Pontiac’s uprising

In the spring of 1763, towards the end of the Seven Years’ War, the Ottawa chief Pontiac raised the Indigenous peoples of the Great Lakes against the British, and by June they had captured most western military posts. Close to a thousand warriors laid siege to the fort at Detroit, but their attempt failed. Jeffery Amherst, the British commander-in-chief, had a petty attitude towards Indigenous people that aggravated tensions and stirred up the conflict. Pontiac surrendered on 18 April 1765 and, in July, a preliminary peace agreement was signed.