Download Pontiac`s Rebellion The Native American Tribes of the Ohio Valley

The Native American Tribes of the Ohio Valley were surprised and
angered by the defeat of their French allies in the French and Indian
War. The natives had not experienced much loss of their land
when associating with Frenchmen. When word arrived in the
Ohio Valley that the tribes were expected to turn their loyalty to
a new European monarch, George II of Britain, they were
outraged.
Native anger was fathomable and was rooted in several issues:
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English dominance in North America meant the
construction of new forts and the movement of new settlers
into traditional native lands. The earlier French presence had
been slight and the relationship harmonious.
British traders lacked the reputation for fairness in dealing with the Indians that had
been the hallmark of the French. The natives had become dependent on European
firearms, ammunition, and other manufactured goods, and were now forced to deal with
untrustworthy English partners.
British arrogance was well-known among the Indians. The French in many instances
had married native women and been adopted by the tribes. Few British followed that
example and many expressed utter contempt for the Indians’ way of life and worth as
human beings.
Tensions were further heightened when, in early 1763, the new North American governorgeneral announced that he would discontinue the practice of presenting annual gifts to the
tribes, an event long honored by the French. The Indians were insulted by this snub, but also
angry being denied the expected tools, blankets, guns, and liquor.
The resulting widespread unhappiness presented a platform for a native visionary, who was
known simply as the Delaware Prophet. He preached ardently for a return to the traditional
ways and for the rejection of contact with the British. This platform was soon adopted by the
undistinguished Ottawa chieftain, Pontiac, who was known primarily for his oratorical skills and
as a supporter of the French in the past war. His message found sympathetic wars among the
Delaware, Seneca, Miami, Huron, and others when British colonists, soon after the war ended,
began moving west into the Ohio River Valley. He urged the Native Americans in the Ohio River
Valley to “drive off your land those who will do you nothing but harm.”
In the spring of 1763, Pontiac led an alliance of Delaware, Seneca, Shawnee, and other western
Indians in rebellion. Pontiac's alliance attacked forts in Indiana, Michigan, Pennsylvania, and
Wisconsin that Britain had taken over from the French, destroying all but three.
Hearing of the forts being
attacked, colonists in western
Pennsylvania fled to the
safety of Fort Pitt after the
outbreak of the war. Nearly
550 people crowded inside,
including more than 200
women and children. On
June 22, 1763, Fort Pitt was
attacked. The fort was too
strong to be taken, so it lay
under siege for the next
month and a half.
At the beginning of August,
most of the Native Americans
broke off the siege at Fort
Pitt in order to intercept 500 British troops under Colonel Bouquet marching on Forbes Road to
the fort. On August 5, at about 1PM, a part of the Fort Pitt aggressors ambushed the British
column one mile east of Bushy Run Station, at Edge Hill. The British managed to hold their
ground until after sunset, when the natives withdrew. Bouquet ordered a redoubt constructed
on Edge Hill, and the British placed their wounded and livestock in the center of the perimeter.
According to one account, the allied tribes attacked in the morning, but were themselves
ambushed by the sentries relieved from their evening duty. With the surprise attack of the
sentries, from a flank, and a frontal assault by the main British column, the outnumbered
Indians fled in a disorganized retreat.
A second account holds that the warriors attacked in the morning and "redoubled their efforts
to break the British line." As the tribesmen became bolder, Bouquet realized the combat was
nearing a crisis. Determined to lure his attackers close enough to maim them, the British leader
deliberately weakened one section of his line. Spotting the gap in the enemy defenses, the
native warriors rushed forward. Instead, the British soldiers fired a volley in their faces and
"made terrible havock" with the bayonet. The surviving warriors fled and were unable to rally.
Having dispersed its attackers, Bouquet's
column headed to Bushy Run, a mile along
the Forbes road, where there was badly
needed water. The battle has since been
attributed to the Bushy Run location, despite
the main fighting taking place in Edge Hill.
Although Bouquet’s force suffered heavy
casualties, they fought off the attack and then marched on to the relief of Fort Pitt.
By 1764, Pontiac’s influence over the other tribes had waned. He made several recruiting trips
to the South and West, but Pontiac received very little interest. By 1766, a treaty was
negotiated and Pontiac received a pardon. Years later, he was killed by a Native American.
The Proclamation of 1763
One of the prime results of Pontiac’s Rebellion was the Proclamation of 1763. King George III
declared all lands west of the Appalachian Divide off-limits to colonial settlers. The edict forbade
private citizens and colonial governments alike to buy land from or make any agreements with
natives; the empire would conduct all official relations. Furthermore, only licensed traders would
be allowed to travel west or deal with Indians. Theoretically protecting colonists from Indian
rampages, the measure was also intended to shield Native Americans from increasingly
frequent attacks by white settlers.
When the French and Indian War had ended, the first thing on the minds of colonists was the
great western frontier that had opened to them when the French ceded that contested territory
to the British. The royal proclamation of 1763 did much to dampen that celebration. The
proclamation, in effect, closed off the frontier to colonial expansion. The King and his council
presented the proclamation as a measure to calm the fears of the Indians, who felt that the
colonists would drive them from their lands as they expanded westward. Many in the colonies
felt that the object was to pen them in along the Atlantic seaboard where they would be easier
to regulate. No doubt there was a large measure of truth in both of these positions. However
the colonists could not help but feel a strong resentment when what they perceived to be their
prize was snatched away from them. The proclamation provided that all lands west of the
heads of all rivers which flowed into the Atlantic Ocean from the west or northwest were offlimits to the colonists. This excluded the rich Ohio Valley and all territory from the Ohio to the
Mississippi rivers from settlement.
Furthermore, it asserted that all of the Indian peoples were thereafter under the protection of
the King. It required that all lands within the "Indian territory" occupied
by Englishmen were to be abandoned. It included a list of prohibited
activities, provided for enforcement of the new laws, and indicted
unnamed persons for fraudulent practices in acquiring lands from the
Indians in times past. Resolution of the hostilities of the French and
Indian War was a difficult problem for the crown. Most of the Indian
tribes had been allied with the French during the war, because they
found the French less hostile and generally more trustworthy that the
English settlers. Now the French would depart, and the Indians were
left behind to defend themselves and their grounds as best they could.
Relations between the Indians and the English colonials were so poor
that few settlers would argue in public that the Indians had rights to
any lands. In this proclamation the King sided with the Indians, against
the perceived interests of the settlers. Moreover, it provided, and
Parliament soon after executed, British royal posts along the
proclamation boundary. Parliament was under no illusions about
relations between the Indians and the colonists. They understood that
the colonists would not respect the boundary without some enforcement mechanism. Finally,
the English were interested in improving the fur trade, which involved the Indians and
independent trappers who lived out on the frontier.
The Proclamation line extended from the Atlantic coast at Quebec to the newly established
border of West Florida. Establishing and manning posts along the length of this boundary was a
very costly undertaking. The British ministry would argue that these outposts were for colonial
defense, and as such should be paid for by the colonies. From the American perspective this
amounted to a tax on the colonies to pay for a matter of Imperial regulation that was opposed
to the interests of the colonies. A bitter pill indeed.
Although the proclamation was introduced as a temporary measure, its economic benefits for
Britain prompted ministers to keep it until the eve of the Revolution. A desire for good farmland
caused many colonists to defy the proclamation; others merely resented the royal restrictions
on trade and migration.