Uniacke arrived with Delesdernier at
Hopewell Cape, near present-day
Moncton in 1775. Uniacke found the settlement conditions difficult but enjoyed the adventure of frontier travel across the Isthmus of Chignecto, visiting the scattered settlements of the region.
American Independence In 1776, Uniacke joined the American rebels in the
Battle of Fort Cumberland, despite the loyalty of his father-in-law Delesdernier. Under the leadership of
Jonathan Eddy, American Rebels laid siege to Fort Cumberland and pillaged the local population who remained loyal to the British. Uniacke participated in some of these actions and while trying to commandeer supplies heading for the Fort he was captured. Shortly thereafter he was sent as a prisoner to Halifax. As a rebel, Uniacke faced being charged with treason. If found guilty, he would have been hanged. It is likely due to his family connections, the fact several military officers in Halifax had been stationed with several of his brothers, and the fact he provided evidence for the crown that led to his release. Uniacke, since the time of the Eddy Rebellion, had developed an animosity for Americans, once stating they were " a race of the most lawless profligate and wicked monsters that exist on the face of the earth".
General Assembly of Nova Scotia Seven years later, after the
American Revolution, Uniacke became a member of the
House of Assembly for over twenty years, representing Sackville Township 1783–1785, Halifax County 1785–1793 and Queens County 1798–1805. In 1808 he was appointed to the
Nova Scotia Council.
Catholic emancipation Uniacke took up the cause of religious reform in Protestant-dominated Nova Scotia. In 1783 he redrafted a bill passed by the Nova Scotia House of Assembly to repeal the law passed in 1758 that had
proscribed Catholics. The bill had been struck down by the British government. Uniacke's redraft was confirmed thus allowing Catholics to own land, build churches and hire priests. In 1786 Uniacke was one of the founding members of the
Charitable Irish Society of Halifax; established to assist needy Irish regardless of whether they were Protestant or Catholic. In subsequent years Uniacke put forward additional amendments to laws which allowed Catholics to establish schools and to vote in elections. His efforts to bring about complete emancipation of Catholics continued until success was achieved through the
Roman Catholic Relief Act 1829.
Abolition of slavery While many blacks who arrived in Nova Scotia during the American Revolution were free, others were not. Black slaves also arrived in Nova Scotia as the property of
White American Loyalists. In 1772, prior to the American Revolution, Britain
outlawed the slave trade in the British Isles followed by the
Knight v. Wedderburn decision in Scotland in 1778. This decision, in turn, influenced the colony of Nova Scotia. Led by Uniacke, in 1787, 1789 and again on January 11, 1808, the
Nova Scotian legislature refused to legalize slavery.
Education Uniacke was also instrumental in the establishment in 1789 of
King's College (see also
King's Collegiate School) at Windsor, and he sat, despite being a non-Anglican, on its board.
Military service Throughout the
French Revolutionary Wars and the
Napoleonic Wars, the threat of invasion was an every looming specter. To counter the threat Nova Scotia maintained a militia. In 1793 Uniacke was second-in-command of the Second Battalion of the militia and in 1794 was promoted to Lieutenant-colonel of the Eighth Battalion.
Personal Conflicts Uniacke was perceived as a voice for the Pre-Loyalist settlers of Nova Scotia which brought him into conflict with the arrival of powerful
United Empire Loyalists officials including
John Wentworth, appointed Lt. Governor in 1792 and the lawyer and judge
Sampson Salter Blowers who twice challenged Uniacke to duels. The second duel challenge came about after Loyalist
Jonathan Sterns, the Solicitor General and an ally of Blowers, accused Uniacke of being biased against Loyalists in the courts. This led to a street fight between Sterns and Uniacke in 1798. Sterns was in poor health and died shortly afterwards. Blowers blamed Uniacke for the death and challenged him to a duel. The duel was called off when both men were bound to keep the peace by the Halifax magistrates, but Uniacke and Blowers remained lifelong enemies.
Confederation Uniacke was the first public figure to advocate for the Confederation of Canada, 51 years before it became a reality. He wanted to save the colonies from republicanism and atheism of the United States. As a result, Uniacke advocated unions of the Maritime colonies and of the Canadas, beginning in 1806 when he presented a memoir on British North America at the Colonial Office. In 1826 Uniacke brought his “
Observations on the British colonies in North America with a proposal for the confederation of the whole under one government” to the Colonial Office. The “Observations” read in parts like the
British North America Act of 40 years later. == Family ==