In an imperial context still deeply committed to the transatlantic trade in enslaved Africans and the system of slavery, abolitionist sentiments never prevailed in the British war strategy. While the policy was reissued in Sir Henry Clinton's 1779 Philipsburg Proclamation, which promised 'to every Negro who shall desert the Rebel Standard, full security to follow with these [British] Lines, any Occupation which he shall think proper', enslaved Africans belonging to British Loyalists were not offered their freedom in exchange for their services (Walker, 1976, p.2). Nevertheless, the response to the Philipsburg Proclamation was significant: while it is unclear how many persons of African descent joined the British forces, estimates range up to 100,000 , representing about 20 per cent of the Black population. Regardless of their number, argues Walker, 'the overriding motive of the escaped slaves, and one that was shared by free blacks who became Loyalists, was for security in their freedom' (Walker, 1976, p. 4). Whether as soldiers of the corps of Black Pioneers, cavalry troops, sailors in  
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[^0]:    4 From the 1750s to the 1770s, enslaved Africans were found in Liverpool, New Glasgow, Bridgetown, Amherst, Onslow, Cornwallis and Halifax. According to Winks, in 1788, there were reports of Black men working in the fisheries of Newfoundland.  
the Royal Navy, skilled workers, general workers, guides or in a variety of other capacities, they contributed significantly to the war effort. In return, beginning in 1776, some African Americans were evacuated with British forces to Nova Scotia. However, others were sold back into slavery in North America or the Caribbean, as a reflection of the mentality of many in the British forces (Walker, 1976, pp. 3-6).