Slides 2 - 4
These slides illustrate what life was like for Black Pioneers upon their arrival in Nova Scotia. We learn about land clearing, provisioning, where and how supplies were obtained, and the hardships faced and overcome by Black Pioneers.
Slide 2
Many Black Pioneers of 1783 slept in tents and crude huts until homes could be built. Those who were members of the military often stayed aboard ship, as did wealthier white Loyalists. In 1813, Black Loyalists stayed in tents and in alm houses in Halifax. 700 stayed on Melville Island at the site of what is now the Armdale Yacht Club until land was provided for settlement.
Slide 3
Clearing the land and planting a garden were important first activities of Black Pioneers. Those from the New England area had experienced a similar climate and soil; those from the Southern States struggled to adapt successfully. The Black Pioneers of 1783 established Birchtown, Brindleytown, Tracadie and the Preston area. The Preston area was also the home of the Jamaican Maroons from 1796 to 1800. In 1800, the Jamaican Maroons left for Sierra Leone.
Slide 4
Provisions for settlement came from the military commissary. Black Loyalist Pioneers did not receive all the seeds, lumber, tools, assistance and land which they were promised and which were necessary to avoid undue hardship. Many had to work at low pay for others to obtain the provisions which had been promised for free. Most Black Pioneers received land with poor soil or no land at all.
Students will:
Black Loyalists Arrive in Nova Scotia
The British promises to white and Black Loyalists included free land, free transportation to that land, provisions such as seeds, clothes, building materials, knives and various other farming tools needed in the first three years of settlement in a Loyalist territory.
The Black settlers of 1783 settled throughout the province of Nova Scotia. Most who arrived from the Thirteen Colonies in the spring or summer lived in tents until they were able to build homes. Those who arrived in fall and winter lived aboard the ships until the warmth of Spring. Each day, the families went ashore to clear land and to build their new homes in the communities of Birchtown, Brindleytown, Annapolis, and in the Guysborough area.
In the capital city of Halifax, pioneer people of African descent were housed in crude bark shelters, tents and in some public buildings. Both Black and white Loyalists waited for the land grants and provisions promised by the British.
Nova Scotia, to many Black Loyalists, meant freedom from slavery and oppression, and the chance to own their own land. This was a source of rejoicing for free Black settlers.
The distribution of land to Black and white Loyalist settlers in Nova Scotia became corrupt due to a shortage of land surveyors, the immigration of far more Loyalist settlers than expected, and racist attitudes of those in control of the settlement system. Many white Loyalists received the land and provisions they had been promised; very few Black Loyalists received official title to any land at all. Black Loyalists were looked upon as second class citizens and were placed on land which was rocky, only marginally fertile, and difficult to farm. Some Black Loyalists who had served as soldiers in the British military were given title to land. Colonel Stephen Blucke, a Black Loyalist officer, received 200 acres of fertile land.
Very few people of African descent who landed in the Digby area received the promised land grants. No lands were given to those who settled in the Halifax and Chedabucto areas of Nova Scotia. Those settlers were placed on the land without clear title.
The Black pioneers who did receive land grant titles, usually received only small parcels of land which contained some of the province's worst soil. The land of the Black Loyalist community of Birchtown, located on the northwestern outskirts of the mainly white community of Shelburne, was rocky and the soil poor. Often Black pioneer settlements were located far from major settlements. Establishing a reliable farm and a market for the products of the farm was extremely difficult.
Receiving very little or no land caused hardships for Black Loyalist Pioneers. The lack of provisions was equally distressing. They did not receive enough seed to plant adequate gardens, or sufficient tools for clearing land and building homes. When provisions such as seed and tools were not received as promised from the British government, they and some white Loyalists suffered greatly. They often had to work for the provisions that had been promised as a reward for their loyalty to Britain against the American Colonies.
As former slaves, indentured servants and free Blacks in the United States, Black Loyalist Pioneers had few household possessions and little or no money. Slaves were not paid for their labour on Colonial farms. When freed slaves arrived in Nova Scotia and did not receive the promised land and provisions, their lives became very difficult.
Black Pioneers of 1812 Arrive in Nova Scotia
Like the Black Loyalists of 1783, many of the Black Pioneers of 1812 were from Southern American plantations where the soil and climate were rich and warm. They were not used to the cooler climate or to less fertile soil and farming conditions in this heavily forested new land of Nova Scotia. As in 1783, the land granting system in 1812 was poor. Many Black Pioneers were placed on land without land deeds ensuring their ownership of the land. Because they were not experienced in the laws of land ownership, they were not able to press the government to give the quantity of land, clear ownership and the provisions it had promised.
Provisions were issued from a military commissary. Black Pioneers did not receive their promised share. White settlers received provisions first. In some cases, the person issuing the provisions and rations hid the materials allotted to the Black settlers. To cope, the Black settlers used a system of bartering, trading skills and labour for provisions with white Loyalist settlers and with each other. They adapted to both the climate and these adverse conditions to build their communities. Petitions were sent to the government to ask for the promised provisions, but these were usually unsuccessful.
700 pioneers of African descent who arrived in Nova Scotia in 1814 were not immediately allowed to settle on the land due to an outbreak of smallpox and because the government did not want to accept more people of African descent. They were housed at Melville Island, a military prison and hospital depot near Halifax. They were eventually settled in the Preston area, on land vacated in 1792 by Black Loyalists who left for Sierra Leone when they realized that the land could not provide a living. Black Pioneers in the Preston area were each given lots of less than 10 acres of rocky land. Despite arriving in winter to poor soil and inadequate provisions, Nova Scotia appeared more acceptable than a return to slavery in the warmer Southern United States.
1. Divide the children into small groups to generate a list of tools and provisions they would take with them if they were to settle a new land.
2. Prioritize the list of tools and provisions and explain why some items are more or less necessary.
3. Which of the tools listed by the students would not have been invented or available to the pioneers of African descent as they settled the land? What alternatives can students suggest to accomplish the work each machine or tool would have made easier or possible? What work would have been impossible or next to impossible to complete?
Follow Up Activities
1. After reading Background: Beginning a New Life in Nova Scotia, and viewing slides 2 and 3, what questions do students now have about Black Pioneers and Pioneer life in Nova Scotia? Have the students record their questions in a Learning Log and on large chart paper posted in the classroom for on-going reference.
2. Create and post a chart of students' questions for reference during this study. Observe slides 2 and 3, and discuss the following:
3. Observe slide 4 and discuss the following.
4. In small groups discuss and create a written record of your discussion of these questions.
5. From where did the people of African descent obtain tools and provision if they had not brought them with them? What tools and provisions were promised to the Black Pioneers? What was actually provided? Was this fair treatment? Explain.
6. How were land grants for white and Black Loyalists of 1783 and 1812 handled differently? What did each group receive in land grants? How do you explain any differences in the land grants?
7. Who was in charge of handing out the land grants to Loyalists in Nova Scotia?
8. How did land grants affect where Black settlements were started?
9. Art: Design a log cabin for the Black Pioneers based on the evidence presented in the slides. Draw or paint a mural of a Black Pioneer home and community or construct a model of the home.
10. Use the Reproducible Activity Sheet The Science of Motion to explore the importance of simple machines in the lives of Black Pioneers.
Armstrong, Jennifer. Steal Away to Freedom, Toronto: Scholastic Inc., 1993.
The story of Susannah and Bethlehem who are runaways. Susannah, an orphan, wants to leave the southern plantation where her uncle lives. Bethlehem is a runaway slave. Together they run away to the freedom of a promised land. -- fiction
Charle s, May Paul. Left By Themselves, Toronto: Scholastic Inc., 1972.
Two pioneer girls are trapped during a great blizzard in 1850 on a farm in Iowa. They think they are alone until they discover that a fugitive slave is hiding from slave catchers.
Clarke, Gaff Margaret. Freedom Crossing, New York: Scholastic Inc., 1980.
US experience of slavery.
Collier, James L. et al.. Jump Ship to Freedom, New York: Dell Publishing, 1981.
A story of slaves in the Thirteen Colonies who buy their freedom. First book of a trilogy about the Arabus family.
Collier, James L. et al.. Who is Carrie?, New York: Dell Publishing, 1984.
Carrie, a slave, eavesdrops on a discussion between Thomas Jefferson and President Washington at the famous Fraunce Tavern in New York concerning the freedom of slaves during the American Revolution. Second book of a trilogy about the Arabus family -- historical fiction.
Colli er, James L. et. al.. War Comes to Willie, New York: Dell Publishing, 1984.
The last book of a trilogy about the Arabus family and its struggle for freedom from slavery during the American Revolution -- historical fiction.
Fox, Paula. Slave Dancer, Toronto: Dell Publishing, 1973.
Story of a young, kidnapped, white boy who played the flute for slaves during an ocean crossing from Africa to America -- historical fiction.
Hamilton, Virginia. Many Thousand Gone, African Americans from Slavery to Freedom, Toronto: Random House, 1993.
Provides insight into the beginnings of slavery in the Thirteen Colonies -- non fiction.
Kullen, Stuart. Days of Slavery: A History of Black People of America 1619 -- 1863, Minneapolis: Abdo and Daughters, 1990.
Picture book about slavery in the US.
May, Paul Charles. Left By Themselves, Toronto: Scholastic Inc., 1992.
O'Dell, Scott. My Name is Not Angelica, New York: Dell Publishing, 1989.
A story about slavery in the West Indies -- historical fiction.
Parker, Raymond. Beyond the Dark Horizon, Westphal: The Black Cultural Centre for Nova Scotia, 1987.
Story of slavery in Nova Scotia -- fiction.
Petry, Ann. Tituba, New York: Harper, 1964.
A fictional story of Tituba, a slave who lived in Salem, Massachusetts during the 18th century, accused of witchcraft.
Smucker, Barbara. Underground to Canada, Toronto: Scholastic Inc., 1977.
Story of two children who escape slavery to come to Canada via the underground railway. Students gain insight into the experience of slavery prior to the American Revolution -- historical fiction.
Sterne, Emma Gelders. The Slave Ship, Toronto: Scholastic Inc., n.d.
The story of life aboard a slave ship and a slave uprising during transport from Africa to America -- fiction.
Yates, Elizabeth. Amos Fortune, n.p.: Freeman Dutton Ltd. , n.d.
Story of a prince who was sold into slavery, served on a plantation, learned a trade and finally bought his freedom and the freedom of others -- historical fiction.
See especially p. 4, and p. 11-12.
Brown, Wallace and Senior, Hercuard. Victorious in Defeat, The Loyalist in Canada, The Promised Land, Toronto: Methuen Publications Ltd. 1984.
(See especially chapter 8 "The Loyalist in Canada" and "The Promised Land -- Black Loyalist" (p. 169 - 190)
Canadian Author's Association. Loyalist in Nova Scotia, Hantsport: Lancelot Press, 1983.
See especially "Early Years of Black Loyalists" by Dorrie Phillips, p. 68.
Grant, John M.. The Immigration and Settlement of the Black Refugee of War of 1812 in Nova Scotia and New Brunswick, Westphal: The Black Cultural Centre for Nova Scotia, 1990.
See especially chapters 1 and 2.
Hill, Lawrence. Trials and Triumphs: The Story of African Canadians, Toronto: Umbrella Press, 1993.
N.A.. National Geographic, "The Loyalist: Americans with a Difference," 147:04, Washington D.C.: National Geographic Society, 1975.
Pachai, Bridglal. People of the Maritimes: Black Nova Scotia, n.p.: Four East, 1987.
See especially chapter 2 "The Loyalist Period," p.7,8.
Pachai, Bridglal. Beneath the Clouds of the Promised Land: Volume 1, Halifax: The Black Educators Association, 1987.
See especially chapter 12.
Pachai, Bridglal. Beneath the Clouds of the Promised Land: Volume 2, Halifax: The Black Educators Association, 1991.
See especially chapter 1, p. 13,14
Robertson, Marion. King's Bounty: A History of Early Shelburne, Halifax: Nova Scotia Museum, 1978.
See especially chapters 2-4, p. 29-83. The Freed Blacks
Walker. W. St. James. The Black Loyalist: The Search for a Promised Land in Nova Scotia and Sierra Leone 1783-1870, New York: African Publishing Company, 1976.
See especially chapter 1
Walker, W. St. James. The Black Identity in Nova Scotia: Community and Institutions in Historical Perspective, n.p., n.d.
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