In 1776 when the United States declared its independence, there were approximately 2.5 million inhabitants in the original 13 states. Of those estimates are that 1/3 sided with the revolution, 1/3 were neutral, and 1/3 were Loyalists supporting Britain. At the end of the war some 65,000-70,000 people fled to other parts of the British Empire (in the case of those who fled to a British portion of Florida, about 6,000 whites brought 6,500 Black slaves with them). Many Indigenous Americans, especially Iriquois also fled to British protection in Canada. [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Loyalist_(American_Revolution]Wikipedia on Loyalists]
Kentucky Co Jury Verdict
Some fled outright reprisals and persecution. Many were dispossessed of their land. For example, Daniel Boone served on a July 1980 jury in then-Kentucky County, Virginia which confiscated land from two loyalists by deeming them to be British Citizens.
Following the Cuban revolution more than 1.5 million Cubans left the Island. The 1953 Cuban census showed 5,829,029 inhabitants. So whereas about 3% of the U.S. population fled our revolution, around 25% of Cuba’s population migrated.
There are some demographic similarities.
Wikipedia writes of the American Loyalists:
The departure of so many royal officials, rich merchants and landed gentry destroyed the hierarchical networks that had dominated most of the colonies. In New York, the departure of key members of the DeLancy, DePester Walton and Cruger families undercut the interlocking families that largely owned and controlled the Hudson Valley. Likewise in Pennsylvania, the departure of powerful families—Penn, Allen, Chew, Shippen—destroyed the cohesion of the old upper class there. Massachusetts passed an act banishing forty-six Boston merchants in 1778, including members of some of Boston’s wealthiest families. The departure of families such as the Ervings, Winslows, Clarks, and Lloyds deprived Massachusetts of men who had hitherto been leaders of networks of family and clients. The bases of the men who replaced them were much different. One rich Patriot in Boston noted in 1779 that “fellows who would have cleaned my shoes five years ago, have amassed fortunes and are riding in chariots.” That is, new men now became rich merchants but they shared a spirit of republican equality that replaced the elitism and the Americans never recreated such a powerful upper class as had existed before.[50]
As for Cuban exiles, Wikipedia [ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cuban_exile] says:
More than 1.5 million Cubans of all classes and racial groups (but majority is white upper and middle class background) have left the island for the United States (especially Florida),[1][2] and other countries.
One big exception were the “Marielitos” who arrived in the U.S. in 1980. As Wikipedia explains:
Out of more than 125,000 refugees, a number from as low as 7,500 to as high as 40,000 were believed to have criminal records in Cuba, though many of their crimes would not qualify as crimes under U.S. law. Some 1,774 of the refugees were classified as serious or violent criminals under U.S. law and denied citizenship on that basis. The majority of refugees were young adult males, 20 to 34 years of age, from the working class: skilled craftsmen, semi-skilled tradesmen, and unskilled laborers. In 1984, the United States and Cuba negotiated an agreement to resume normal immigration, and to return to Cuba those persons who had arrived during the boatlift who were “excludable” under U.S. Law.
I wrote of this phenomena, i.e., both Cuba and the old Soviet Union cleaning out their mental asylums and prisons at: http://janbtucker.com/blog/2013/09/22/national-instant-criminal-background-check-a-gaping-loophole/
Like Cuban exiles who have become an important constituency influencing American politics, Loyalists became a significant influence in Canadian affairs [Wikipedia]:
The postnominals “U.E.” are rarely seen today, but the influence of the Loyalists on the evolution of Canada remains. Their ties to Britain and their antipathy to the United States provided the strength needed to keep Canada independent and distinct in North America.[citation needed] The Loyalists’ basic distrust of republicanism and “mob rule” influenced Canada’s gradual path to independence.[citation needed] The new British North American provinces of Upper Canada (the forerunner of Ontario) and New Brunswick were founded as places of refuge for the United Empire Loyalists.[citation needed].
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