Maya Jasanoff review
Jasanoff, Maya. “The Other Side of Revolution: Loyalists in the British Empire.” The William and Mary Quarterly 65 (2008): 205-232.
In, “The Other Side of Revolution: Loyalists in the British Empire,” Mary Jasanoff discusses the treatment of British sympathizers during and after the American Revolution. Loyalists included many different demographics of people such as slave owners, slaves seeking freedom by joining the British army, and allied tribes of Native Americans. In this article, Jasanoff strives to not only offer more information on what treatement the American loyalists received from the British government during and after the American Revolution, but also reveal the ways they affected the British Empire.
Not every person in the American Colonies of Great Britain believed the colonists should govern themselves. Loyalists, colonists against the revolution, faced many hardships at the hands of their peers because of their beliefs. Jasanoff claims they dealt with physical harassment, imprisonment, banishment, and having to forfeit their property due to new legislation. Because of this, many loyalists fled to other places within the British Empire, like Canada, chiefly to Ontario, Quebec, and Nova Scotia. Others went to more distant places such as Jamaica, India, the Bahamas, and Australia. Of the sixty thousand loyalists who fled, only seven thousand returned to England. Jasanoff describes the mass relocation as difficult for most people who had to leave behind their worldly possessions to restart their lives in a brand new environment. Many loyalists wanted to know what they were receiving in exchange for their loyalty.
However, not everyone who remained loyal to England got what was promised to them. Jasanoff gives accounts of loyalists who received help from the British government, and those who were not as fortunate. The British promised freedom to black slaves willing to fight in the King’s army. After the war, some made it to Canada to live out
In, “The Other Side of Revolution: Loyalists in the British Empire,” Mary Jasanoff discusses the treatment of British sympathizers during and after the American Revolution. Loyalists included many different demographics of people such as slave owners, slaves seeking freedom by joining the British army, and allied tribes of Native Americans. In this article, Jasanoff strives to not only offer more information on what treatement the American loyalists received from the British government during and after the American Revolution, but also reveal the ways they affected the British Empire.
Not every person in the American Colonies of Great Britain believed the colonists should govern themselves. Loyalists, colonists against the revolution, faced many hardships at the hands of their peers because of their beliefs. Jasanoff claims they dealt with physical harassment, imprisonment, banishment, and having to forfeit their property due to new legislation. Because of this, many loyalists fled to other places within the British Empire, like Canada, chiefly to Ontario, Quebec, and Nova Scotia. Others went to more distant places such as Jamaica, India, the Bahamas, and Australia. Of the sixty thousand loyalists who fled, only seven thousand returned to England. Jasanoff describes the mass relocation as difficult for most people who had to leave behind their worldly possessions to restart their lives in a brand new environment. Many loyalists wanted to know what they were receiving in exchange for their loyalty.
However, not everyone who remained loyal to England got what was promised to them. Jasanoff gives accounts of loyalists who received help from the British government, and those who were not as fortunate. The British promised freedom to black slaves willing to fight in the King’s army. After the war, some made it to Canada to live out