The Loyalist were the people who wanted to stay with Great Britain in the colonies. They were about 1/3 of the colony. They always wanted to be loyal to their king, that's how they got the name The Kings Men. They also never wanted to break any of his rules and wanted to be where he was at all times. Some of the reasons the Loyalist stayed loyal to the king were because they were afraid of the army, or that they simply didn't want to live under constant British rule.
The Tories were never treated well by the Patriots and they were always being harassed. They were often accused of land confiscation, and were regularly beaten and even murdered. The Loyalist were even arrested for being loyal to the king. Being labeled as a Loyalist was a very bad representation to be under. The Patriots would threaten and whip the Loyalist just because they were loyal to the king.
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The Loyalist also had developed many different names from the patriots. These nicknames were The Tories, The Loyalists, The Kings Men, British Royalist, or The King's Friend. They developed these nicknames because of their loyalty to King George III. Other than wealthy merchants and farmers there were more types of Loyalist. The slaves of nearby owners were escaping to the Loyalist ships going to Great Britain. Although the slaves often got sent back to their owners, it was a great opportunity for escape as the British wanted anybody, at that point, to stay loyal to Britain.
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