Who were the Loyalists?

The Loyalist Flag
See here and here for more information.

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"Encampment of the Loyalists at Johnston, a New
Settlement, on the Banks of the River St. Laurence in
Canada" - taken June 6th 1784 by James Peachey
Courtesy of Library & Archives Canada, acc.1989-218-1
(Click here for high resolution)

A "Loyalist," or "United Empire Loyalist" (UEL), is defined by specific criteria which can be found on the UELAC website: Who Qualifies as a Loyalist?.

A UEL descendant is most commonly referred to as a "UE." Descendants often use the post-nominal initials "U.E.", which is considered a mark of honour.

Ann Mackenzie's A Short History of the United Empire Loyalists is available from the Dominion site.

Peter Moogk has also a piece on the American Loyalists (PDF). Dr. Peter N. Moogk is a Professor Emeritus of history at the University of British Columbia. His published books include "Building a House in New France" (1977) and "Vancouver Defended: A History of the Men and Guns of the Lower Mainland Defences" (1978). He is a co-author of "Berczy" (1990) an illustrated account of an artist-entrepreneur. His latest book, "La Nouvelle France: The Making of French Canada - A Cultural History" (2000) was the 2001 winner of the Alf Andrew Heggoy Book Prize. His article "The American Loyalists (United Empire Loyalists)" provides an overview of the history of events in British North America from 1763 to the exodus of Loyalists that resulted in the establishment of the Dominion of Canada.

Dr. Moogk's article has been translated into Mandarin by Avril Wang, who is currently studying at Simon Fraser University in B.C. Her understanding of Loyalist history allows for a more accurate translation of the concepts in Dr. Moogk's article as opposed to a strict translation of words. Much thanks is extended to Avril and her editors that ensured her Mandarin grammar was exact.