Philipsburg Proclamation
The Philipsburg Proclamation is a historical document issued by Sir Henry Clinton on June 30, 1779.[1][2] The proclamation extended the scope of Dunmore's Proclamation, which was issued four years earlier. Dunmore's Proclamation granted freedom to slaves in Virginia, provided that they were willing to serve the royal forces. The new document proclaimed all slaves in the colonies belonging to American patriots free, regardless of their willingness to fight for the crown.[3] This was a move of desperation on the part of the English, who realized that the war was not going in their favor.[4] Furthermore, the proclamation promised protection, freedom and land to any slaves who left their master.[5]
The plan was in a way too successful. So many slaves escaped (over 5000 from Georgia alone), that Clinton ordered many to return to their masters.[6][7] Following the war, about 3000 former slaves were taken to Nova Scotia.[8]
See also
References
- ^ Carnahan, Burrus M. (2007). Act of Justice: Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation and the Law of War. University Press of Kentucky. p. 18. ISBN 0813124638.
- ^ REVOLUTIONARY WAR3/Sir Henry Clinton's Philipsburg Proclamation, June 30, 1779.jpg, retrieved 2007-10-07
- ^ The Philipsburg Proclamation, retrieved 2007-10-07
- ^ Who were the Black Loyalists?, retrieved 2007-10-07
- ^ Hilvers, Julie, Freedom Bound: Black Loyalists, retrieved 2007-10-07
- ^ Davis, David Brion (2006). Inhuman Bondage: The Rise and Fall of Slavery in the New World. Oxford University Press. p. 150. ISBN 0195140737.
- ^ Brown, Christopher Leslie (2006). Arming Slaves: From Classical Times to the Modern Age. Yale University Press. p. 190. ISBN 0300109008.
- ^ Brooks, Joanna (2002). Face Zion Forward: First Writers of the Black Atlantic, 1785-1798. UPNE. p. 6. ISBN 1555535402.