Pontiac's Rebellion

I.               British Imperialism

A.   A.   British society—British society was very hierarchically arranged, and those people who belonged to the “better sort” expected to be deferred to by those that they considered to be of the “lower sort”—which in the aristocratic British mind, meant all “savages.”

B.     British army—the British army was staffed with two sorts of people, mainly: an officer corps made up of untrained (or self-trained) sons of the landed aristocracy, who had no other means to support themselves, and poor conscripts.

1.     1. British officers—officers were appointed because of their political connections, rather than on their training or competence. Some officers were able to learn military tactics, and pick up enough knowledge to become competent in their position; others were not. Officers came almost exclusively from the aristocracy, and expected not only immediate obedience to their orders, but also to treat those they considered beneath them with contempt.

2.     2. British soldiers—were largely poor conscripts; if the war was expected to need more soldiers, the government would go out and hire mercenaries. Because few of these soldiers found their way into uniform willingly, morale was exceedingly low (as was the pay), and discipline exceedingly harsh; miscreants could be sentenced to whippings of 50, 100, 200—up to 1000 lashes upon the bare back (the latter number undoubtedly would have meant an excruciating death). These floggings were public events—meant to deter others from following in their footsteps—and witnessed by many Native Americans, who undoubtedly questioned how the British would treat them in light of how they treated their compatriots.

3.     3. The British “victory’”—the British assumed that Native Americans had been subservient to the French, and were determined that they should continue to be subservient to them. By order of the commander of British forces in North America, the ritual of gift-giving to the various Native American groups would cease, and the prices charged to these groups for goods was to rise, as well.

C.     Native American reaction—not surprisingly, Native Americans did not like this treatment, especially when it came wrapped in invectives like “dogs” and “hogs.” The British viewed they Native American demands for gifts as proof of their utter dependency on themselves, and therefore began talking among themselves about getting rid of the new boss.

1. C. Native American reaction—not surprisingly, Native Americans did not like this treatment, especially when it came wrapped in invectives like “dogs” and “hogs.” The British viewed they Native American demands for gifts as proof of their utter dependency on themselves, and therefore began talking among themselves about getting rid of the new boss.

   1. Polyglot societies—with the disruption of the pays d’en haut, Native peoples began living with people from other tribes and nations. These polyglot villages became important trade centers. They also helped Natives to develop the concept that they were all a related, independent people—to develop an “Indian” identity. Pontiac himself was probably the offspring of just such a liason; while his father was Ottawa, and he himself was raised in the Ottawa tradition, his mother was Ojibwe, which undoubtedly increase his awareness of these other Native cultures.

2.     2. Resentment about “ill-treatment”—Natives compared their treatment by the British unfavorably with their treatment by the French, and attempted to persuade the remaining French that they would all be better off if the French were in “control” again.

II.             The Rebellion

A.     A. Pontiac’s “Conspiracy”—Pontiac probably received greater credit than was his due over the influence of events at Detroit. In part this is the work of the historian Francis Parkman, who wrote what for many years was the defining work on the subject, called The Conspiracy of Pontiac.  Pontiac was one of several Native American leaders to speak in favor of a quick strike against the British, in an effort to get rid of them. In this effort, they expected help from the French, which would not be forthcoming, in any event.

B.     B. Pontiac and prophecy—Pontiac considered himself a true believer of Neolin’s prophecy. He has been accused of simply using the teachings of Neolin to further his own ends, but it seems more likely that Pontiac, like many other Native American people, was using this new identity as an Indian people to attempt to make common purpose with others, and to reclaim their land from the British and especially from the British colonists (who shortly would themselves develop a new identity—that of Americans).

C.     The Attack on Fort Detroit—Fort Detroit was a massive structure (although not as massive as the new British fort at the headwaters of the Ohio River, Fort Pitt). After several reconnaissance missions, an abortive assault on the fort was launched in April 1763. Pontiac did not have enough warriors to overrun the fort, however, and settled in on a siege that lasted most of the summer.

1.     Lack of Native unity—part of the reason for the failure of the assault was that not all Native people supported ridding the country of the British, and in fact warned them that such an attack was in the works.

2.     The Spreading of the Operation—as word of Pontiac’s assault spread, other Native American people were inspired to undertake their own assaults on British forts, and seven smaller forts were actually taken. The first to fall was Fort Sandusky, and the largest fort Native American was able to capture was Fort Michilamackinac. The swiftness of these assaults led historians to believe for many years that the attacks had to be coordinated somehow, but it is now believed that it was simply the good communications Natives enjoyed, and their enthusiasm for just this kind of operation.

3.     The Negotiated Peace—the failure to capture none of the largest forts (Fort Pitt, Fort Detroit, or Fort Niagara) allowed British forces to hold out, and the success the British had in re-supplying Fort Niagara doomed the operation. Pontiac withdrew from Detroit to the Illinois Country (where the British enjoyed even less control), and kept up a low-grade resistance for a time, but eventually he settled for a negotiated peace, so he could return to his family on the Maumee.

4.     Pontiac’s prominence—Pontiac received the lion’s share of attention during his lifetime for this operation, as well, and the attention the British lavished on him after this operation made other Native Americans jealous; as a result, on Illinois Native American murdered him in Cahokia (near present-day St. Louis) in 1769.

Conclusion—traditionally, this uprising has been portrayed as a defeat for Native Americans; after all, British colonist ignored the Proclamation Line of 1763, and continued to pour over the mountains to attempt to populate the pays d’en haut. But these assaults actually were a partial victory for a time, and provided part of the inspiration for a later, more massive attempt at resistance.