Loyalist (American Revolution)

Loyalists were American colonists who remained loyal to the Kingdom of Great Britain (and the British monarchy) during the American Revolutionary War. At the time they were often called Tories, Royalists, or King's Men. They were opposed by the Patriots, those who supported the revolution. When their cause was defeated, about 20% of the Loyalists fled to other parts of the British Empire, in Britain or elsewhere in British North America, especially East Ontario and New Brunswick, where they were called United Empire Loyalists. Most were compensated with Canadian land or British cash distributed through formal claims procedures.The Americans promised in the peace treaty to recommend that states redress the Loyalists' financial losses, but that seldom happened. Exiled loyalists received ₤3 million or about 37% of their losses from the British government. Some Loyalists who stayed in the U.S. were able to retain their property. Jack P. Greene and J. R. Pole, eds, A Companion to the American Revolution (2004) pp. 246, 399, 641-2

Historians have estimated that between 15 and 20 percent of the European-American population of the colonies were Loyalists.

Psychology of Loyalism

Larabee (1948) has identified eight...
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