Wilberforce Colony | |
|---|---|
| The Wilberforce Settlement[1] | |
  Wilberforce Colony Location within the province of Ontario | |
| Coordinates: 43°12′N 81°23′W / 43.200°N 81.383°W | |
| Country |  Canada |
| Province | Ontario |
| County | Middlesex County, Ontario |
| Established | 1829 |
| Founded by | Israel Lewis and Thomas Crissup |
| Government | |
| • Type | Colony |
| • President, Board of Managers | Austin Steward |
| Area | |
| • Total | .1.6 km2 (0.04 sq mi) |
| Population (1835) | |
| • Total | 166 |
| • Density | 1,700/km2 (4,300/sq mi) |
| Time zone | UTC-5 (EST) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC-4 (EDT) |
Wilberforce Colony was a colony established in the year 1829 by free African American citizens, north of present-day London, Ontario, Canada. It was an effort by African-Americans to create a place where they could live in political freedom.
When African-American communities favoured emigration (and many did not), they preferred going to a country where free Black people could hold full political control over their destiny. The establishment of what became the Wilberforce Colony in Canada was one such movement. It was planned by Black Americans from Cincinnati, Ohio who emigrated following passage of discriminatory laws in the year 1828 and a destructive riot against them by White Americans in 1829.[2]
The frontier colony grew quickly upon its founding. Refugee slaves, who had escaped to freedom in Canada, also joined the colony. Internal disputes, lack of funding, and the draw of urban jobs led to its decline by 1850. In the 1840s, many Irish immigrants settled in this area after fleeing famine in their homeland. Altogether, the Wilberforce Colony survived as an independent community fewer than 20 years.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
waymarkingwas invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ Taylor, Nikki M. Frontiers of Freedom: Cincinnati's Black Community, 1802-1868, Ohio University Press, 2005, ISBN 0-8214-1579-4, pp.50-79.