Holding the line: the changing policies of the British Army with respect to Native Americans, 1759-1774
This dissertation examines the policies pursued by the British Army with respect to Native Americans between 1759 and 1774, when the British Army was in occupation of the colonial American frontier and how and why those policies changed. During this time the army’s policy on Native Americans altered greatly; prior to Pontiac’s War Native American grievances were seen as a low priority by the army, but after that conflict the army started to pay a great deal of attention to Native American concerns. To explain these changes it is necessary to explore the changing conditions on the frontier, the changing relationship between the colonies and Britain, and the differing ideas about Native Americans possessed by General Jeffery Amherst, the commander of the British Army in the colonies at the end of the Seven Years’ War, and his replacement, General Thomas Gage. In particular it is only by examining the very different attitudes towards Native Americans possessed by Amherst and Gage that the changes in British Army policy can be fully explained.
History, British Army, Colonial America, British Empire, Native Americans, Pontiac's War
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