NOTL BH #1The Beginning Of The End Of Slavery

by Karen Couch
3 years ago
Near Niagara-on-the-Lake, CA

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In 1791, the Province of Upper Canada (now Ontario) was established and Newark (now NOTL) its capital. In 1792, Lieutenant-Governor John Graves Simcoe, an abolitionist, was appointed and first parliament met. It was a time of great hope, especially for the 30 Black slaves living in Newark and the 500 -700 slaves living in Upper Canada. y. In 1790, the UC legislature had passed an Act that allowed British Loyalists to bring their slaves with them to UC, without paying any duty. This was done mainly to get Loyalists to move North; sadly it allowed a large number of slaves to be brought into UC.

Chloe Cooley was ONE of those black slaves, living a mile below the village of Queenston. It was on 14 MAR 1793, that her brave actions changed the history of slavery of this nation. We'll now head over to the Niagara River, closer to where her bravery took place.

1. NIAGARA RIVER: Chloe Cooley was a young enslaved black woman, working on Adam Vrooman's farm, roughly 6 kms south from this spot. Vrooman, a former member of Butler's Rangers, knew that anti-slavery sentiments were growing and didn't want to lose his property nor his investment. Chloe Cooley was a trouble maker he'd be glad to be rid of once and for all. So he forcibly tied her up, and put her in a boat to be sold to a new owner on the American side of the Niagara River; Chloe's screams were heard and her struggle was witnessed. this was not the first time she resisted her bondage; accounts were that was feisty, not a docile slave; witnesses were outraged by what they heard and saw and reported this at a meeting of the Executive Council. Peter Martin, a black veteran of the Butler's Rangers was a witness who testified in court; Initially Vrooman was to be arrested; sadly, the owner was within his rights as she was his property. what is even sadder, Chloe Cooley's fate remains unknown.

But this was not the end of Chloe Cooley. Her seizure and sale created much controversy among Upper Canadians, many of whom were appalled by Vrooman’s conduct. Despite attempts to prevent the abolition of slavery by several white colonial administrators, Lieutenant-Governor John Graves Simcoe used Cooley’s story to agitate and mobilize Upper Canada’s growing abolitionist community. we'll now move on to where parliament was once held.

2. NAVY HALL: This site started as a supply depot since 1765, & was Simcoe's residence when he named Newark the capital of UC. Parliament regularly met here as well as other locations that included the Freemason Lodge on King St. and the site of Parliament Oak School. In 1793, 6 of 16 members in the House of Assembly owned slaves and opposed Simcoe's views, so a compromised version was settled upon. The result was the Act to Limit Slavery in UC, 9 JUL 1793. While slaves could no longer be imported, any slaves in the colony at that time remained slaves. children of slaves born afterwards would be free on their 25th birthday. Children of these children automatically free. indentured service limited to 9 years. Still, the Act is heralded as the first piece of legislation in the British Empire to limit slavery.

3. LT-GOVERNOR JOHN GRAVES SIMCOE statute: served as Lt Governor for 4 years; Act to Limit Slavery one of his greatest accomplishments.

Simcoe’s Canadian legacy is ever present in modern-day Ontario. The town of Simcoe bears his name as does Simcoe County.

The August civic holiday is known in Toronto as Simcoe Day. I didn't realize that in Ontario, the day is referred to as Emancipation Day, marking the end of slavery in the British Empire. Across the province it is known as the following: Colonel By Day in Ottawa, Joseph Brant Day in Burlington, and John Galt Day in Guelph.

Schools and streets throughout Ontario are named for him. Lake Simcoe is not named for the Lt Gov Simcoe. He, in fact, named it after his father, Captain John Simcoe.

4. VOICES OF FREEDOM PARK (Regent and Johnson): In 2018, VOF opened; it tells forgotten stories of people of African descent enslaved, freed, and free, whose sacrifices, labor, skills, and talents contributed to the development of NOTL and Canada

Prior to Chloe Cooley's brave act of resistance, slavery had defined the lives of most people of African ancestry living in Canada, since the early 17th Century. Chloe Cooley paved the way to freedom for so many like her. and set the stage for the great freedom movement of enslaved African Americans known as the Underground Railway.

A commemorative plaque in her honor can be found just south of Line 6, on the Niagara Parkway.

5. PARLIAMENT OAK SCHOOL: plaques and corner pillar