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[^0]:    7 Statutes of Upper Canada, 33 George III, Cap. 7.  
United States of America. Furthermore, in 1850, the Congress of the United States adopted the second Fugitive Slave Act, which strengthened the previous Act and required authorities and individuals in the 'free states' to cooperate with the law, thereby placing 'fugitives' in a tenuous position, including in northern states; crossing the border into Canada thus became increasingly attractive.  
It is estimated that between 1815 and 1860, some 50,000 enslaved African Americans escaped their bondage and went to Canada, mostly to south-western Upper Canada (St. Catharines, Windsor, Amherstburg, London, Chatham, Dresden, Toronto, Oro), where they also established some Black communities, such as Dawn, Wilberforce and Elgin/Buxton (Meyler, 2001; Prince, 2012; Shadd, 1994; Silverman, 1984; Smardz Frost, 2008; Tobin and Jones, 2007; Ulman, 1969; Winks, 2000, pp. 142-177, 187-232). The routes of escape varied, and the majority of those who escaped relied on their own ingenuity and on assistance from their community, as well as from some White allies, to escape their enslavers; in the 1830s, the network which facilitated the escapes was referred to as the 'Underground Railroad', an allusion to the railroad systems that were being built in the United States of America.