The 1783 conclusion of the American Revolutionary War—the conflict where the thirteen American colonies won independence from Britain—triggered a massive movement of people across the Atlantic. Among those forced to flee were the "Loyalists," colonists who had remained faithful to the British King and were no longer welcome in the newly formed United States.
This exodus was not limited to white settlers; it included a diverse mix of white, Black, and mixed-race Loyalists. While many Black Loyalists were brought to the island in bondage by white planters, others arrived as "Free Black Loyalists." These were men and women who had earned their liberty by fighting for the British in exchange for promises of freedom.
While history often focuses on the "United Empire Loyalists" who settled in the cold climates of Nova Scotia and New Brunswick, Canada, a different story was unfolding in the Caribbean. For Jamaica, this was a defining moment. Thousands of Southern Loyalists arrived on the island, significantly increasing the population and bringing a firm determination to rebuild their lives under the British flag.
The choice of Jamaica was a calculated move. For Southern Loyalists, the island offered a familiar world. Its warm climate and plantation-based economy mirrored the environments of Georgia and the Carolinas, making it a logical place to continue their agricultural way of life.
British officials also saw a strategic advantage: by encouraging Loyalist soldiers and planters to settle, they could bolster the island’s white population and militia. This was seen as "military insurance" to help the Crown maintain control over a vast enslaved majority and protect against foreign threats from the French and Spanish.
| Total Refugees | ~10,000 |
| White Loyalists | ~3,000 |
| Black Loyalists | ~7,000(*) |
| Primary Parishes | St. Elizabeth, Trelawny |
| (*) Includes both free and enslaved people. | |
George Liele: A Black Loyalist preacher who founded the Jamaican Baptist movement.
Southern Planters: Brought capital and labor that expanded Jamaica's coffee industry.
To ensure Loyalists chose British territories like Jamaica over foreign lands, the Crown and the Jamaican Assembly offered several incentives:
The arrival of these refugees was far from a warm homecoming. Jamaica was already a well-established colony with a rigid social hierarchy. At the top was a powerful minority made up of two groups:
The American newcomers were caught in the middle. Established families often viewed them as "upstarts" or "beggars", and resented the government aid they required. Because the best sugar lands were already guarded by local families, refugees were pushed to undeveloped acreage in parishes like St. Elizabeth and Trelawny, or even coastal mangrove swamps described as "unsuitable for any human habitat."
The arrival of the American Loyalists created a profound historical irony. Their presence functioned as both a shield for the old order and a spark for a new one.
For the white Loyalist planters, the move to Jamaica was a successful effort to preserve their way of life. Having lost their property once in America, they became a fiercely conservative force. They bolstered the local militias—acting as a "slave police" force—and their presence stiffened the plantocracy’s resistance to abolitionist pressures from Britain.
While the white elite worked to lock the system in place, the Free Black Loyalists inadvertently sowed the seeds of its destruction. Preachers like George Liele established the first Baptist churches. Decades later, it was these very Baptist networks—grown from the roots planted by Black Loyalists in the 1780s—that organized the 1831 Christmas Rebellion, the final catalyst for the end of slavery.
