Introduction
In 1763, King Louis XV promised to leave the Great Lakes to the British, and French merchants duly went away south. The indigenous peoples were dismayed, for the easy-going French had always kept the surly English (and their prices) in check. So when Pontiac, leader of the Ottawas, heard a rumour that the French might return, he decided to help bring back the good times.
AS we have seen, the Indian took full advantage of the competition between French and English traders and played each off against the other. Now, however, French and English rivalry, which had been the life of the trade, was about to disappear. Without French competition, the Indian was compelled to accept such prices as the Englishman would give him.
The disadvantages of this new situation became apparent very early. General Amherst* decided to discontinue the practice, followed by both French and English, of giving presents to the Indians.* Then, too, at the close of the war there had been a rush of English settlers into the valley of the Ohio, and lands were being taken with little regard for the rights of the natives. The Indian pictured a ruthless march of settlement, uprooting him from the ancestral hunting grounds and driving him steadily westward before its relentless advance. He determined to protest against the changed attitude of the English and to protect his lands by an appeal to force.
* Jeffery Amherst (1717-1797), 1st Baron Amherst, Governor of Virginia from 1758-1768, Governor of Quebec from 1760 to 1763, Commander-in-Chief of the British forces in North America from 1753 to 1763. During the Seven Years’ War (1756-1763), he had served with distinction, capturing the forts at Ticonderoga, Niagara, Quebec, and Montreal; but he was not well fitted for the task of managing the complex relationships of post-war Canada. In 1763, he was succeeded at Quebec by James Murray, and as Commander-in-Chief of the British forces in North America by Thomas Gage. Back in England, where he was the subject of much criticism, his part in crushing the Gordon Riots in 1780 merely confirmed the prevailing opinion. See Charles Dickens’s dramatisation of the riots in ‘Have a Care What You Do’.
* There was more to it than presents. “They did not like the British as well as the French,” wrote Edith Marsh (1870-1960) from her Ontario bird sanctuary in 1912, “and were discontented and unhappy. Coming in from the forests they missed the warm welcome of the French. There had been old French houses where they had been free to wander at any time, and where no one was ever surprised to see a group of Indians sitting about in the hall. At the fort the French soldiers and officers had received them with honor, and had paid great attention to their wampum belts, feasts, councils, and long speeches. Now all this was changed. The British had no time to spend with them, and let them see that they were not wanted.”
Précis
In 1763, the French government ceded its territories in the far north of America to Great Britain. First Nations tribes in the Great Lakes area soon found that the English were exploiting their dominant position, raising prices and stealing tribal lands, and at last the indigenous peoples decided that they had no other recourse but war. (56 / 60 words)
In 1763, the French government ceded its territories in the far north of America to Great Britain. First Nations tribes in the Great Lakes area soon found that the English were exploiting their dominant position, raising prices and stealing tribal lands, and at last the indigenous peoples decided that they had no other recourse but war.
Variations: 1.increase the length of this precis to exactly 60 words. 2.reduce the length of this precis to exactly 50 words. 3.introduce one of the following words into the precis: about, because, besides, may, must, ought, until, whereas.
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