Author: George Dingwall
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Loyalists
One third of the colonists supported Britain. Colonists had many reasons to remain loyal. For many the reasons involved either family or economics. Many loyalists chose to do so because to strong family ties that still remained in Britain. As you read in the example about Ben Franklin, this was not always true.
Economic reasons lead many colonists to remain loyal. A persons business may rely on trade with Britain and if the colonies were to split, it could cause financial problems. There were a larger number of loyalists in the middle and southern colonies.
Life was not not easy for loyalists trying to remain in the colonies. This was especially true in areas that were predominately Patriot. Loyalists were treated badly and sometimes even killed. Many loyalists chose to move to locations that were controlled by the British. In many cases this meant returning to Britain or heading to Canada. Those that left lost their homes, stores and farms.
Choosing to remain loyal to Britain was a challenging decision. There were many risked but those colonists did have certain advantages. The British had a well trained army and the most powerful navy on the world. The biggest disadvantages that the British faced were not being familiar with the land and having to wait for months for additional supplies to come across the Atlantic Ocean.
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Economic reasons lead many colonists to remain loyal. A persons business may rely on trade with Britain and if the colonies were to split, it could cause financial problems. There were a larger number of loyalists in the middle and southern colonies.
Life was not not easy for loyalists trying to remain in the colonies. This was especially true in areas that were predominately Patriot. Loyalists were treated badly and sometimes even killed. Many loyalists chose to move to locations that were controlled by the British. In many cases this meant returning to Britain or heading to Canada. Those that left lost their homes, stores and farms.
Choosing to remain loyal to Britain was a challenging decision. There were many risked but those colonists did have certain advantages. The British had a well trained army and the most powerful navy on the world. The biggest disadvantages that the British faced were not being familiar with the land and having to wait for months for additional supplies to come across the Atlantic Ocean.
Click the "Back" button to return to the previous page or click on the "Next" button to continue to the Video page.