Background and Immigration To Nova Scotia
After the British lost the American War of Independence, 3,000 Black Americans were evacuated to Nova Scotia and their names were recorded in the Book of Negroes. The majority of these settlers had been in America for two, three or four generations although some had been born in Africa. Nearly two thirds of the Nova Scotian settlers were from Virginia. The second largest group of settlers were from South Carolina, and a smaller number were from Maryland, Georgia, and North Carolina. Thomas Jefferson referred to these people as "the fugitives from these States". One visitor to Sierra Leone distinguished the Settlers from other ethnic groups because of the "American tone" or accent, common to American slaves and lower class North American working-class people of the time. Some of the settlers also had Native American or European ancestry; at least fifty were born in Africa. Many Nova Scotian blacks intermarried with Europeans while living in Sierra Leone. The Nova Scotians' political ideology of a democratic government was at odds with the Sierra Leone Company's imperialistic colony. The Nova Scotians referred to themselves as the "Settlers" or "Nova Scotians" in Sierra Leone. Later scholars would describe them as "Afro-American".
Read more about this topic: Nova Scotian Settlers (Sierra Leone)
Famous quotes containing the words nova scotia, background and, background, immigration and/or nova:
“Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and Canada are the horns, the head, the neck, the shins, and the hoof of the ox, and the United States are the ribs, the sirloin, the kidneys, and the rest of the body.”
—William Cobbett (1762–1835)
“I had many problems in my conduct of the office being contrasted with President Kennedy’s conduct in the office, with my manner of dealing with things and his manner, with my accent and his accent, with my background and his background. He was a great public hero, and anything I did that someone didn’t approve of, they would always feel that President Kennedy wouldn’t have done that.”
—Lyndon Baines Johnson (1908–1973)
“... every experience in life enriches one’s background and should teach valuable lessons.”
—Mary Barnett Gilson (1877–?)
“America was indebted to immigration for her settlement and prosperity. That part of America which had encouraged them most had advanced most rapidly in population, agriculture and the arts.”
—James Madison (1751–1836)
“I’m a Nova Scotia bluenose. Since I was a baby, I’ve been watching men look at ships. It’s easy to tell the ones they like. You’re only waiting to get her into deep water, aren’t you—because she’s yours.”
—John Rhodes Sturdy, Canadian screenwriter. Richard Rossen. Joyce Cartwright (Ella Raines)