Super Chief

Chapter 547: the reason

Speaking of this Pontiac uprising, Shi Xiong had really understood it in his previous life.

If the Seven Years’ War changed the pattern of European powers in the New World in North America, and the War of Independence resulted in the birth of a powerful country, then the Pontiac uprising that occurred at the end of the Seven Years’ War opened up the relationship between the North American Indians and the North American Indians. The prelude to the struggle of European colonists and even the Americans after independence!

Everyone knows that before the Seven Years’ War, French Louisiana and New France controlled a vast area from New Orleans in the south, the Great Lakes and the St. Lawrence River basin in the north, but in terms of the area of ​​the colony, the French controlled the area of ​​the colony. It is much larger than the 13 colonies in North America controlled by the British.

   Of course, the so-called control of the French is nothing more than a self-satisfaction. After all, the strategy of the French in the North American colonies was completely different from that of the British. The colonization of French colonists in North America emphasized trade rather than land. Everything was dominated by fur trade, and little attention was paid to controlling and occupying land.

   The British were completely different. The British, especially British colonists, had an extremely greedy attitude towards land. Their colonial strategy in North America was to emphasize land rather than trade.

   This is also the reason why the French colonized North America earlier than the British, but the strength of the French colonists in North America was far inferior to that of the British colonists.

   You must know that during the Seven Years' War, the French colonists in North America were only a few tens of thousands. At that time, the number of British colonists in North America had exceeded 1.5 million!

   Although the main battlefield of the Seven Years' War was in Europe, in the Atlantic Ocean, North America, and India, it was as tragic as a dog's brain. The Seven Years War that took place in the New World in North America was called the "French-Indian War" in history.

In this war, most of the Indian tribes living on the east coast were involved in this war. For their own interests, more Indian tribes chose to form alliances with the French, and a few tribes chose the British as their allies. And they went to war against the opponents, and the entire eastern part of North America was united.

The Seven Years’ War that took place between 1756 and 1763, the final result was that France and its Indian allies were defeated and had to swallow the bitter pill. The British took over many French territories and rule in North America in accordance with the armistice agreement. Quan, became the new ruler of the French colonies in North America.

   In this several-year war, the local fur trade in the New World in North America has been hit hard, and the lucrative fur trade in the past has dropped to a freezing point. However, when the British seized control of the Detroit Fortress in 1760, they began to re-establish peaceful relations with many Indian tribes who had sided with the French or were neutral in the war, in an attempt to revive the war that had been blocked. The fur trade tried to enrich the supply of goods that were cut off during the war.

Regardless of the Indians’ ignorance and backwardness, their interests still make them forget their **** feuds, especially when the British continued to transport goods such as rum, iron and other relatively cheap goods in Europe to the New World in North America. Immediately after the Seven Years' War ended, it immediately won the goodwill of the local Indian tribes.

   But again, the British strategy in the North American New World is not based on trade. What they covet is the vast and rich land occupied by the Indians!

In particular, the arrogant British regarded Indians as barbarians with no education and need to be disciplined, rather than business partners who could deal with them on an equal footing. These colonial officials looked down on Indians from the bottom of their hearts, so they changed their trade. Traditionally, it no longer respects the culture of the Indians. Instead, it implements a high-pressure policy, setting various restrictions and requirements on the Indians in the fur trade where the two sides have the closest exchanges, in order to reduce their own costs.

Before the British occupied the French colonies and implemented the high-pressure policy, the Indians had great freedom in the fur trade. As the main supplier of fur, they would sell fur to whomever they wanted to buy. Those who wanted to buy fur from Indians If European fur traders want to do business with Indians, they must first please Indians.

Generally, gifts are given to Indians as a friendly testimony before the official start of the transaction. The value of the gifts can be large or small, such as alcohol, tobacco, knives, snacks, and European handicrafts. The value of these gifts is generally not high. They are all gadgets, which are not worth mentioning in comparison with the income that fur dealers can get.

However, the British, who have completely occupied the area now, regard giving gifts as the obedience of spending money to buy Indians. The colonial government believes that they are the only local buyers. Once the Indians cannot get gifts from themselves, they will be in order to obtain European goods. , You can only hunt harder for fur, and then use fur to buy the goods you want with the British.

   So the British began to change! Began to become unreasonable! Began to become more and more greedy! Began to become more and more aggressive! Start to continue to expand westward!

Detroit Castle and the other twelve military fortresses surrounding the Great Lakes area are a good example~lightnovelpub.net~ These fortresses were originally used as fur trade fortresses. They became Britain after being occupied by the British in 1760. A bridgehead for expansion.

   For the Indians, the continued expansion of the British colony was an obvious threat to them. This couldn’t be more clear. A British military officer reported that the natives “say that we intend to use them as slaves” because the British took their land...

  The contradiction between the Indians and the British is getting deeper and deeper. But because of the Seven Years' War, the Indian tribes living in the Great Lakes region were unable to unite against the British.

But just in the third year after the British occupied the Detroit Fortress, that is, in 1763, when the Ottawa high priest Neolin, who was still in its heyday, said in a religious manifestation: the supreme sun **** instruction , His people must reject European technology and liberate themselves from the business relationship with Europeans and dependence on alcohol. All the people of the sun **** must wear the costumes of their ancestors and drive the British out of their own. territory!

   So, Pontiac, the chief of Ottawa, stood up!

At that time, the Ottawas were very powerful, and they were also a well-known middlemen tribe in the Great Lakes region. They were also a bridge between whites and more western Indians. Ottawas would use low prices for goods in exchange for western Indians’ fur, and then sell them to high White people in the east earn the difference from it, so they are strong and have allies with many Indian tribes.

   The British probably never thought of how much trouble the Pontiac chief who stood up would cause them!