The French & Indian War
The French & Indian War was a major war that led up to the American Revolutionary War. The French & Indian War lasted from 1756 to 1763, for seven years. It was nicknamed the Seven Years War. The Countries that participated in the French & Indian War were Austria, England, France, Great Britain, Prussia, and Sweden. Prussia was a country in Europe at that time.
France was claiming land near Western Canada. Sweden was pushed out of the system by Britain. Soon France and Britain's interests met and caused disputes around Ohio and Canada. The British Troops outnumbered French troops because Britain had their own militias and made their own food while the French had to rely on the fur trade and food from France, but France had the help of Native Americans, who thought the British would take their land.
In the early 1750's France had set up numerous forts around the Ohio Territory. One of the forts was Fort Duquesne. Colonel George Washington was ordered to capture Fort Duquesne with 150 militiamen. They fought, but their was more French Soldiers than the 150 militiamen. While fighting to capture the fort, George Washington's forces made a makeshift fort called Fort Necessity. French forces surrounded the fort and made Washington go back to Virginia with a letter saying that Ohio Territory was France's Territory.
Britain responded on impulse, they sent General Edward Braddock with George Washington and marched to Fort Duquesne. Disaster struck. The French and Indians were hiding behind rocks and trees, shooting. This attack was successful, but Braddock got shot during the battle. Back in England, a new prime minister, William Pitt, took power. His strategy to win the war was to capture Canada.
France and Britain were fighting now in Canada. The main battle ground was
Lake Champlain. In 1757, France captured British Fort William Henry. Looking for revenge, the English army captured French island fortress in Louisbourg, French Fort Frontenac, Fort Niagara, and Quebec. The Battle of Quebec was a gain and a loss for Britain: they won Quebec but lost their beloved general, James Wolfe. Wolfe’s assistant, Jeffrey Amherst continued the attacks on Montreal, the last French garrison. These frays continued for a few years and finally, the Treaty of Paris was signed, making France give up all land in Canada. Even though the British won the war, they faced a huge debt for all the soldiers.
Pontiac’s War
The Pontiac War was a war between a group of Native American tribes mainly from the Great Lakes Region and the British. The Native Americans ambushed a number of British forts and settlements. It lasted from 1763 to 1765.
In 1759, a group of Native Americans from the tribes Ottawa, Huron, and Potawatomi found a group of English Rangers in present-day Michigan. The Ottawa Tribes leader, Pontiac interrogated the rangers about why they were trespassing on Native Americans Territory. The Rangers said they were here only to remove the French. After the rangers gave Pontiac wampum (beads), Pontiac smoked with them. Pontiac then agreed to be under the English crown, but he said that if he would be tricked, he would shut down all routes to the west of the Appalachian mountains.
When the French & Indian War ended in 1760, the Indian Territories had a sudden influx of English people. The Native Americans realized that when they had an alliance with France, France sent supplies and weapons, while now, the English were not giving them
anything. The Native Americans soon also found out that they were not welcome into British Forts and intermarriage was discouraged. The Native Americans took these actions as an open insult to them and a breach of protocol.
In 1762, the Native American Delaware Prophet Neolin had a vision where he met the Master of Life. The Master of Life told him: “The land on which you are, I have made for you, not for others. Wherefore do you suffer the whites to dwell upon your lands? Drive them away; wage war against them; I love them not; they know me not; they are my enemies; they are your brothers' enemies. Send them back to the land I have made for them.” Neolin wrote this down on deerskin. Neolin's theory was one of the building blocks for the Pan-Indian movement. One of Neolin's followers was Chief Pontiac. Neolin's message became Anti- European, but Pontiac got the message as Anti- British.
In 1763, Neolin, in present- day Michigan, urged the Three Fires Confederacy- Ottawa, Ojibwa, and Potawatomi to expel the British. In acknowledgement, Pontiac led three tribes, Shawnee, Delaware, and Ojibwa to oppose the British. Pontiac said to his men, "It is important for us, my brothers, that we exterminate from our land this nation which only seeks to kills us." Pontiac and his allies gained control of nine of the eleven British forts in the Ohio Valley.
In attempt to calm down the Native Americans, the British issued the Proclamation of 1763, which forbade any settling of colonists west of the Appalachian Mountains. The Pontiac War ended because the British turned the tables and made it biological warfare, and caused a smallpox epidemic by infecting two clothes during a peace negotiation.
In 1764, Pontiac sent a wampum belt for peace, but the British simply chopped up the belt. This angered the natives but there was nothing they could do. At the end of the Pontiac War, the British asked for all the English captives to be returned to them. They got the captives back. In 1775, the war was over and Britain asked for Pontiac to carry the peace message to all the other tribes.
Annotated Bibliography MLA Format
Secondary Source #1
"The French and Indian War (1754-1763)." Www.kidport.com. Kidport.com, n.d. Web. 25 Feb. 2013. <http://www.kidport.com/reflib/usahistory/frenchindian/frenindwar.htm>
This website helped me understand why the French & Indian War happened and what happened before and after it.
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Secondary Source #2
"The French and Indian War Part 1: The Colonies in America." The French and Indian War Part 1: The Colonies in America. Social Studies For Kids, n.d. Web. 25 Feb. 2013.
This website was telling me information that was in an easy to understanding way. Other websites were not so easy to read and understand, so I got the context of the French & Indian War after I read this website.
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Primary Source #3
Ojibwa. "Pontiac's War." Www.nativeamericannetroots.net. N.p., 28 Mar. 2011. Web. 27 Feb. 2013. <http://www.nativeamericannetroots.net/diary/906/pontiacs-war>.
This website was a journal from a Native American during the Pontiac War, so it was
primary source. It was written so I could visualize what was happening in Pontiac’s War.
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Secondary Source #4
Drake, Frances F. "Pontiac's War." Www.warpaths2peacepipes.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 27 Feb. 2013. <http://www.warpaths2peacepipes.com/native-american-stories/pontiacs-war.htm>.
This was written for kids, so it was easy to understand for me.
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