The following is an excerpt from the Nova Scotia Archives at http://gov.ns.ca/nsarm/virtual/diaspora/:
The Nova Scotia Archives is pleased to mark the designation of 2011 as the United Nations International Year for People of African Descent, by adding a significant new online archival resource to its existing virtual exhibits on African Nova Scotians. We have made available over 500 digitized and fully searchable Government documents relating to early African Nova Scotian immigration and emigration.
These documents were assembled, probably in the 1880s, by the first Records Commissioner, T.B. Akins, around the theme of "Refugee Negroes."
The earliest documents concern the 1792 emigration to Sierra Leone of about 1200 free black people, who had come to Nova Scotia as part of the Loyalist migration at the close of the American Revolutionary War in 1783. Other early documents relate to the arrival of the Jamaican Maroons in 1796 and to Government costs pertaining to their emigration to Sierra Leone in 1800.
However, the documents focus primarily on the settlement of 2000 Black Refugees in Nova Scotia between September 1813 and August 1816. They came as the result of a proclamation by British military authorities during the War of 1812, giving Americans who deserted to the British side the opportunity of going as free settlers to one of the British colonies.
You can access the records at http://gov.ns.ca/nsarm/virtual/diaspora/
If you enjoyed this article, Tweet it, share it on Google+, Facebook or on your preferred social network.
Republishing of this article in newsletters, blogs, and elsewhere is allowed and encouraged. Details may be found at http://goo.gl/hoHH1.
Of course, if you haven’t done so already, you should join my email newsletter mailing list to stay current on my latest articles and announcements. You can also cancel at any time within seconds. I promise to never, ever send you any unrequested e-mail, other than newsletter updates.
