Book Review: The Loyalists

Today is Canada Day, so in honor of my Canadian readers on their national holiday, I have decided to review a book that I read a few years ago:  The Loyalists, by that excellent Canadian author, Christopher Moore.

 

If you think you know everything about the American Revolution, think again!

 

Did you know that by the end of our Revolutionary War there were as many as 50,000 crown loyalists that couldn’t or wouldn’t support the American Revolution who were headed north to Canada?  Did you know that some of those loyalists weren't moving to Canada because they wanted to? 

 

In “The Loyalists” Christopher Moore's work does something extremely important for the student of early American history. He de-mythologizes the beginnings of the American Revolution, and sheds new light on the people that most Americans are taught to view as villains: those who remained loyal to King George III.

Moore not only describes the revolution from the perspective of those that remained loyal to their King and country (remember, many, or even most people in America considered themselves to be English, despite the fact that they were colonials), he also details some of the less-than-democratic ways that our “liberty” loving forebears treated them.

The history of our revolution and it's aftermath is absolutely amazing (and sometimes tragic), and there is so much truthful information about it in circulation that is missed, or intentionally glossed over.  I challenge my American readers to learn as much about the true stories of our revolution as possible.  Moore’s book should be part of that study.

Please note that Moore's book isn't some sort of anti-American treatise, it is just an insightful perspctive on American history that the truly informed and intelligent should not hide from.

I highly recommend this book to all who are interested in a more even-handed study of the period than the highly propagandized version that is constantly dished out here in the United States.   

Happy Canada Day, friends!