Pontiac's War

Pontiac's War
Part of the American Indian Wars

In a famous council on April 27, 1763, Pontiac urged listeners to rise up against the British (19th century engraving by Alfred Bobbett)
DateApril 27, 1763 – July 25, 1766
(3 years, 2 months and 4 weeks)
Location
Great Lakes region of North America
Result Military stalemate; Native Americans concede British sovereignty but compel British policy changes
Territorial
changes
Portage around Niagara Falls ceded by Senecas to the British
Belligerents
Kingdom of Great Britain British Empire

Native American Coalition[1][2]

Commanders and leaders
Jeffrey Amherst
Henry Bouquet
Thomas Gage
Pontiac
Guyasuta
Charlot Kaské
Strength
~3,000 soldiers[3][4] ~3,500 warriors[4]
Casualties and losses
~450 soldiers killed[5]
~450 civilians killed[6]
~4,000 civilians displaced[7]
200+ warriors killed[8]
civilian casualties unknown

Pontiac's War (also known as Pontiac's Conspiracy or Pontiac's Rebellion) was launched in 1763 by a confederation of Native Americans who were dissatisfied with British rule in the Great Lakes region following the French and Indian War (1754–1763). Warriors from numerous nations joined in an effort to drive British soldiers and settlers out of the region. The war is named after Odawa leader Pontiac, the most prominent of many indigenous leaders in the conflict.

The war began in May 1763 when Native Americans, alarmed by policies imposed by British General Jeffrey Amherst, attacked a number of British forts and settlements. Nine forts were destroyed, and hundreds of colonists were killed or captured, with many more fleeing the region.[9] Hostilities came to an end after British Army expeditions in 1764 led to peace negotiations over the next two years. The Natives were unable to drive away the British, but the uprising prompted the British government to modify the policies that had provoked the conflict.

Warfare on the North American frontier was brutal; the killing of prisoners, the targeting of civilians, and other atrocities were widespread.[10] In an incident that became well-known and frequently debated, British officers at Fort Pitt attempted to infect besieging Indians with blankets that had been exposed to smallpox.[11] The ruthlessness of the conflict was a reflection of a growing racial divide between indigenous peoples and British colonists.[12] The British government sought to prevent further racial violence by issuing the Royal Proclamation of 1763, which created a boundary between colonists and Natives.[13]

  1. ^ Government of Canada. "In Defence of Their Homelands." Canada.ca, April 19, 2018. Link.
  2. ^ "Pontiac's War." Nations at War, 2020. https://nationsatwar.tv/conflicts/pontiacs-war/.
  3. ^ Dixon 2005, p. 158.
  4. ^ a b Dowd 2002, p. 117.
  5. ^ Peckham 1947, p. 239.
  6. ^ Nester 2000, p. 279.
  7. ^ Dowd 2002, p. 275.
  8. ^ Middleton 2007, p. 202.
  9. ^ Dickason, Olive (2022). Indigenous Peoples within Canada: A Concise History (Fourth ed.). Ontario: Oxford University Press. p. 125. ISBN 978-0-19-902848-1.
  10. ^ Dixon 2005, p. xiii.
  11. ^ Fenn 2000, p. 1558.
  12. ^ Richter 2001, p. 208.
  13. ^ Calloway 2006, p. 92.

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