scotians) are Black Canadians whose ancestors primarily date back to the Colonial United States as slaves or freemen, later arriving in Nova Scotia, Canada, during the 18th a ...

and formed the core of African Nova Scotian communities and churches that still exist today. But an estimated 10,000 to 30,000 refugees arrived individually or in small family groups during the

antebellum Antebellum, Latin for "before war", may refer to: United States history * Antebellum South, the pre-American Civil War period in the Southern United States ** Antebellum Georgia ** Antebellum South Carolina ** Antebellum Virginia * Antebellum a ...

years, seeking freedom from slavery along the

Underground Railroad The Underground Railroad was a network of clandestine routes and safe houses established in the United States during the early- to mid-19th century. It was used by enslaved African Americans primarily to escape into free states and Canada. T ...

from the United States. Large numbers of Black refugees settled in

North North is one of the four compass points or cardinal directions. It is the opposite of south and is perpendicular to east and west. ''North'' is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating direction or geography. Etymology The word ''north'' is ...

and East Preston, Nova Scotia, where their descendants still live. Many other Black refugees settled in smaller communities, such as Hammonds Plains, Beechville, Windsor and communities throughout the Nova Scotia's

Annapolis Valley The Annapolis Valley is a valley and region in the Canadian province of Nova Scotia. It is located in the western part of the Nova Scotia peninsula, formed by a trough between two parallel mountain ranges along the shore of the Bay of Fundy. Stat ...

. Some Black refugee families moved closer to Halifax for employment opportunities in the 1840s, forming the Halifax community of Africville. The migration included the religious leader and abolitionist

Richard Preston Richard Preston (born August 5, 1954) is a writer for ''The New Yorker'' and bestselling author who has written books about infectious disease, bioterrorism, redwoods and other subjects, as well as fiction. Biography Preston was born in Cambri ...

, who established the first African Baptist church in Halifax, and the parents of William Hall, one of Canada's first winners of a

Victoria Cross The Victoria Cross (VC) is the highest and most prestigious award of the British honours system. It is awarded for valour "in the presence of the enemy" to members of the British Armed Forces and may be awarded posthumously. It was previously ...

. The Black refugees in Nova Scotia were largely from Virginia and Maryland, and they brought basket-making skills from the Chesapeake Region. These are still practiced by their descendants. These baskets are very distinct in style from the existing

Mi'kmaw The Mi'kmaq (also ''Mi'gmaq'', ''Lnu'', ''Miꞌkmaw'' or ''Miꞌgmaw''; ; ) are a First Nations people of the Northeastern Woodlands, indigenous to the areas of Canada's Atlantic Provinces and the Gaspé Peninsula of Quebec as well as the north ...

and

Acadian The Acadians (french: Acadiens , ) are an ethnic group descended from the French who settled in the New France colony of Acadia during the 17th and 18th centuries. Most Acadians live in the region of Acadia, as it is the region where the des ...

basket-making styles by other ethnic groups in the region.Joleen Gordon, ''Baskets of Black Nova Scotians''

Nova Scotia Museum Nova Scotia Museum (NSM) is the corporate name for the 28 museums across Nova Scotia, Canada, and is part of the province's tourism infrastructure. The organization manages more than 200 historic buildings, living history sites, vessels, and speci ...

Publications (2013), pp. 9 & 62.

References

{{reflist, 30em

Sources

The immigration and settlement of the black refugees of the War of 1812 in Nova Scotia and New Brunswick
*Harvey Amani Whitfield
''Blacks on the Border: The Black Refugees in British North America, 1815-1860''
University of Vermont Press, 2006
War of 1812"Africville; Canada’s Most Famous Black Community"
DaCosta 400 *Harvey Amani Whitfield
"The Development of Black Refugee Identity in Nova Scotia: 1813-1850""Black Refugees"
Nova Scotia Archives and Records Management

External links