Pontiac's War
1763 conflict by Native Americans against the British in Canada / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Pontiac's War (also known as Pontiac's Conspiracy or Pontiac's Rebellion) was launched in 1763 by a loose 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.
| 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) | |||||||||
| |||||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||||
 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 | ||||||||
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]