Phraseology and the “Fourteenth Colony”

The phrase “fourteenth colony” describes a province in British North America that did not revolt alongside the original thirteen colonies. Such a province usually had one or more connections to the American Revolution. The phrase is misleading and has been thrown around freely in literature on the Revolutionary era. There have been at least eight provinces in British America labeled the fourteenth colony. They cannot all claim the same title.

The term typically describes an imagined or recognized territory/jurisdiction that, while it was not part of the original thirteen colonies, still engaged in and/or was affected by the American Revolution. The term points to a noteworthy revelation. Upon the adoption of the Declaration of Independence, the American colonies were no longer colonies at all; they became states. Going forward, this article will refer to each of the states as states only when appropriate. After all, some of the provinces listed in this article remained in British hands and were, in fact, still colonies by the end of the war.

By 1776, New England emigrants made up a significant part of Nova Scotia’s population. Most Nova Scotians were sympathetic to the American rebels during the Imperial Crisis. By the early 1770s, Committees of Correspondence and Safety appeared around Nova Scotia. Insurrection rocked the province when insurgents burned hay that was intended for the British army in Boston. In 1775, George Washington sent two spies to determine whether or not Nova Scotia was ready for rebellion. In March 1776, a Nova Scotian delegation met with Washington to discuss fomenting a rebellion in their province. Washington declined to aid the delegates and refused to invade Nova Scotia. During the first few years of the Revolutionary War, American privateers raided Nova Scotia’s coast. On such forays, they destroyed several trading and fishing vessels. Not surprisingly, those acts alienated many Nova Scotian residents against the cause. In the end, four main reasons point to why Nova Scotia never joined the rebellion. Influential clergymen kept dissenters in check; the long distances between Nova Scotia’s settlements hurt the rebel’s chances of organizing an effective resistance base; a large British military outpost at Halifax intimidated troublemakers; and rebel raids alienated otherwise sympathetic Nova Scotians. After the war, roughly 20,000 to 30,000 loyalist refugees resettled in Nova Scotia.[1] Quebec A new and accurate map of Quebec and its boundaries, 1781. (Library of Congress)

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