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This project includes collaborative work of Karen Giulietti, Louissa Connolly, and Jordyn Hahn. The project is aimed to offer uncommon narratives to the first Lieutenant Governor of Canada, including his commemoration in Southern Ontario and Canadian History, his military career, and his role in abolishing slavery in Upper Canada.

John Graves Simcoe was a British citizen who, throughout his life, held multiple titles, including lieutenant governor, statesman, and civil rights activist. Simcoe was a highly educated man; after graduating from three prestigious schools, the last being Oxford University in 1770, he chose to enter the British army instead of pursuing further education. As a soldier, Simcoe was sent to the thirteen colonies to fight during the American War for Independence. For his commendable war efforts, Simcoe was promoted to commander of the Queen's Rangers, a Loyalist military group fighting in America.  After returning to Britain, Simcoe entered politics and was elected as a Member of Parliament. Proving he was a worthy leader both militarily and politically, Simcoe was given the position of Lieutenant Governor for Upper Canada. As Lieutenant Governor, Simcoe encouraged immigration, agriculture, infrastructure development, and military defense. Simcoe also created a law to prohibit slavery in Canada. The act was progressive, and the reason Simcoe is remembered as the man who abolished slavery in Canada.[1] The information used in the summary was only the details of Simcoe's life included from the website Encyclopedia Britannica. While the information was accurate, by comparing this source to other academic sources, there is a discrepancy between what details are included or, more accurately, what information they omitted. By analyzing both types of sources, there is an evident difference between what is included in a traditional, Eurocentric narrative versus the complete account of Simcoe's life. The webpage only describes certain aspects of Simcoe's life. In the Encyclopedia Britannica article, there is no mention of Simcoe's time in Saint Domingue, present day Haiti, where he was sent by the British as a war general to intervene in the Haitian Revolution. His involvement in subduing the slave revolt is missing from his history on this public website. The admittance or omission of select facts when discussing the impacts of John Graves Simcoe results in a misrepresentation of his character, which alters the public's perception of him as a historical figure.  Simcoe's complicated narrative is oversimplified through the celebration of Simcoe Day, statues, and memorials. Simcoe's name can be found frequently in Ontario. In Toronto, there is a civil holiday named after Sir John Graves Simcoe to honour his contributions to Canada. Since 1969 every year on August 3rd, Torontonians observe Simcoe Day.[2] The day commemorates the first Lieutenant Governor of Upper Canada and his efforts to abolish slavery in Canada. In Queen's Park, the center of provincial government and politics, there is a statue dedicated to Simcoe, acting as another commemorative piece. Sir John Graves Simcoe even has a special connection with Huron. Isaac Hellmuth went to England to sit down with Simcoe's daughters and discuss the possibility of funding the school now known as Huron University College. Hellmuth reached out to the Simcoe's because of the connection John Graves Simcoe had with the area. Years earlier, Simcoe came to the area, blessed the land, and gave the city of London its name. Simcoe's daughters donated a portrait of their father to Huron to commemorate the donation in their father's name.[3] By highlighting these memorials dedicated to Simcoe, it is fair to say he made a significant impact on Ontario. However, do his contributions, considering both his beneficial and unfavourable actions, justify these celebrations? To shed light on this question, we will first analyze Simcoe’s career as a prominent war general for the British army.

John Graves Simcoe is a notable name in Canadian history; he is commemorated for his achievements for the British through local holidays, statues, and his virtuous legacy. Although the contemporary narrative perceives Simcoe as a hero, this project will question whether his actions justify that perception and praise. We will examine his role in ending slavery, the slave rebellion in Saint Domingue (present-day Haiti), and the American Revolution. These were regarded as his most influential contributions to history, despite not all of these events being included in Simcoe's traditional narrative. It will be through examining both sides, his memorialized, and the dishonourable actions, that we show the complexity of John Graves Simcoe.


This is a portrait that is currently hung up in the Sage Room at Huron University College. It was donated to the university as a gift from Simcoe's daughters after they funded the creation of the institution.

The Analysis of John Graves Simcoe's Legacy

In 1770, at the age of eighteen, Simcoe joined the British Army as part of the 35th Regiment of Foot. It was during this regiment that he was deployed to the colonies where he remained as a soldier on patrol. In 1776, he was promoted to captain of the 40th Regiment of Foot and commanded orders during the Siege of Boston<a href="https://d.docs.live.net/a970f1f1bd4f40fa/Desktop/John%20Graves%20Simcoe%20and%20his%20War%20Career%20in%20the%20British%20Army.docx#_ftn1" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="background-color:transparent;color:rgb(0, 0, 0)"> </a><a href="https://d.docs.live.net/a970f1f1bd4f40fa/Desktop/John%20Graves%20Simcoe%20and%20his%20War%20Career%20in%20the%20British%20Army.docx#_ftn1" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="background-color:transparent;color:rgb(17, 85, 204)">[1]</a>. With more power and respect from his fellow soldiers, Simcoe was able to fight for who he believed needed emancipation from the colonists’ grasp. It is outlined in his journal, A Journal of the Operations of the Queen’s Rangers from the End of the Year 1777, to the Conclusion of the Late American War, that Simcoe attempted to form a Loyalist regime that consisted of free Black loyalists willing to fight for Britain. However, Simcoe did not receive any free Blacks to aid in his fight, but instead, he acquired the Queen’s Rangers. These rangers made up a militia of loyalists from Staten Island whom Simcoe made known as one of the most successful British regiments during the American Revolutionary War <a href="https://d.docs.live.net/a970f1f1bd4f40fa/Desktop/John%20Graves%20Simcoe%20and%20his%20War%20Career%20in%20the%20British%20Army.docx#_ftn2" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="background-color:rgb(255, 255, 255);color:rgb(0, 0, 0)">[2]</a>. In 1778, he was once again promoted to lieutenant colonel of the Queen’s Rangers for his impressive leadership during the sieges and battles of war. However, during ‘Simcoe’s Raid’ in 1779, which was a mission that burnt the supplies of the patriots on Staten Island, New York, Simcoe was captured by an enemy on the opposing side. He was released and returned to his regime in Virginia, where he continued to fight as colonel in an attempt to defeat the colonists<a href="https://d.docs.live.net/a970f1f1bd4f40fa/Desktop/John%20Graves%20Simcoe%20and%20his%20War%20Career%20in%20the%20British%20Army.docx#_ftn3" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="background-color:rgb(255, 255, 255);color:rgb(0, 0, 0)"> [3]</a>. Though Britain ultimately lost the Revolutionary War, Simcoe was promoted to Inspector General of Recruitment for the British Army, a role where he recruited soldiers and ensured they were trained to be the best soldiers possible<a href="https://d.docs.live.net/a970f1f1bd4f40fa/Desktop/John%20Graves%20Simcoe%20and%20his%20War%20Career%20in%20the%20British%20Army.docx#_ftn4" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="background-color:rgb(255, 255, 255);color:rgb(0, 0, 0)"> [4]</a>. He only carried this title for two years before he traveled to Upper Canada and became the first Lieutenant Governor of Canada in 1791. Following his political career, Simcoe was enlisted once again into the army. This time, however, he was appointed major-general and was sent to Saint Domingue to fight in the Haitian Revolution, a battle that England did not particularly have a role in. During his time in office as Lieutenant Governor, he created The Act To Limit Slavery (1793), an act that would stop new slaves from being purchased and brought into Upper Canada (which will be examined in greater detail in the next entry). However, the reason that the British went to Haiti was not to aid in the Haitians’ emancipation, but instead to integrate themselves into the war and take over as the slave-owners instead of the French<a href="https://d.docs.live.net/a970f1f1bd4f40fa/Desktop/John%20Graves%20Simcoe%20and%20his%20War%20Career%20in%20the%20British%20Army.docx#_ftn5" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="background-color:rgb(255, 255, 255);color:rgb(0, 0, 0)"> [5]</a>. This raises questions regarding his intentions in politics considering he was attempting to abolish slavery in Canada yet maintain it in Saint Domingue. Simcoe managed campaigns and tried to complete battles, but his health was ultimately failing, forcing him to resign from both the war and his political career<a href="https://d.docs.live.net/a970f1f1bd4f40fa/Desktop/John%20Graves%20Simcoe%20and%20his%20War%20Career%20in%20the%20British%20Army.docx#_ftn6" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="background-color:rgb(255, 255, 255);color:rgb(0, 0, 0)"> [6]</a>. Before his death in 1806 in Exeter, England, Simcoe had been named Commander-in-Chief in India. This was a post that Simcoe never got to assume, for he passed away before he could. Simcoe left a legacy behind that would still exist in our modern society and will be remembered forever. Most Canadians know the name of Simcoe one way or another, whether it be from their history books or simply by driving through Southern Ontario or Simcoe County. Nevertheless, many do not realize the military background that follows the incredible name. His impressive leadership allowed him to be promoted multiple times throughout his career and create a notable name for himself. Simcoe has gone down in Canadian history as a legend and a hero.

Born in England in 1752, John Graves Simcoe was the first Lieutenant-Governor of Upper Canada and is remembered in Canadian history as the man who ‘abolished’ slavery in our nation. Today, he is celebrated for all the work he did for our country and in the British government, as well. However, an important aspect of Simcoe’s legacy that is not widely known to Canadians is his military career for the British Army during the American and Haitian Revolutions. While the two revolutions did not specifically impact Canada, his British heritage allowed him to be remarkable in both England and Canada’s history, where he is commemorated as a hero to both countries. He lived as a brilliant general who only wished to keep his men safe and bring emancipation to those who needed it.

John Graves Simcoe: Life as a War General for the British Army

John Graves Simcoe is recognized and remembered as the man who abolished slavery in Canada, and as the first person to cast an official law to abolish slavery anywhere in the British colonies. In 1793, the Act to Limit Slavery in Upper Canada, also known as An Act to Prevent the further Introduction of Slaves and to limit the Term of Contracts for Servitude, was passed. This law was created more than 40 years before slavery was abolished across all of the British Empire, and 70 years before slavery was abolished in the United States. [1] While John Graves Simcoe’s work would help in ending slavery, his 1793 Act To Limit Slavery in Upper Canada did not immediately free all Canadian slaves, rather it gradually phased out slavery in Canada. As exhibited through the examination of the creation of the 1793 Act To Limit Slavery in Upper Canada, Simcoe had a more complex and paradoxical relationship with slavery than he is typically commemorated for.  Coming from England to act as the Lieutenant-Governor of Upper Canada, Simcoe’s opinions on slavery was likely influenced by the 1772 Somersett v. Stewart case, which resolved that no slave could be forcibly removed from Britain and sold into slavery. [2] Yet the ruling of this case did not apply to British colonies, so slaves throughout the British Empire were still considered to be their owner’s property, and continued to be bought and sold. As a colonel in the Revolutionary War, Simcoe’s opinion on slavery was also likely influenced the contributions Black people had made to the fight. [3] According to Afua Cooper, “Simcoe would have been aware of the sacrifices Blacks, both enslaved and free, made for the British during the late war, and took offence to them being enslaved in his colony.”[4] In order to rid Upper Canada of slavery, Simcoe had to get a slavery-abolishing bill passed himself.  John Graves Simcoe used an incident regarding the unfair treatment of a slave named Chloe Cooley to introduce the abolition of slavery in Upper Canada. Chloe Cooley was bound, and violently and forcibly removed from Upper Canada to New York by her master, William Vrooman, to which she capably and fiercely resisted.[5] The incident was witnessed by Peter Martin and William Greesley who reported it to Simcoe. He was appalled by Cooley’s experience and decided to use this story to further the chances of getting his bill to abolish slavery passed by legislature.[6] In order to get this bill passed, though, it needed to be approved by the Legislative Assembly and then the Legislative Council, a legislature that was full of slave owners. [7] One of the paradoxical elements of Simcoe’s relationship with slavery can be seen in his connection with the Legislative Council. John Graves Simcoe chose the members of the Legislative Council, with approximately five of the nine members being slave-owners or coming from a family of slave-owners. [8] So, in selecting a Legislative Council full of slave-owners, Simcoe made it hard for himself to get his abolition bill to pass through the legislature. Simcoe gave a great deal of power to people who believed in slavery, the power to pass or veto life-changing bills, yet also worked to abolish it in Upper Canada, showcasing an aspect of his paradoxical relationship with slavery. Obviously, being a council consisting of a majority of slave owners, Simcoe’s proposition to completely abolish slavery in Upper Canada was denied. The Lieutenant-Governor and the Upper Canada legislature came to a compromise, enacting The Act to Limit Slavery, also known as An Act to Prevent the further Introduction of Slaves and to limit the Term of Contracts for Servitude, on 9 July 1793. [9] This act did not abolish slavery, but instead placed limits and rules on the slavery practices. Its aim was to gradually phase out slavery in Upper Canada. The 1793 Act enforced regulations on slavery such as not allowing any new slaves to enter Upper Canada, yet forcing the ones already here to remain enslaved until death and the children of those already enslaved would remain enslaved until the age of twenty-five. [10] The Act to Limit Slavery in Upper Canada also made it extremely difficult for someone to free a slave, requiring them to provide financial security to prove that the freed slave would not be a “drain on the state.” [11] While John Graves Simcoe is commemorated for his anti-slavery work in Canada, it is also important to acknowledge his complex and paradoxical relationship with slavery in the creation of the 1793 Act to Limit Slavery in Upper Canada. Simcoe chose to place slave-owners in powerful legislative positions even though he did not believe in slavery, and the repercussions of this choice are seen in the Act’s regulations, not allowing for the immediate ending of slavery in Upper Canada, and instead allowed slavery to continue with restrictions and to slowly come to a halt. It is also important to note that another paradoxical aspect of Simcoe’s relation to slavery, as further explored in the previous entry, is his connection to the Haitian Revolution. After working to create a law to abolish slavery in Upper Canada, Simcoe fought in the Haitian Revolution to help Britain take ownership of the slaves from the French. This happened while he was still acting as Lieutenant Governor of Upper Canada. Roots of systemic racism in Canada can be seen through the 1793 Act to Limit Slavery in Upper Canada, showcasing how one act of freedom, like limiting slavery in Upper Canada, leads to other forms of oppression, and the continued policing of Black bodies. The Act to Limit Slavery was a commendable step in ending slavery in Upper Canada, but it is crucial to recognize John Graves Simcoe’s faults that led to continued slavery in Canada until the Slavery Abolition Act in 1833, ending slavery across much of the British Empire. [12] This project analyzed the legacy of Sir John Graves Simcoe and questioned whether his actions justify his commemoration as a heroic historical figure. By examining his Eurocentric biographies, memorials, and holidays, this heroic perception of Simcoe is depicted and shown to be prevalent in Canada, Ontario, and Huron University College. Simcoe’s narrative is complicated by evaluating his role as a soldier for the British and their involvement in the American War of Independence and the Haitian Revolution, where Simcoe led armies to fight against the slave uprising. Despite Simcoe believing his actions were immoral, he still contributed to the oppression of Black people. It was not until he was appointed as Lieutenant Governor of Upper Canada that Simcoe was able to act on his beliefs for racial equality. During his time in power, John Graves Simcoe fought among the Black population for their justice; he listened to their stories and used his political power to try to create laws to help them. By doing this project, we understand that John Graves Simcoe is a complex character in history, which ultimately means that there is no right answer to the question of whether Simcoe’s commemoration as a heroical historical figure in Canada is justified. However, creating a well-informed argument by evaluating Simcoe’s actions objectively, instead of from the conventional Eurocentric perspective, is a way to begin the conversation.

John Graves Simcoe is commemorated for being the man who abolished slavery in Canada. While Simcoe did take steps in this direction, the creation of the 1793 Act to Limit Slavery in Upper Canada, along with what the act entails, is much more complicated. This project will highlight Simcoe’s paradoxical relationship with slavery, and will show both Simcoe’s positive and negative contributions to the anti-slavery movement, complicating his traditional historical narrative. 

Act to Limit Slavery in Upper Canada. Signed by John Graves Simcoe in 1793,

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Analyzing John Graves Simcoe in the Context of Canadian History

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