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(Some important dates in the history of loyalism and Toryism in early Albany history) 1754-63 ---- The French and Indian War raises issues that would divide the people of colonial Albany 1765 ---- Albany buys the fort and other military buildings from the royal government 1766 ---- Sons of Liberty orchestrate local opposition to the Stamp Act 1771 ---- The Albany Gazette, Albany's first newspaper provides a forum for Anglo-identified ideas 1775 ---- First public meeting of the Albany Committee of Correspondence 1776 ---- Tories arrested for drinking to the King's health 1778 ---- Commissioners for Detecting and Defeating Conspiracies begin meeting in Albany October 22, 1779 ---- Act of Attainder condemns fifty-nine New York Tories to death 1780 ---- New York State Legislature first meets in Albany 1782-83 ---- General George Washington visits Albany twice November 1783 ---- British evacuate New York City - taking thousands of loyalists and refugee slaves with them 1790 ---- Albany population reaches 3,498 This online timeline begins to include some dates important to understanding loyalism and loyalists in the early history of the Albany community. It also facilitates access to the substantive parts of the site. The Act of Attainder, or Confiscation Act denounced the principal Tories in the state. It named fifty-nine individuals who were banished from the state, condemned them to death without trial if caught, and called for the confiscation of their property. On the list was Albany resident Abraham C. Cuyler - the last mayor under the British. Defined. See, Gary Monti, Prejudice and Pressure: Divided Loyalties, and the New York Act of Attainder of October 22, 1779 (MA thesis, Adelphi, 1985). first posted: 2/25/04 |