Post-French and Indian War

How did the American colonists react to new British policies?

Key Question: Why did the Proclamation of 1763 anger colonists?

The French defeat was a blow to Native Americans in the Ohio River Valley. They had lost their French allies and trading partners and now had to deal with the British. The British raised the prices of their goods. Unlike the French, the British refused to pay Native Americans to use their land. Worst of all, more colonists began settling in Native American lands.

Many Native Americans saw the settlers as a threat to their way of life. One of these was Pontiac, the chief of an Ottawa village near Detroit. In 1763, Pontiac and his forces captured the British fort at Detroit and other British outposts. During Pontiac's War, Native Americans killed settlers along the Pennsylvania and Virginia frontiers.

The same year as Pontiac's War began, Britain's King George declared that colonists were not to settle west of the Appalachian Mountains. To enforce the new rule, the British planned to keep 10,000 troops in America. The Proclamation of 1763 helped removed a source of conflict with Native Americans. It also kept colonists on the coast—where the British could control them.

Colonists believed the proclamation limited their freedom of movement. They feared that the large number of British troops might interfere with their liberties. As a result, distrust began to grow between Britain and its American colonies.

Britain's financial problems also led to trouble. Deeply in debt as a result of the war with France, the British government made plans to tax the colonies and tighten trade rules. These efforts would lead to conflict—and eventually revolution.

During the Revolution

Fighting in the West

How did the war in the West develop?

Key Question: Why did Native Americans choose to side with Britain or the American Colonists?

The Revolutionary War was of great interest to many Native American groups living in and around the 13 states. Some Native Americans helped the Patriots. More sided with the British. For them, the British seemed less of a threat than the Americans, who lived in their midst and took their land.

West of the Appalachian Mountains, the British and their Native American allies raided American settlements. Mohawk war chief Joseph Brant led a number of brutal attacks in southwestern New York and northern Pennsylvania. Farther west, Henry Hamilton, British commander at Detroit, paid Native Americans for settlers' scalps. This practice earned him the nickname, the "hair buyer."