The War of 1812 was fought between the United States of America and the British Empire, particularly Great Britain and her North American colonies of Upper Canada (Ontario), Lower Canada (Québec), Nova Scotia, Newfoundland and Bermuda.

The war lasted from 1812 to 1815, although a peace treaty was signed December 24, 1814. By the end of the war, 1,600 soldiers for the British side had died, and 2,260 soldiers for the U.S. In addition, tens of thousands of slaves escaped to British lines because of their offer of freedom, or they just fled in the chaos of war. The British settled a few thousand of the newly freed Americans in Nova Scotia.

Great Britain had been at war with France since 1793 and in order to impede neutral trade with France in response to the Continental Blockade, Britain imposed a series of trade restrictions that the U.S. contested as illegal under international law.[4] The United States declared war on Britain on June 18, 1812 for a combination of reasons focused on violation of America's neutral rights, especially the impressment (conscription) of American sailors into the Royal Navy, British restraints on neutral trade, and alleged British military support for American Indians who were hostile to the United States.