"Constitutionally" Unfit Winter: Race and Climate in Atlantic Canada

My paper examines the preoccupation about climate and black migration in Canada in the early nineteenth century. Desperately in need of immigrants, Nova Scotia's government discouraged black migration from the post-slavery... [ view full abstract ]

My paper examines the preoccupation about climate and black migration in Canada in the early nineteenth century. Desperately in need of immigrants, Nova Scotia's government discouraged black migration from the post-slavery Caribbean. Emancipated slaves searching for an escape from sugar plantations were rejected as settlers. Incredibly, the argument centered on their unfitness for a cold climate. Contemporaries argued that black bodies would not survive in the cold and "belonged" in the tropics. Their "hardy" bodies were perfect for enduring the heat but but could not survive the harsh winters of eastern Canada. Some warned that black bodies would die within weeks of entering Nova Scotia. This argument however made it difficult for Canadians to attract Europeans as well. If the climate of origin determined the climate of relocation, who would qualify as ideal settlers for Atlantic Canada?