By Gary Felumlee
The celebration of the British victory after the signing of the Treaty of Paris in 1763 was to be a short lived affair. There were clouds on the horizon, ever darkening as time moved forward. The American colonies were accustomed to a sort of autonomy to manage their own affairs. Much was imported from Great Britain, to be sure, but there remained the fur trade and an ever-growing commerce involving tobacco, cotton, sugarcane and slaves.
In great Britain there was concern over the cost of the late war with France. The victory had added greatly to the size and resources of the British Empire, but also the cost of managing it. The British Parliament felt that the American colonies should share some of the cost and expenses concerning the recent war and the colonial government.
Following the French and Indian War, the economy had taken a downturn. Production was down and there was not the need for supporting the war effort. Importing and exporting of goods decreased and this was most noticed in the growing cities of the east coast. Cities like Baltimore, Boston, New York and even Philadelphia saw jobs lost and more suffering among the common citizens. Things were about to take a turn for the worse, and, in the eyes of many, the British Parliament was to blame.
The Encyclopedia Britannica offers a concise listing of laws passed just following the French and Indian War by Parliament for the American Colonies. These Acts of Parliament would stoke the fires of unrest in the colonies to the point they would later have to be withdrawn as laws.
Colonists reading the Stamp Act, illustration from Colonial Days: Being Stories and Ballads for Young Patriots, by Richard Markham, 1765.
In 1764, the Sugar Act placed a tax on sugar that involved restricting colonial trade in the production and shipping of alcohol, for the most part. It hurt American shipping and trade. Local production increased as a response, as businessmen protested the act being imposed on the colonies even though the colonies had no voting representation in the British Parliament. From that time on, “No Taxation Without Representation” became the rallying cry of protest.
On November 1, 1765, the Stamp Act went into effect for the American colonies. This act called for a tax to be levied on virtually all paper goods – legal documents, letters, books, newspapers, and even playing cards. The citizens were outraged, and in many cases, held protests, some acting in violence against the representatives of the local government. The British government in England rescinded the Stamp Act on March 18, 1766 as a failed piece of legislation.
The Townsend Acts of 1767-1768 caused further deterioration between Great Britain and her colonies in America. The “Acts” were proposed in Parliament by Charles Townsend, seemingly to establish a stronger, more loyal government in America and gather more tax revenue from the colonies. It could have also been an effort to punish the colonies over the failure of the Stamp Act. Nearly all British imports were taxed. There was an almost immediate negative reaction from many of the colonists, and debates were held in the streets of cities and towns. Other colonists remained loyal to the “Crown,” and its colonial government. In October of 1768, Parliament sent two units of the British Army to Boston. Seeds of revolution were being planted on the east coast. To the west, in places like the Ohio country, and what would be Muskingum County, a struggle for survival was again about to ensue.
After the defeat of the French and the Treaty of Paris, the Indian Nations would be almost immediately affected by British rule. It was a tradition for the Native Americans to receive gifts at meetings and Treaty negotiations. British General, Jeffery Amherst, looked at the gifts as a form of bribery. He sought to restrict the practice of gift-giving, and the trade of run, lead and gunpowder; the last two being essentials to the native tribes. British traders were replacing the French, who had often lived with the tribes and married into them. Many Native Americans looked on the British with mistrust. Also, settlers began to encroach on the Native American lands, including Pennsylvania and present-day Ohio.
No contemporary images of Pontiac are known to exist. In this nineteenth-century engraving by Alfred Bobbett, Pontiac urges members of the war council to revolt against the British.
Chief Pontiac of the Ottawa Nation and Chief Kyashute OF the Senecca became aware of the developments and transfer of the land to the British. Both had opposed the British in the late war and Pontiac began to form a loose confederation of the western tribes; Kyashute did the same with the eastern tribes to oppose England. Some English leaders such as William Johnson, an Indian agent in New York still worked for peace, and made Amherst aware of the potential for war.
On May 9, 1763, 300 warriors led by Pontiac, launched a surprise attack on Fort Detroit. The fort did not fall but was put under siege that lasted until November. Many colonists in the vicinity of the fort were killed or captured. On June 22, 1763, the Delaware attacked Fort Pitt at present-day Pittsburgh. The fort didn’t fall but settlers in the vicinity were killed or captured as well. Before the year ended, eight British forts and outposts were taken, and many of the occupants killed, leaving only Fort Detroit and Fort Pitt remaining, and the Ohio country vacant. The Indian Confederacy was defeated at Bushy Run, which broke the siege of Fort Pitt. William Johnson arranged a Treaty of Peace in July, 1765, ending Pontiac’s Conspiracy. Pontiac met with William Johnson in 1766 at Fort Ontario where they made peace, and Pontiac received a pardon. After his pardon, he visited various tribes, and, one such visit, was killed.
During Pontiac’s War, present day Muskingum County had two larger Native American villages. One was a Delaware (Lenape) village called Will’s Town at Duncan Falls, and the other was Wakatomika, a Shawnee town, near what is now Dresen. Prisoners were brought into Muskingum Valley and British traders were robbed and killed at each site. John Bard and William Ives were killed at Will’s Town. Thomas Mitchel Junior, John Price, James Morgan, and Edmond Mathews were killed at Wakatomika.[1]
In the fall of 1769, Ebenezer Zane arrived at Fort Henry in Wheeling, (then) Virginia. Zane claimed land by blazing trees with his tomahawk, a practice sometimes called “Tomahawk Rights.” He returned to the site in the spring of 1770 with his wife, Elizabeth, and his younger brothers, Jonathan and Silas. Other families, the Shepherds, Wetzels, and McCullochs, soon joined him.
[1] Carskadden, 160.
Bibliography
Carskadden, Jeff and James Morten. Where the Frolics and War Dances are Held. Baltimore: Gateway Press, Inc., 1997.