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Hostages to fortune : the United Empire Loyalists and the making of Canada / Peter C. Newman.

by Newman, Peter Charles.

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Simon & Schuster Canada, c2016.

United Empire loyalists -- History.

Canada -- History -- 1763-1867

9781451686098 (hc.)

xv, 255 pages, 16 unnumbered pages of plates : illustrations (some colour), genealogical table, maps ; 25 cm

Includes bibliographical references and index.

"The dramatic journey of the United Empire Loyalists - their exodus from America, their resettlement in the wilds of British North America, and their defense of what would prove to be the social and moral foundation of Canada. In 1776, tensions in the British colonies were reaching a fever pitch. The citizenry was divided between those who wished to establish a new republic and those who remained steadfast in their dedication to the British Empire. As the tensions inevitably boiled over into violence, fault lines were exposed as every person was forced to choose a side. Neighbours turned against each other. Families divided. Borders were redrawn. The conflict was long and bloody, and no side emerged unscathed. When the smoke from the battles had settled, tens of thousands of individuals who had remained loyal to the crown in the conflict found themselves without a home to return to. Destitute, distraught, and ostracized - or downright terrorized - by their former citizens, these Loyalists turned to the only place they had left to go: north. The open land of British North America presented the Loyalists with an opportunity to establish a new community distinct from the new American republic. But the journey to their new homes was far from easy. Beset by dangers at every turn - from starvation to natural disaster to armed conflict - the Loyalists migrated towards the promise of a new future. Their sacrifices set the groundwork for a country that would be completely unlike any other. Neither fully American nor truly British, the Loyalists established a worldview entirely of their own making, one that valued steady, peaceful, and pragmatic change over radical revolution. The Loyalists toiled tirelessly to make their dream a reality. And as the War of 1812 dawned, they proved they were willing to defend it with their very lives."--Provided by publisher.

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