Brian Sharrock wrote:

"Keith Willshaw" wrote in message
...

snip


Quite so, thus following the letter of the law, however those
loyalists who had sided with the British during the American revolution
tended to get rather less gentle treatment.



Slight semantic problem; the loyalists(sic) _were_ British.
They didn't 'side with' the British, they were British, remained
British and refused to follow the rebellious smugglers, slave-owners,
land-owner and lawyer clique into an armed French-funded
insurrection. History _does_ record that they were treated badly
by the revolting colonists.

--

Brian



And the reverse would have happened if the Brits had won. Basically put
a civil war is not based on kindness to an enemy and the victors, as in
all wars, get to do what they please with the defeated. Times have
changed but not a lot.

George