Loyalists were those those colonists who affirmed Britain’s
authority over the colonies. The political complexion between 1775
and 1783 is accurately described as equally divided among patriots,
loyalists, and those diffident or disaffected. Between 60,000 and
80,000 Americans chose to go into exile after 1783. Among these were
many of the ablest and wealthiest men in colonial life, but the
group also included ordinary men and women, as well as a thousand
black loyalists who eventually settled in Sierra Leone. In a
tri-racial society, Native Americans were also forced to choose
sides.
The number of Loyalists in each colony varied. Recent estimates
suggest that half the population of New York was Loyalist; it had an
aristocratic culture and was occupied throughout the Revolution by
the British. In the Carolinas, back-country farmers were Loyalist,
whereas the Tidewater planters tended to support the Revolution.
During the Revolution, most Loyalists suffered little from their
views. However, a minority, about 19,000 Loyalists, armed and
supplied by the British, fought in the conflict.
The Paris Peace Treaty required Congress to restore property
confiscated from Loyalists. The heirs of William Penn in
Pennsylvania, for example, and those of George Calvert in Maryland
received generous settlements. In the Carolinas, where enmity
between rebels and Loyalists was especially strong, few of the
latter regained their property. In New York and the Carolinas, the
confiscations from Loyalists resulted in something of a social
revolution as large estates were parceled out to yeoman farmers.
About 100,000 Loyalists left the country, including William
Franklin, the son of Benjamin, and John Singleton Copley, the
greatest American painter of the period. Most settled in Canada.
Some eventually returned, although several state governments
excluded the Loyalists from holding public office. In the decades
after the Revolution, Americans preferred to forget about the
Loyalists. Apart from Copley, the Loyalists became nonpersons in
American history.
(Source:
"Loyalists in the American Revolution" from the U.S. Dept. of
State)