#chloe cooley

The Royal Proclamation of 1763

the Capitulation of Montreal

from 1760 to 1763

the Royal Proclamation 1763

We have seen that the slaves in Nouvelle-France were mostly the Indigenous people of North America who themselves had slaves. Slavery between Amerindians is humiliating, but it is not racism. Amerindian nations fought one another and the better warrior could enslave members of another Indigenous nation.

For the purpose of this post, suffice it to know that as France grew more vulnerable, its Indian allies fled. France was outnumbered. After losing the battle of the Plains of Abraham, thus named because the land where the battle was fought belonged to fisherman Abraham Martin. Montreal capitulated, but its native allies were to be protected. (See The Capitulation of Montreal, Canadian Encyclopedia.)

No authentic images of Pontiac are known to exist. This interpretation was painted by John Mix Stanley. (Photo and Caption Credit:Wikipedia)

They weren’t. New France’s Amerindians were at the mercy of Britain’s Thirteen Colonies. They feared a land rush, but Chief Pontiac fought the Thirteen Colonies quite successfully, which he could not do indefinitely. To protect Amerindians, England issued the Royal Proclamation of 1763, providing Aboriginals with a large reserve. The territory was large and nearly impenetrable. Later, the Act of Quebec (1774) ended attempts to assimilate the former New France. A very large province of Quebec was created, which, in the eyes of American patriots, was an Intolerable Act.

The Thirteen Colonies

Upper and Lower Canadas

The light pink shows the land where the Indigenous population of Canada could live without fear of losing their land. In 1775, Louisiana belonged to Spain. In the second map, we see Quebec as it was in 1774, under the Quebec Act. We also see part of Rupert’s Land.

The Revolutionary War

The future United States signed a Declaration of Independence on 4th July 1776 and it then fought its Revolutionary War, or War of Independence, from 1675 to 1783, defeating Britain. This victory was formalized by the Treaty of Paris 1783.

Empire Loyalists

shift in demographics

slavery

White loyalists and Black loyalists

However, among Americans, some families and individuals did not approve of independence. They fled to the large British province of Quebec. To help United Empire Loyalist, the large Quebec was divided into two Canadas: Upper Canada and, lower down the St Lawrence, Lower Canada. The Constitutional Act, which divided the Province of Quebec, was legislated in 1791.

The Constitutional Act did not divide the province of Quebec into an English-language Upper Canada and a French-language Lower Canada. The Eastern Townships,[1] the area of Quebec where I live, was given to the Loyalists and their slaves, whom they were allowed to bring to Canada as part of their property. The Loyalists also settled in Ontario, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia.

The arrival of the Loyalists was a blessing and a curse. The future Canada welcomed the Loyalists, Whites and Blacks. However, the citizens of the former New France were a minority.

300 Blacks went to (Quebec)

500 Upper Canada (Ontario)

1,200 to the Maritimes (Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and Prince Edward Island)

White Loyalists and Black Loyalists

There were Black loyalists who had earned their freedom by fighting with Britain against the future United States had earned their freedom. Loyalists also settled in Ontario, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia.

  The earliest known image of a black Nova Scotian, in British Canada, in 1788. He was a wood cutter in Shelburne, Province of Nova Scotia. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

The Blacks in Nova Scotia

Nova Scotia would be Black slaves’ best destination. Although the Imperial Act of 1790 assured slave owners that they could retain Black slaves, in 1788, Nova Scotia abolitionist James Drummond MacGregor from Pictou “published the first anti-slavery literature in Canada and began purchasing slaves’ freedom” (…).  He set an example. Many Nova Scotia Loyalists freed their slaves. (See Slavery in Canada, Wikipedia.)

However, a total of 3,500 Black Loyalists left the current United States. Nova Scotia would be home to many, were it not that white Loyalists attacked Black Loyalists.  The Shelburne Riots that took place in July 1784 revealed racism. White Loyalists were given the best land, which they felt entitled to as White Loyalist. So, in 1792, 1300 Black loyalists left for Sierra Leone, where they would be free and would govern themselves.

Until recent reforms in immigration, about 37% of Canada’s Black community lived in Nova Scotia.

The Act against Slavery, 1793 (Wikipedia)

Vrooman vs Cooley

Ontario slave owners opposed the enfranchisement of Black slaves. In Ontario the case of Chloe Cooley, is a sad portrait of entitlement. Chloe tried escape an abusive owner, Sergeant Adam Vrooman. He had bound her in a boat in an attempt to take her to the State of New. She protested violently and the event was witnessed by , led to the passage or an the  Act Against Slavery of 1793.  On 14 March 1793, Vrooman bound Cooley in a boat in an attempt to take her across the Niagara River to the State of New York, where he would sell her. She protested violently and the event was witnessed by former slave Peter Martin and by William Grisely. The event was reported to Lieutenant Governor of Upper Canada. However, Vrooman had not broken the law. Loyalists could bring their slaves to British North America. He also noted that in 1760, the French inhabitants of Lower Canada had been allowed to keep their slaves. Yet, despite the reluctance of the several government of Upper Canada, the Act Against Slavery of 1793 was legislated.

In Ontario, the case of Chloe Cooley, who tried to escape an abusive owner, Sergeant Adam Vrooman, led to the unconvincing passage of an the Act Against Slavery of 1793.  On 14 March 1793, Vrooman bound Cooley in a boat in an attempt to take her across the Niagara River to the State of New York, where he would sell her. She protested violently and the event was witnessed by former slave Peter Martin and by William Grisely. Peter Martin brought the incident to the attention of Lieutenant Governor John Graves Simcoe. However, Vrooman had not broken the law, so accusation could be no more than an information. Loyalists could bring their slaves to British North America. He also noted that in 1760, the inhabitants of the had been allowed to keep their property. Yet, despite the reluctance of the several government of Upper Canada, the Act Against Slavery of 1793 was legislated.

Let us read the letter Sergeant Vrooman wrote to the authorities. He used the law to perpetuate an abuse. In this respect, his letter is a classic:

[…] been informed that an information had been lodged against him to the Attorney General relative to his proceedings in his Sale of said Negroe Woman; your Petitioner had received no information concerning the freedom of Slaves in this Province, except a report which prevailed among themselves, and if he has transgressed against the Laws of his Country by disposing of Property (which from the legality of the purchase from Benjamin Hardison) he naturally supposed to be his own, it was done without knowledge of any Law being in force to the contrary. (See Chloe Cooley and the Act to Limit Slavery in Upper Canada. The Canadian Encyclopedia.) 

Laws can be used to wrong a human being. In this respect, the fate of Chloe Clooney is a classic. In the eyes of slave-owning Loyalists, ownership guaranteed everything. If so, what a nightmare for a woman.

The arrival of the Loyalists led to the Constitutional Act of 1791, which separated a large Quebec into Upper and Lower Canada. French-speaking Canadiens lived in Lower Canada, part of which was the Eastern Townships, given to Loyalists. I cannot make sense of the Constitutional Act of 1871. It received royal assent in June 1791 and it seems an attempt to assimilate French-speaking Canadians.

The Act to Limit Slavery in Upper Canada received royal assent on 9 July 1793, but in Upper Canada, slavery was not abolished until 1833. However, the Underground Railroad, helped slaves flee to Canada. United Empire Loyalists had taken their slaves with them, as property. But Blacks that escaped had not been owned.

Conclusion

I will conclude here. We must introduce the Underground Railroad, an organization that helped Black Slaves flee to Canada. I am reading The Slave in Canada by William Henrick Riddell. It is an Internet Archive publication. I have looked for videos and saw one about the Royal Proclamation of 1763 There was a rush for land which was called freedom. The proclamation deprived the colonists of their freedom, as though freedom allowed. An Aboriginal was not seen as a person, nor was a person whose colour was not white.

Love to everyone ♥

I’ve not been well and may need to close my blog.

_______________ [1] “Under the terms of the Constitutional Act of 1791, the Eastern Townships were open to settlement and a land rush followed. Most of the 3,000 or so settlers came from the United States. A few were Loyalists, at least in spirit, but most simply wanted land and had no strong feeling about nationality. Many more immigrated from the British Isles, including Gaelic-speaking Scots.” (See Eastern Townships, Wikipedia)

Joseph Brant (Thayendanegea) (courtesy National Gallery of Canada/5777) Painting of Joseph Brant by William Berczy, circa 1807, oil on canvas.

© Micheline Walker 28 June 2020 WordPress

Black History in Ontario – Part I – A Guest Post by John Fioravanti

Friend, author and fellow-blogger John Fioravanti  graciously accepted my request to do a guest post to wrap up Black History Month! It quickly became apparent that one post was inadequate, so John has agreed to do a series of two posts about the history of African-Canadians.  Today I share with you John’s excellent and informative Part I.  I hope you enjoy and I know you will learn something…

QUEENSTON HEIGHTS – In August 2007, the Ontario Heritage Trust and the Niagara Parks Commission unveiled a provincial plaque to commemorate Chloe Cooley and the 1793 Act to Limit Slavery in Upper Canada. The plaque was unveiled by The Honourable Lincoln M. Alexander, Chairman of the Ontario Heritage Trust.

"The 1793 Act to Limit Slavery was an important step toward establishing the rights of black people in this country," said Mr. Alexander. "Chloe Cooley's brave actions inspired change that would ultimately lead to the end of slavery in this country. This provincial plaque will serve as a reminder to future generations of the role that black Canadians have played in shaping our history."

On March 14, 1793, Chloe Cooley – a black slave in Queenston – was forcibly taken by her owner to be sold in the United States. Black veteran Peter Martin reported the incident and Cooley's violent protests to Lieutenant Governor John Graves Simcoe, which led him to introduce the 1793 Act to Limit Slavery in Upper Canada – an early step in the fight to abolish slavery. This provincial plaque was developed with funding support from the Ministry of Citizenship and Immigration as part of initiatives commemorating the 200th anniversary of the abolition of the slave trade.

"With this year marking the bicentenary of the abolition of the slave trade, it is fitting that we are celebrating early efforts in the fight to end slavery in this country," said Caroline Di Cocco, Minister of Culture. "This provincial plaque commemorates an important time in Ontario's history that has had a lasting impact on our way of life."

In July 1793, the Upper Canada legislature passed "an Act to prevent the further introduction of slaves, and to limit the term of contract for servitude within this province," which prohibited the importation of slaves to Upper Canada. Although slaves already residing in the province were not freed outright, the Act would gradually lead to the abolition of slavery. Following the passage of the Act in 1793,Upper Canada became a refuge for slaves escaping America. An estimated 30,000 slaves travelled north to freedom on the Underground Railroad until the abolition of slavery in 1865 following the Civil War.

"Equality is a vital tenet of our society," said Kim Craitor, MPP for Niagara Falls. "The story of Chloe Cooley and the 1793 Act speaks to the struggles that early black Canadians faced and the role this legislation played in establishing their right to freedom."

The abolition of the Atlantic slave trade in 1807 was a further step toward the abolition of slavery, but the practice did not end entirely in Canada until 1834, whenBritain enacted the Abolition of Slavery Act, eradicating the slave trade across the empire. By that time, however, there were only a small number of slaves in the country, due to the 1793 Act to Limit Slavery in Upper Canada.