US history books cite the 13 colonies which were involved in the Declaration of Independance/Revolutionary War. But weren’t there actually more than the 13 who chose to declare independance. I remember reading that Nova Scotia and either Ontario or New Foundland were part of the colony structure which didn’t agree to signing (or weren’t invited?). Is that true or a bad memory on my part?
I don’t think Ontario as such existed at that time. The Brits conquered New France in the 1750s, after which New France became part of British North America, alongside the other colonies.
The conquered New France became the imperial Province of Quebec; there was also New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Price Edward Island, Newfoundland, and I think Cape Breton Island was a separate colony.
It’s an interesting question though: DID the organizers of the American Revolution attempt to interest all of British North America in seceding from the Empire, and why did only the Thirteen Colonies jump?
BTW, there are still a lot of people in Eastern Ontario who put the letters UEL after their names: “United Empire Loyalist”… they are descended from people who opposed the Revolution and fled beforwe the victorious revolutionaries.
There was not a lot of European settlement west of the Appalacian Mountains and the Ottawa River. I believe that much of that area was recognized as native nations, defined in the state-to-state treaties between the Imperial government and the western native nations who had aided it in conquering the French.
IIRC, one of the causes of the American Revolution was the refusal of the East Coast colonists to accept the western limits to their colonies.
Sunspace (as always, Ontarian) 
“Rigardu, kaj vi ekvidos!” -Magnus
No, the Canadian provinces were not part of the 13 original (US) colonies.
I have Nova Scotian (NS) heritage from my Mom. The scenery is gorgeous, and the land’s history is just as colorful. Along with the French and Scottish, the British held claims to parts of the Maritime Provinces.
During the US Revolution, the US had opportunity to take from Quebec eastwards. There were battles fought across and north of the Maine (then part of Mass.) border against the invading British. But, we did not claim this land as ours.
However, it is true that the French in NS had their own little colony called “Acadia”. The Acadians were persecuted and exiled to New Brunswick, Maine, and eventually Louisianna!
The word “Cajun” is a mispronounciation of
“Acadian”.
I will have to reread the history tonight.
As I recall, Ontario was once known as Upper Canada and Quebec was Lower Canada.
I’ll see what else I might find worth sharing…
I’d rather have a bottle in front of me than a frontal lobotomy - Hawkeye 4077th
In 1776, when the Declaration of Independence was published, there existed in what is now Canada three colonies: Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island and Quebec. Nova Scotia, obtained from the French in 1713 (Treaty of Utrecht) included what is now New Brunswick, as well as Cape Breton Island (from 1763) and PEI (from the same time, by the 1763 Treaty of Paris). PEI was made a separate colony in 1769. Quebec (New France) had been added by the Treaty of Paris (1763), and by the terms of the Quebec act of 1774, extended to the Ohio River valley.
None of the three provinces revolted against the British rule. The revolutionary forces attempted to take Quebec province by force, occupying Montreal and investing in a siege of Quebec (the city) in the winter of 1775-76. They withdrew in the spring and never again did we attempt to invade what is now Canada during that war.
The Acadians (French settlers of what they had named Acadie, now the provinces of Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and PEI) were forcibly resettled in 1755 by the British.
Encyclopedias do a wonderful job answering history questions.
The 14th major colony was Quebec. The Quebec act gave that colony most of the land between the Appalacians and the Mississippi River. This land had always been considered part of Pennsylvania, Virgina, and the Carolinas. Thus, Quebec was the benifactor of one of the “intolerable acts” that led to war.
When Ethan Allen and Benidict Arnold invaded Canada, they hoped they’d be welcomed as liberators. Instead, they were greeted as, well… invaders (go figure).
Elmer J. Fudd,
Millionaire.
I own a mansion and a yacht.
Somehow, I completely glossed over DSYoungEsq’s post and pretty much repeated (badly)what he already wrote. Sorry.
The term “Continental Congress” referred to the various attempts by Revolutionary leaders to entice Canadian provinces into joining the fight.
“No dice!” said the Canucks. ( 
)
As for persecuting the French-speaking people of the world… what a lovely idea. When do we begin?
“Show me a sane man, and I will cure him for you.”----Jung
The feisty Green Mountain Boys thought that the proto-Vermont should have been included as part of the Confederation which would have made it one of the original colonies. (New York and New Hanpshire both claimed their territory.) Vermont was so pissed off about not being included that, in the early 1780’s, Levi Allen, Ethan’s brother, went to England to make a treaty and possibly arrange for annexation to Canada. Nothing came of it.
Although Canada made for an interesting “pawn” in the US Revolution, it would not be correct to say that any part of Canada was a part of the original 13 colonies.
The history of the establishment of the 13 colonies has no link to British claims in Canada. You have to look at what defined the 13 colonies initially, the charters, etc.
The scary thing is that 90% of the people think they’re above average! - unknown
Florida was also a British colony, and was involved in the Revolution, though it remained loyal, as did the several Caribbean colonies. Part of the peace settlement involved Florida going to Spain.
John W. Kennedy
“Compact is becoming contract; man only earns and pays.”
– Charles Williams
Just out of curiousity, John, how many English colonists were there in the Florida colonies at the time of the Revolution? I don’t seem to be able to find anything on the issue, or even if there was much of an effort there to discuss revolting.
From this site
http://dhr.dos.state.fl.us/flafacts/shorthis.html
it would appear that there were neither British nor Spanish inhabitants in sufficient number to actually be considered a colony, much less to debate their allegiance to one country or another. The British did launch an expedition into Georgia from St. Augustine, but my memory is that it comprised troops landed at that town rather than militia raised from that region.
Tom~
In 1776, West Florida, (west of the Apalachicola River including Mobile, Biloxi, and NAtchez) had a population of 3700 Europeans and 1200 black slaves mostly at the Mississippi end. In East Florida (what wee would call Florida) the only settlements the Spanish had made were St Augustine and St Mark. These were completely abandoned by the Spanish after England took over in 1763 (they went to Havana). In 1771, there were about 1800 Europeans in East Florida, by far the majority were Minorcans, Greeks and Italians recruited to grow indigo at New Smyrna. There were also about 900 black slaves. There is no record of the number of Seminoles or Creeks or runaway slaves from Georgia.
Now, by comparison, what was the population of Georgia at the time? I am guessing it was somewhat higher, if for no other reason, the existence of Savannah.
I think it is kind of funny, in a way, the way Florida was an afterthought between England and Spain and the US for so long. If only they had known the true way to mine the riches of the penninsula: send all the elderly there!
In the late 1760’s, the population of Georgia was about 10,000 including slaves. By comparison, Jamaica had a European population of 18,000 and a slave population of 205,000. One reason the Caribbean colonies stayed with England was fear of slave insurrection. Bermuda and Nova Scotia saw profit in trading with both sides and decided not to decide.
For a long time, Florida was a dangerous no man’s land filled with runaway slaves and Indians with no reason to welcome nor trust a white man. Malaria, swamps, alligators and pirates were also key features. Soldiers there never left their garrisons. No white settler would risk moving there, while there was still plenty of land in the comparitively passive Tennesee and Ohio valleys. Florida had to be ruthlessly passified by the likes of Andrew Jackson before the territory could be put to any useful purpose by the USA. The early 1800s would see some of the worst atrocities ever commited in North America take place in Florida: Forced exile of the Native Americans to Oklahoma and wholesale slaughter and recapture of Blacks by posses sent from Georgia and South Carolina.
In other words, it was easier for the new USA to let Britain and Spain deal with it for the first 40 years or so of the new republic.
Both East and West Florida were British colonies at the time. GB had acquired the Floridas just before, and they remained loyal. The Spanish governor of Louisiana aided in supplying rebels in the Floridas until Spain declared war on GB. Then the gov. amassed a huge army and invaded so as to secure the Mississippi River and the gulf coast so that GB, which conducted primarily a coastal/naval war against the 13 colonies, couldn’t control the center of North America. At the end of the revolution, GB had to cede the Floridas back to Spain. Thereafter, until Jefferson forced Spain to end its policy of inviting slaves and anyone else to “come on down” and help build Spain’s colonies. Jefferson wanted no free blacks being armed or having a safe haven.
Thereafter Gen’l. Jackson was ordered by Madison to invade and get rid of the Indians and recapturing the ex-slaves. So it went.
Some info: Google “East and West Florida” which leads to British Florida, and “Spanish Florida”.
I wonder how Andy Jackson would have dealt with the zombies in Florida. Harshly, one assumes.
14.5 years between first post (June-2003) and 2nd post (Dec-2017). How close is that to a record?
Worth mentioning (just barely) is that the territory of the original 13 states now comprises 16 modern states, with Maine and Vermont being organized from original states. Maine was part of Massachusetts, and Vermont was disputed territory between New York and New Hampshire. Then, much later, West Virginia added. So now, occupants of 16 states live in what were the original colonies.
Arguably, the unexplored territories of Kentucky and Tennessee were included in the assumptions of Virginia and North Caroloina.