Black Loyalists Internet Assignment

ARRIVAL

Landfall

  1. What was the land in Shelburne like?
  2. Why was this a problem?
  3. Why did blacks do most of the work?

Shelter

  1. What problems did the Black Loyalists face in trying to build houses?
  2. Describe the “trench” houses built by the Black Loyalists?
  3. Where did they learn this skill?
  4. What advantages did this type of building have?

Birchtown

  1. What were the problems with Birchtown as a settlement?
  2. Why couldn’t Birchtown residents have farms near their homes?

Annapolis Road

  1. Why was the Annapolis Road built?
  2. List the differences in the amount of work that had to be done by:
  3. Free whites
  4. Free blacks
  5. Poor whites
  6. Poor blacks
  7. How long was the Annapolis Road used?

PREJUDICE

Slaves

  1. Why did Nova Scotia not become a major slave owning area?
  2. What terms were used instead of slave in NS.
  3. How many indentured servants were in Shelburne in 1784?
  4. List the ways indentured servant were abused.

Frolicking

  1. What was Frolicking?
  2. Who were the “Dancing Beggars”?
  3. List the punishments given out to blacks by the courts?

Fair Pay

  1. Why were Black Loyalists considered to be valuable workers?
  2. How did the wages paid to blacks compare to those paid to whites?
  3. Which industry paid black and white workers the same wage?

Last in Line

  1. What problems did the people in charge of Shelburne face?
  2. What often happened to the supplies intended for indentured blacks?
  3. Where were the farmlands for blacks located? What was it like?

The Shelburne Riot

  1. What problems did the white soldiers in Shelburne face?
  2. Why were the soldiers angry with black workers?
  3. Describe the Shelburne Race Riot.
  4. What happened to Birchtown after the race riot?
  5. When did the violence against blacks finally end?

FAITH

The Baptists

  1. Where did David George hold his first services in Shelburne?
  2. How did he get a church built?
  3. Why did George’s services start trouble?
  4. Describe the event that triggered the Shelburne Riot?
  5. What happened to David George during the riot?
  6. What eventually happened to George?

African Culture in Loyalist Society

  1. How long had many of the Black Loyalist been Christians?
  2. Why did many blacks have “relaxed” attitudes toward marriage?
  3. What was the explanation for the tendency of black families to adopt other children?
  4. What is one of the explanations given for the stone mounds that can be seen in Birchtown?

SUFFERING

Famine in Nova Scarcity

  1. What was happening in 1789?
  2. What was Nova Scarcity?
  3. What did many of the whites do at this time?

Wretched

  1. What were blacks doing to stay alive?
  2. How many empty houses were in Shelburne by 1787?
  3. Why couldn’t the blacks leave?
  4. Why did many blacks end up as indentured servants? 2 reasons
  5. What was the penalty for theft?
  6. What happened to Alicia Wiggins?

Farming Stones

  1. What is most of the soil around Nova Scotia like?
  2. What were the main crops that blacks were used to farming?
  3. Why couldn’t those crops grow in NS?

Sharecropping

  1. What was sharecropping?
  2. What happened to John Brown?

Freedom Denied

  1. What happened to Lydia Jackson?
  2. Why did black parents indentured their children?
  3. Why were many of these children never returned to their parents (3 reasons)
  4. What happened to Mary Postell?

Still Landless

  1. How much land were Black Loyalists supposed to receive?
  2. How many blacks got their farm lots? How big were they? Where were they located?