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How did Loyalists travel? Where did they go?

Some Loyalists left for Nova Scotia on ships the British government provided. Many of these people settled along the St John River, which would later become the city of St John, New Brunswick. Loyalists also settled St John’s Island (now Prince Edward Island) and Cape Breton in what would become Nova Scotia. At one point the population of New Brunswick was 90% Loyalist.

Other Loyalists had a more challenging escape, traveling by foot, on horseback, in wagons, and on rafts heading north to Quebec. Some would settle in Quebec, others would travel on to what would become Upper Canada and still later be known as Ontario.

Some Loyalists chose to return to Britain rather than settle in the wilderness of the colonies to the north, and some chose to settle in the Bahamas, another British colony. Some Black Loyalists, who had been promised freedom if they joined the army and fought, later moved on from British North America to settle in Sierra Leone.

Loyalists arrive map