loyalist
United States history
Quick Facts
- Also called:
- Tory
- Date:
- 1775 - 1783
- Related People:
- Edward Bancroft
- Jonathan Boucher
- Joseph Galloway
- Daniel Dulany
- Jonathan Odell
- On the Web:
- The Encyclopedia of Greater Philadelphia - Loyalists (Nov. 25, 2024)
loyalist, colonist loyal to Great Britain during the American Revolution. Loyalists constituted about one-third of the population of the American colonies during that conflict. They were not confined to any particular group or class, but their numbers were strongest among the following groups: officeholders and others who served the British crown and had a vested interest in upholding its authority; Anglican clergymen and their parishioners in the North, who had likewise taken vows of allegiance and obedience to the king; Quakers, members of German religious sects, and other conscientious pacifists; and large landholders, especially in the North, and wealthy merchant ...(100 of 476 words)