1777
Sir Henry Clinton’s Philipsburg Proclamation guaranteed rebel-owned blacks who joined the British side their freedom, land, and start-up provisions. It further promised freedom to all enslaved Africans who requested protection. At least 100,000 enslaved African Americans flocked to the British side with the incentive further enhanced by British Commander-in-Chief Sir Guy Carleton promising freedom to all who formally requested it. Freedom was now possible for men and women and children for their connection to the British side.
1781
Reverend John Stuart, a Loyalist leader and the first minister established in the Church of England in Upper Canada, brought enslaved black people with him that had been purchased from the Mohawk Valley.
1784
Reverend David George, a black Loyalist Baptist preacher from Virginia settled in Shelburne, Nova Scotia. There to meet the needs of the large black Birchtown settlement, his sermons were soon valued by all Christians no matter what their race. With money raised through his efforts within the black community, Reverend George established many black Baptist churches.
1790
The Imperial Statute of 1790 permitted settlers coming into Upper Canada to bring their enslaved Africans with them as long as they were clothed and fed. Any children born to an enslaved woman was automatically deemed to be a slave and could become free at twenty-five years of age. No enslaved person could be set free unless they could prove that they could be financially independent.
1793
The invention of the cotton gin, invented by Eli Whitney, made it faster and easier to separate the tiny seeds from the cotton fibre. Producing cotton became more profitable and therefore the interest in having more enslaved people also increased.
The first Fugitive Slave Act was passed and allowed for the return of enslaved Africans who managed to cross into another state.
Upper Canada’s first Lieutenant-Governor, John Graves Simcoe, was shocked to learn that an enslaved woman in the Queenston area was forcibly bound and taken across the Niagara River and sold to slave traders. Fearing other slave owners would do the same thing, Simcoe sought to abolish slavery but was only successful in having compromise legislation passed limiting the length of time a person could be a slave.
1794
Black Loyalists in Upper Canada petitioned the government to have a separate black settlement in recognition of their military service during the American Revolutionary War. While this petition was not granted, later events supported the idea of having an all black settlement based near Barrie, Ontario. The Oro settlement was created in 1819.
1796
After successfully fending off the British from taking their land for almost one hundred years, the Jamaican Maroons were finally vanquished through the use of fighting dogs. About 600 Maroons were removed to Halifax and tasked with the building of the Citadel.
1808
The importation of Africans was ended by U.S. Congress
1812
Richard Pierpoint, a black Loyalist in the Niagara area, petitioned the government of Upper Canada to raise a company of black men to defend the Niagara frontier. While initially not approved, it was later decided that a company be formed under the command of a white officer, Captain Robert Runchey.
Americans declared war on the British Empire on June 18, beginning the War of 1812.
Motivated by a hatred of enslavement and the concern that the American forces might win, thousands of black volunteers served to defend the British. They wanted to have freedom from enslavement for themselves and their families.
1813–1816
As the War of 1812 waned, British Vice Admiral Alexander Cochrane extended an invitation to leave the United States and be transported to British territories. Four thousand black refugees accepted the invitation and two thousand headed for the Maritimes.
1815
The Underground Railroad began slowly with the end of the War of 1812 and the reputation that Canada had started to develop regarding slaves.
1819
John Beverley Robinson declared that residence in Canada made black people free and that this would be supported by the courts in Canada.
Lieutenant-Governor Peregrine Maitland of Upper Canada provided land grants to black veterans as part of a black settlement plan in the Township of Oro near Barrie, Ontario.
1829–1830
In response to newly introduced “Black Codes” (severe rules to restrict black activity and mobility) in Ohio, many black people from Cincinnati opted to create a huge settlement called Wilberforce near London, Ontario. Many other black settlements were smaller, and there were about forty in Upper Canada by the end of the eighteenth century.
1830
Josiah Henson, after years of faithful service to his owner, reached Canada with his family after escaping from Kentucky. Using his skills in the Dresden area, he created a settlement to be self-sufficient for blacks by creating their own materials for sale. Fine timber was among the better products made for sale. He may have been the inspiration for the book Uncle Tom’s Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe.
1831
Nat Turner, a charismatic enslaved African, used his freedom of movement from his preaching to organize a slave revolt in Virginia. Discovered before too long, he and his followers were hung and the freedom of movement of enslaved Africans was increasingly restricted and monitored.
1834
On August 1, 1834, slavery was abolished throughout the British colonies, which included Canada. The act formally freed nearly 800,000 slaves but there were probably fewer than fifty slaves in British North America by that time. Enslaved people throughout the world celebrated this important Emancipation Day.
1837
Solomon Moseby stole a horse as part of his escape from Kentucky on his way to Canada. His arrest in Newark sparked hundreds of supportive free blacks to protest by standing around the jail for three weeks to keep him from being moved to another facility. Finally, police forced their way through and in the process a riot took place resulting in the deaths of at least two supporters.
With the beginning of the Mackenzie Rebellion, black enlistees were encouraged to join the military. When a call was issued for volunteers by Captain Thomas Runchey and Captain James Sears, fifty black men joined within four days.
1838
Lieutenant-Governor Sir Francis Bond Head praised the brave service and loyalty of the black volunteers during the Mackenzie Rebellion.
1841
The British North America Act united Upper and Lower Canada as equals; together Canada West and Canada East, as they are now called, formed the Province of Canada.
1842
On a slave ship called the Amistad, Africans led an uprising as the ship was nearing Cuba. Eventually, they landed in the United States and waged a legal battle over their situation that raised awareness about the slave trade and the people being enslaved.
1844
The Globe newspaper in Toronto and its anti-slavery/abolitionist editor George Brown used the power of the press to attack events and situations that were oppressive towards free and enslaved black people.
1846
The Oregon Treaty set the forty-ninth parallel as the border between British North America and the U.S. from the summit of the Rocky Mountains