Upper Canada came into being on 19 June, 1791. Prior to this it had been considered part of the colony of Quebec. The American Loyalists who settled in Upper Canada deeply resented French Law and therefore the territory was divided at the Ottawa River into Lower Canada (Quebec) and Upper Canada (Ontario). Meant to be a model of England in the New World, the government and laws were markedly British in spite of the fact the initial settlers were Americans. Contrary to popular belief, many Loyalists were of Dutch or German ancestry. In many cases, such as the Highlanders under Sir John Johnson, a majority of the Loyalists had been in the Americas for less than a generation. The Loyalist Myth, that the Loyalists were the wealthy cream of society, Englishmen to the core, and the epitome of all things British emerged later in the nineteenth century. The Districts were abolished in 1841 as the population grew. For further reading see Norman Knowles' Inventing the Loyalists.
