Nations at War - Episode 8

Good morning, we are continuing with the series Nations at War and this time we are in 1763.  In the first half of the episode, Britain had defeated France in the battle for North America.  However, France’s native allies would not take the British victory lying down.  They would meet the threat to their homeland with force.  In the second half of the episode the Abenaki nation they are fighting for their survival.  What they did not know is that they would become part of a global war that had carried on for decades.

The Odawa people control the territory around the Great Lakes region and these lands provided bountiful game for the native people.  It was the gateway to the west.  The people were willing to defend their homelands from the invaders.  However, decades of hostilities took their toll and the native nations were suffering.

The French built a fort and established fur trade in the Great Lakes region and Odawa aligned with them.  The price of that alliance was to provide support to the French when they fought the British.  In the Fall of 1760, the Odawa found out that the French were defeated.  Chief Pontiac met up with a North American English party as they took a French Fort.  The native nations had to learn how to live with the British.  While the French were defeated, their native allies continued to fight.

Chief Pontiac did not trust the British.  Jeffery Amhurst was sent to North America to turn the tide in the battle for North America.  He would stay on and would be in charge of the post-war occupation.  He was a man who hated the First Nations.  He banned the sale of weapons to both French Canadians and the first nations.  Instead of waiting before his people grew weak, Chief Pontiac organized an arm resistance against the British.  He organized a variety of nations to fight back.  This alliance was strong enough to take on the British Empire.

The first nations were not intimidated by Amhurst and Chief Pontiac would make him pay for his arrogance.  Amhurst is quickly losing control of the newly conquered lands.  Amhurst had been warned against his heavy-handed attempts at diplomacy.  Sir William Johnson was the superintendent of Indian Affairs and had grown rich working with the Mohawks.  He used gifts to build allies.  However, Amhurst stopped gift giving.  British traders were warned that stopping gift-giving would be considered an act of war.

War came and the British were not ready to fight a war.  Amhurst would resort to any means necessary to stop the rebellion.  Their forts were burned.  So what happened when the tide was turned?  Would the British change their strategy in dealing with First Nations?  Tune into the rest of this episode to find out.

In the second half of the episode, the Abenaki nation is caught between two fighting groups.  They were caught between the French and the British.  They aligned with the French who lived among them and gave them steel.  They worked together and traded often.  The Abenaki fought against British expansion and would come to the aid of the French.  It is 1754 and there are battles all over North America.  The Abenaki are caught in the middle.  Even the smallest skirmishes could lead to war.  The battle for North America would be a bloody struggle for control.  Who would emerge victoriously?  Tune into this episode to find out.

This was one of the better episodes and would be an episode I would show in an American History classroom.  In the second half, I would show clips to a World History Classroom.