lecture 16: war of 1812 & early ontario treaties

at the end of the Seven Years War, First Nations worked out…

that if they were to resist the incursions of the europeans they had to confederate together - this is what the Pontiac was able to do, which led to the Royal Proclamation of 1763

the american war of independence created a serious problem for the First Nations…?

who do they side with? this split the Haudenosaunee confederacy so badly that they were unable to reach an agreement and each nation had to makes its own decision

at the end of the war of independence, the british offered their Haudenosaunee allies…

land in upper canada: the Haldimand grant - 6 miles on either side of the grand river and the Haudenosaunee under Joseph Brant (Thayendenaga) moved to settle there - which is the basis of the current Six Nations community

Jay’s treaty of 1794: (3)

• american war of independence also meant that the americans did not see they had to observe any of the restrictions placed on them by the royal proclamation and began to aggressively settle westward which led to conflicts with First Nations in the area

• ongoing conflict provided an excuse for american expansion westward but also an attempt to expand into british north america - britain was distracted by the napoleonic wars in europe and unable and unwilling to support a war in british north america

• initially, First Nations had some success in the ohio valley, but the british did not show up to support them at the battle of fallen timbers and so they lost —> leading to jay’s treaty of 1794 - important because it gives right of Indigenous people to cross freely across USA/canada border - recognized by the US but not be canada

War of 1812: (5)

• once more, First Nations recognized that in order to resist westward expansion they had to unify into a single political force - this time, under the leader Tecumseh (Shawnee from Ohio) with his brother the Shawnee Prophet they led a nativistic movement and began to bring various nations in the area together

• when the war of 1812 broke out between USA/BNA the First Nations under Tecumseh largely support the british

• it is only because of First Nations support (~2000) and warriors that the british (800) are able to hold their own during the war

• Tecumseh and Brock are able to defeat the americans at detroit and later queenston heights but Brock dies - replaced by Proctor who lacked the same respect for First Nations soldiers as Brock - Tecumseh and Proctor disagree on strategy

• Tecumseh killed at the battle of moraviantown and Proctor fled - loss of Tecumseh means the end of the fighting ability of the british but luckily a standoff ensues

after the war of 1812: (2)

• with the end of the war in 1814, there was a major shift in british policy: the Indian department moved from the war office to civilian control (at the same time, americans moved their Indian department from civilian control to war office) - no longer upholding the Haudenosaunee and other First Nations as allies of the crown

• at the same time, there was a massive influx of new immigrants into southern ontario, not only the united empire loyalists but also immigrants from britain roughly tripling canada’s population and increasing the population in upper canada by 10 times

how many southern Ontario treaties are there and which one do we care about?

25 - treaty no. 8

southern ontario treaties: (4)

• the area along the ottawa river and around lake simcoe are not covered in this round of treaties and have to be dealt with later in 1923 by the Williams treaties - part of the ottawa valley is still not covered by treaty

• southern Ontario is covered by a patchwork of small treaties and land purchases acquired as settlement spread through the area

• mostly with the Anishinaabe/Mississaugas

• example: treaty no. 8

treaties in quebec?

note that there were no treaties in quebec as the british incorrectly assumed that the french had dealt with Indigenous land title and that the british acquired it through conquest

southern ontario treaties explained: (4)

• basically, these were straight land transfers - a defined section of land was bought for a fixed price (prior to 1818, it was a fixed price payment, but after 1818 it was in annuities)

• usually amounts paid to the entire band not to individuals

• some included promises for ongoing hunting, fishing, trapping but these were largely ignored

• no other promises included within these treaties

annuities: (4)

• the british government quickly realized that it was going to be very expensive to buy all the land - so they devised the annuity or annual payment system

• they would pay a portion of the value of the land up front and then promise the First Nations an annual payment in perpetuity

• once they had acquired the land, they would sell the land to settlers and use the revenues from the sale of land to pay for the annuities - so the money did not come from government sources

• the problem was the settlers could not afford to buy the land outright so they mortgaged it - then they could not pay their mortgage and defaulted on the mortgage - the government ended up on the hook for annuities anyways

treaty making in canada: (2)

• note that we have moved from peace and friendship treaties in the maritime provinces to straight out land purchases in ontario

• over the remainder of the 19th century treaty making continues to develop