Download Black Settlement in Early Canada

Black Settlement in Early Canada
Introduction
The earliest Black communities were established in the
Maritime Provinces; Birchtown became the largest
settlement of free Africans outside Africa. The first large
wave of Africans to arrive in Canada were free Black
Loyalists invited by the British government and promised
land, provisions, and freedom for their support during the
American War of Independence. Lord Dunmore, governor of
Virginia, invited all male slaves owned by Rebels to join the
British cause, promising them freedom. As losses mounted,
Henry Clinton, the British Commander-in-Chief, invited all
Image: After the War of 1812,
slaves to join the British, again promising freedom. At least
over 500 Black people were
3500 Blacks supported the British and were landed in
settled at Hammonds Plains. This
painting, c1835, shows a Black
Canada, 10% of all Loyalists.
family on the Hammonds Plains
Blacks were the last to receive plots of land, often waiting
Road, with Bedford Basin in the
background. (watercolour by
years. Part of the problem was the amount of land to be
Robert Petley, courtesy Library
surveyed, with too few surveyors. Land was usually remote,
and Archives Canada/C-115424).
rocky, and too small to feed a family. Those who came into
Canada on the Underground Railroad faced different obstacles. Initially, they were seen as
valuable workers. Then the trickle became a flood of Black arrivals. By the 1840s and
following the American Civil War, they were not as welcome, since immigration from
Europe had increased. They were expected to return to the United States, but the former
enslaved Blacks did not necessarily have a place to return to. Free Blacks, some of whom
had been born in Canada, would have had to forfeit their homes and businesses. But they
had established themselves here; Canada was their home.
- Rosemary Sadlier
Birchtown, Nova Scotia
The town of Port Roseway was chosen to become a model Loyalist community in Canada.
The name was changed in honour of the British Secretary of State to Shelburne. Shelburne
was planned and built by Black veterans of the American Revolutionary War, the Black
Pioneers. Despite being recognized for mapping out this community, they could not
consider themselves to be a part of it. These Black Loyalists carved out a separate section
for themselves. Birchtown, named to honour General Birch, became renowned as the
largest settlement of free Blacks outside of Africa in the world in 1784 with more than 1500
inhabitants.
Africville, Nova Scotia
Africville was established by Black Refugees of the War of 1812. These veterans had
accepted an offer of freedom issued by Vice-Admiral Sir Alexander Cochrane for their
support of British interests during this conflict. However, upon arrival in Nova Scotia, little
was done to find land for them. Some lived in Preston or Hammonds Plains but found these
sites too far removed from potential jobs in Halifax. Just to have shelter in order to survive
the weather, they were forced to squat, or take ownership without title, beside the
Bedford Basin outside Halifax, over time creating the Africville settlement.
With access to menial work in the Halifax area, some of the homes became much more
than the shacks that had been erected hastily in the early days. Eventually, a church was
built and people paid taxes. Despite this, a slaughterhouse was built nearby, and a train
track and the city dump were located within Africville. The community was cleared in the
1960s, upsetting many residents; the decision to tear it down was made without them and
many stood to lose the investment of their home and way of life. Africville was named a
national historic site by the Canadian government as part of a process of recognizing its
importance to the African-Canadian community and to Black history.
Saint John, New Brunswick
Black Loyalists and later Black Refugees lived outside of Saint John proper in settlements
reserved for them. While close to Saint John for certain work purposes, they had to create
their own churches, schools and livelihoods in Loch Lomond, the Westfield area, and
Kingston Peninsula.
The level of assistance available for them was much less than in Nova Scotia, and the laws,
such as the1785 Charter of Saint John, prevented them from full participation in society;
the laws ensured that they were poor. African-Canadians who had fought for the freedoms
that all were enjoying were not allowed to be freemen of the city, could not practice a
trade or sell goods in Saint John, could not fish in the harbour nor live in the city except
for servants. These restrictions were lifted by the 1870s but the social and economic
damage affected generations.
Prince Edward Island
Under French rule, it was legal to own slaves on Île St.-Jean. However, the first record of
enslaved Africans was in 1784 when 16 “negro servants” arrived with the Loyalists; by 1785
there were almost 100. After 1799, when the name was changed to Prince Edward Island,
there were enslaved Africans in Charlottetown and Summerside. In PEI, perhaps due to the
small number, enslaved Africans were allowed to be baptized and to marry legally. The
wealthy owned enslaved Africans, including businessman William Shurman and the
Lieutenant-Governor Edmund Fanning.
Amherstburg, Ontario
It is likely that Black veterans of the War of 1812 first settled the Amherstburg area, which
was close to Fort Malden. With the introduction of tobacco production, Blacks who had
worked American tobacco fields while enslaved were readily able to support themselves
with the numerous tobacco-related jobs. By 1827 there were 6 Black settlers.
However, Amherstburg was also one of the most important places for any African-American
trying to enter Canada; one could swim or walk across the frozen Detroit River in the
winter since it was such a narrow crossing. Amherstburg was the busiest terminal on the
Underground Railroad.
Elgin Settlement, Ontario
Reverend William King, a Presbyterian minister trained in Scotland, married a Southern
belle in Louisiana where he had been teaching. Upon the deaths of his wife, child, and
later his father-in-law, King, an abolitionist, found himself the owner of a number of
slaves. He opposed slavery, but he could neither sell them nor leave them since they would
be re-enslaved, so he opted to take them to Canada West where the Presbyterian Church
had placed him. He arranged for the fertile lands near Chatham, Ontario to be purchased
through the Elgin Association. King, along with the 15 former enslaved Africans, formed the
Elgin Settlement, or Buxton.
The new residents were provided with many rules and advice about how to create and
sustain the community. The school he operated provided a high level of education with
graduates going on to study at the University of Toronto. The success of this Black
community in agriculture, coupled with the reputation of the school, led to a rise in the
population. By the 1860s at least 2,000 people lived there. The success of this Black
settlement has been commemorated; it is now a national historic site, a cultural landscape
of early African-Canadian life preserved in rural Ontario.
Oro, Ontario
Black veterans of the War of 1812 were a trained fighting force in need of a place to live.
They defended Canada in order to ensure that the United States, with its threat of
enslavement, would not take over Canada. Sir Peregrine Maitland, Ontario's first
lieutenant-governor, decided that the government would sponsor an African-Canadian
community in northern Ontario that could become the destination for all Blacks hoping for
settlement in Ontario.
Oro was placed strategically at Canada's “back door,” near the Penetanguishene Road
south of Georgian Bay, called Wilberforce Street. Other veterans were also able to obtain
land in the area, but their plots of land were twice as large as those given to Black people.
However, the area was remote, and the land rocky and difficult to cultivate, so many of
those who had taken up residence were compelled to leave their cleared land and move
into Owen Sound, Collingwood, Barrie, or Toronto in order to find work and housing. Oro
was the only government-sponsored settlement effort in over 400 years of a Black presence
in Canada.
Niagara Region
It was common for soldiers to be offered land following their commitment to their country
and many settlements began in this way. The Niagara Region (eg. St. Catharines, Niagara
Falls, Welland, and Fort Erie) with its close proximity to the American border was an
important location to maintain control over; many significant military actions occurred in
the area.
Richard Pierpoint was among the few Blacks who joined Butler’s Rangers, a military unit
that fought like commandos rather than the formal way that most British soldiers fought.
The home base for Butler’s Rangers was Fort Niagara. When they were disbanded in 1783,
they tried to establish themselves through farming nearby, making them among the first
Black settlers in the region.
Other Blacks, learning about the 1784 laws passed by Simcoe in the Niagara Region banning
the importation of slaves, would be drawn to live here “under the lion's paw,” or with
British protection of their freedom.
Dresden /The Dawn Settlement
The term “Uncle Tom” has come to mean someone who is not true to his or her cultural
roots, but the man who was actually Uncle Tom left a proud legacy. Josiah Henson was
born enslaved, and became a highly valued person who was placed in charge of other
slaves. On one occasion, he was entrusted to transport a group of enslaved Africans to his
owner's brother. Passing very close to the free states, he was advised to make a break for
freedom, but he did not. He believed what his master had told him, that he would be given
his freedom, and that the others would be well treated. It was only when he realized that
his owner was not prone to telling the truth, and in fact planned to sell him, that Henson
sought freedom, ensuring that his wife and family came away with him.
Upon entering Canada, he was able to establish a settlement, with the support of antislavery workers that offered an industrial training school, which included a mill and a
sawmill, for Black people. Henson was convinced that it was necessary to live apart from
others and build up skill levels before trying to live in an integrated way. At one point as
many as 500 people lived there. The Dawn Settlement was an attempt to provide a means
to catch up, since enslavement often deprived people of developing a range of skills that
would allow them to become self-sufficient.
Amber Valley, Alberta
One of the Black settlements created through the persistence of the Oklahoma AfricanAmericans remains to this day. Amber Valley was settled by Black farmers who had been
denied the same rights as others and who found the laws in Oklahoma to be more
restrictive regarding Black rights. At the same time, the Canadian West was opening up,
and settlers were actively being sought from the American Midwest.
Beginning in 1910 with a few individuals, then in 1911 about 200 were prepared to face the
stiff border crossing questions. Successful under the leadership of Jefferson Edwards, it was
decided to move to an area some distance away from Edmonton to form their own
community. At its height, there were about 300 residents and they eventually had their
own all-Black baseball team representing Amber Valley. More would have migrated had
there been supportive measures by the Canadian government to allow family and former
neighbours to join them from Oklahoma. Now only a few families remain.
Keystone, Alberta
Originally called Breton, Keystone was settled in 1909 by Black families from Oklahoman
who had first lived near Wabumun Lake, west of Edmonton. Like those who settled Amber
Valley, they sought greater protection of their rights to live as full and equal citizens. They
also realized that, because of racial perceptions of the time, this was only possible by
developing their own communities and interacting with others only for specific purposes
such as for seasonal employment. Additionally, natural disasters such as drought would
remind them that farming was a precarious profession, encouraging them to consider other
ways of earning a living. By the 1960s there were only six families left since educational
and employment opportunities in Leduc and Edmonton pulled residents out, and there were
no others motivated to join the relatively remote community.
http://blackhistorycanada.ca/theme.php?id=2