What is Upper Canada?
At the time of the American Revolution, Niagara was part of the colony of Quebec and very unpopulated. Quebec had retained French law, language and culture. All of this was unfamiliar to the Loyalists. Many Loyalists left the American colonies after the Revolution in search of a new home. These new arrivals had fought, suffered, given up home and money to retain their culture, their way of life; they were not about to give it up again. In 1791, the Constitution Act passed in London, creating the two Canadas, Upper and Lower. These later became the provinces of Ontario and Quebec. Upper Canada refers to the geographical elevation of the province that is upstream (mostly of the St. Lawrence River, the main transportation route at the time) from Lower Canada.
