The Patriot Post® · America 250: Uncertainty in the English Colonies

As conflict with the British Crown and Parliament increased, colonial leaders seized on a document James Otis Jr. had written in 1762, before the climax of the French and Indian War. The concept of the “rights of Englishmen” had been addressed by Otis in A Vindication of the Conduct of the House of Representatives, in which he criticized the colonial government — not Parliament — for actions he believed were inappropriate. Funds had been expended that had not been approved by the colonial legislature, and the Founding Father argued that taxes can only be charged when voted on by a representative body. In his argument, Otis used the phrase “no taxation without representation,” which would become a key argument of revolutionary rhetoric.

By 1763, with the signing of the Treaty of Paris ending the war, not all conflicts had been settled. France had ceded most of its territories to Great Britain, but Spain received the French lands west of the Mississippi (known collectively as Louisiana). The British Crown was given sovereignty over Grenada, Tobago, Dominica, and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, but George III was “offended” because he felt that France retained too much power and Spain had gained too much land. Warfare may have ended, but the winds of war were still stirring.

Into this crucible came a new British prime minister, George Grenville. Chosen on April 16, 1763, he played into the British feelings of being slighted in the treaty. A hardliner, he immediately pushed policies through Parliament, designed to force the colonies to pay the massive debt and gain political and economic control of the troublesome colonies.

While the British were looking askew at the colonies, Pontiac’s War erupted. The Odawa chief controlled a native confederation in the Great Lakes region that had grown increasingly dissatisfied with the British control of the lands they had previously shared with the French. Coming together under Pontiac’s leadership, the warriors from numerous nations (Seneca, Wyandot, Kickapoo, Odawa, Ojibwe, Mingo, Miami, and others) struck against the intruding British soldiers and colonial settlers who were pushing westward into the rich land of the Ohio Valley. Nine British forts were destroyed and more than 900 soldiers and colonists were killed — with another 4,000 displaced and withdrawing from the region. The warrior faction lost about 200 fighters and were successful in forcing the British to modify their policies.

Perhaps the most significant result was an increasing wariness about the lines of settlement between colonists and native peoples. Perhaps the most publicized event during that period of 1763-1766 was the action of a vigilante group known as the Paxton Boys of Paxton, Pennsylvania. Reports about the actions near the Great Lakes spurred a group of men to attack the Susquehannock, Moravian Lenape, and Mohicans, all of whom lived in peace among their colonist neighbors. Their first raid killed six natives and prompted Governor John Penn to place the remaining Susquehannock in protective custody in Lancaster.

But the conflict did not end.

The Paxton Boys broke into the workhouse where the native families were housed and killed them. With their numbers increased, the Paxtons headed toward Philadelphia — even though there was a bounty on the heads of the ringleaders — to “get” the Lenape and Mohicans. British and colonial troops turned them back. Benjamin Franklin, who helped organize the Philadelphia defense, was highly critical of the lawlessness on the “frontier” and its impact on the entire colony. Franklin wrote extensively in defense of the peaceful native tribes and argued against the indiscriminate violence, admonishing the colonists with the question, “If an Indian injures me, does it follow that I may revenge that injury on all Indians?”

Why mention Pontiac’s War? It was the first multinational native resistance to settlement, and British legislation recognized “certain rights to the lands” occupied by native nations. That recognition of “native rights” angered many colonists who viewed the western lands as their economic right after having waged a war. Tensions increased, and the war that would occur 10 years later would see native nations involved, recognizing that a colonist victory would result in a loss for them.

Next week, we’ll take on the escalating conflict on both the land and sea, with PM Grenville urging Parliament to pass the Navigation Acts and posting General Thomas Gage as commander-in-chief of British forces in North America.

Until then, wave those flags!