Loyalism

In general loyalism refers to an individual's allegiance toward an established government, political party, or sovereign, especially during times of war and revolt. The most common usage of the term refers to loyalty to the Great Britain, especially to opponents of the American Revolution and those exiles who went to Canada.

The term loyalist was also used during the Spanish Civil War, applying to Republicans who remained loyal to the Spanish Republic against Franco's "Nationalists."

Historical loyalism

18th century North America

In North America, the term loyalist characterised colonists who rejected the American Revolution in favour of remaining within the British Empire. American loyalists included royal officials, Anglican clergymen, wealthy merchants with ties to London, demobilised British soldiers, and recent arrivals (especially from Scotland), as well as many ordinary colonists who were conservative by nature and/or felt that the protection of Britain was needed. Colonists with loyalist sympathies accounted for an estimated 15% to 20% of the white colonial population of the day, compared with those described as "Patriots", who accounted for about 40-50% of the population. This high level of political polarisation leads historians to argue that the American Revolution was as much a civil war as it was a war of independence from the British Crown.

Loyalist (American Revolution)

Loyalists were American colonists who remained loyal to the British Crown during the American Revolutionary War. At the time they were often called Tories, Royalists, or King's Men; Patriots called them "persons inimical to the liberties of America." They were opposed by the Patriots, those who supported the revolution. When their cause was defeated, about 15% of the Loyalists or 65,000–70,000 fled to other parts of the British Empire, to Britain or elsewhere in British North America. The southern colonists moved mostly to Florida, which had remained loyal to the Crown, and to British Caribbean possessions, while northern colonists largely migrated to Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick, and Nova Scotia, where they were called United Empire Loyalists. Most were compensated with Canadian land or British cash distributed through formal claims procedures.

Historians have estimated that between 15 and 20 percent of the 2.5 million whites in the colonies were Loyalists, or about 500,000 men, women and children. Numerous black Americans were also Loyalists. In Nova Scotia, the community of Birchtown was one of three communities settled by black Loyalists.

Ulster loyalism

Ulster loyalism is a political ideology found primarily among working class Ulster Protestants in Northern Ireland, United Kingdom. Most Ulster Protestants are descendants of migrants from Scotland and England in the early 17th Century. Like other unionists, loyalists are attached to the monarchy of the United Kingdom, support Northern Ireland remaining within the UK, and oppose a united Ireland. Ulster loyalism has been described as a kind of ethnic nationalism and "a variation of British nationalism". It is strongly associated with paramilitarism.

Ulster loyalism emerged in the late 19th century, as a response to the Irish Home Rule movement, and the rise of Catholic Irish nationalism. Ulster, unlike other parts of Ireland, had been somewhat industrialised since the eighteenth century, and Belfast developed into a major industrial city and was heavily dependent on trade with the rest of the UK. Although most of Ireland was Catholic, in the province of Ulster, Protestants were the majority. Loyalism began as a self-determination movement among Ulster Protestants who did not want to become part of an autonomous Ireland. While some Irish Catholics were also unionist, loyalism emphasized a Protestant and British heritage. The independence movement led to the partition of Ireland in 1921; most of Ireland left the UK to become a separate independent state, while about two-thirds of Ulster remained within the United Kingdom as a self-governing territory called Northern Ireland. Loyalists (and others) often use 'Ulster' as an alternative name for Northern Ireland.