Loyalists were
American colonists who remained loyal to the
British Crown during the
American Revolutionary War. At the time they were often called
Tories,
Royalists, or
King's Men; Patriots called them "persons inimical to the liberties of America." They were opposed by the
Patriots, those who supported the revolution. When their cause was defeated, about 15% of the Loyalists or 65,000–70,000 fled to other parts of the
British Empire, to Britain or elsewhere in
British North America. The southern colonists moved mostly to Florida, which had remained loyal to the Crown, and to British Caribbean possessions, while northern colonists largely migrated to
Ontario,
Quebec,
New Brunswick, and
Nova Scotia, where they were called
United Empire Loyalists. Most were compensated with Canadian land or British cash distributed through formal claims procedures.