Late Loyalists
Late Loyalists.
A term used for those American settlers in Upper and Lower Canada who failed to conform to the definition of United Empire Loyalist, including the requirement that they had left what became the United States by the end of the Revolutionary War, or soon thereafter. Rather, the so-called Late Loyalists responded to invitations in 1792 by Lieutenant-Governor Simcoe to settle in the newly created colony of Upper Canada, and by Lieutenant-Governor Clarke of Lower Canada when he declared the region north of the Vermont border open to colonization. Most of these settlers were attracted by relatively inexpensive and accessible land, as well as low taxes, but they were required to take oaths of allegiance before receiving titles to their land—hence the term, Late Loyalist. It conformed to Simcoe's belief that many people in the new republic remained loyal to Great Britain, while many others could be won back to their old allegiance. These settlers rapidly outnumbered their Loyalist predecessors, causing concerns for the loyalty of Upper Canada and the Eastern Townships during the War of 1812.
