Pontiac's Rebellion

Paper Summary:

The paper discusses the 1763-1766 uprising of the Native-American forces who, led by Chief Pontiac, sought to prevent further British expansion. The paper describes the uprising in detail and how it led to the Proclamation Act of 1763 and to a temporary peace between the British and the Native-American populations. The paper discusses how although this peace was short-lived, the effects of Pontiac's rebellion were that Native-American peoples in North America discovered power in cooperation and a means to combat future British expansion.

From the Paper:

"During the French and Indian War, which lasted from 1956 to 1963, the Indian tribes of the Ohio Valley in North America fought side by side with French soldiers to prevent British expansion across Pennsylvania. For the Native Americans, life under French rule had been relatively problem free, in that the Native Americans were in possession of their lands, and did not lose rights to resources, services, or cultural tradition. Their condition actually improved due to the additional services, tools, and resources provided by the French trading posts established in the region."
"However, at the close of the French and Indian war, and with the victory of the English, the Treaty of Paris in 1963 gave all French lands in North America to the British. Word quickly spread to the Ohio Valley that the tribes who had fought next to the French were now expected to turn their loyalties over to George III of Britain and fall under British rule. The Native Americans of the region feared British influence on traditional customs, and believed British settlers would quickly come to claim their lands across the Appalachian Mountains."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Anderson, Fred. Crucible of war: The seven years' war and the fate of empire in British North America, 1754-1766. New York: Knopf, 2000.
• Cave, Alfred. Prophets of the Great Spirit: Native American revitalization movements in eastern North America. Lincoln, NE: University of Nebraska Press, 2006.
• Dixon, David. Never come to peace again: Pontiac's uprising and the fate of the British Empire in North America. Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 2005.
• Dowd, Gregory Evan. War under Heaven: Pontiac, the Indian Nations, & the British Empire. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 2002.
• Nester, William. Haughty conquerors: Amherst and the great Indian uprising of 1763. Westport, Connecticut: Praeger, 2000.

More papers on Pontiac's Rebellion:

• Essay # 85590 : "The Northwest Rebellion of 1885"
• Essay # 137272 : "The Causes of the Northwest Rebellion of 1885"
• Analytical Essay # 119895 : "Indian Wars of the Colonial Period"

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