"Book of Negroes", 1783

The "Book of Negroes" is the single most important document relating to the immigration of African Americans to Nova Scotia following the War of Independence. It provides the names of 3000 black refugees registered on board the vessels in which they sailed from New York to Nova Scotia between 23 April and 30 November 1783.

Data and Resources

Additional Info

Field	Value
Last Updated	April 17, 2026, 18:52 (UTC)
Created	April 17, 2026, 18:52 (UTC)
contact_person	{"en": "Service Nova Scotia", "fr": "Service Nova Scotia"}
criticality_level	[]
data_dictionary	["society"]
geographic_scope	[]
open_canada_collection	federated
open_canada_date_published	2016-10-28 00:00:00
open_canada_keywords	{"en": ["genealogy", "nova scotia archives", "american revolution", "black history", "immigrants", "summer", "african nova scotian"], "fr-t-en": ["généalogie", "archives de la nouvelle-écosse", "révolution américaine", "histoire des Noirs", "immigrants", "été", "afro-néo-écossais"]}
open_canada_subject	["arts_music_literature"]
sensitivity_level	unrestricted
title_fr
update_frequency	not_planned