- Sixty Years' War
The Sixty Years' War (1754–1814) was a military struggle for control of the Great Lakes region in
North America , encompassing a number of wars over several generations. The term "Sixty Years' War" is not widely known, and is used primarily by academichistorian s who specialize in various aspects of the conflict. Traditionally, the war for control of the Great Lakes region has been written about only in reference to the individual wars; the designation "Sixty Years' War" provides a framework for viewing this era as a continuous whole.As defined by historian David Skaggs, the Sixty Years' War consists of six phases:
1.
French and Indian War (1754-1763):The North American theatre of theSeven Years' War , and generally referred to as such in Canada, began as an imperial struggle between theBritish Empire and France for control of theOhio Country and Great Lakes region—what was known inNew France as the "upper country" (the " [http://www.canadianencyclopedia.ca/index.cfm?PgNm=TCE&Params=A1ARTA0006158 pays d'en haut] "). American Indians of the "pays d'en haut", who had longstanding trade relations with the French, generally fought alongside the French. TheIroquois Confederacy attempted to remain neutral in the conflict, except for the Mohawks, who fought as British allies. The conquest of New France by the British marked the end of French colonial power in the region and the establishment of British rule in what would becomeCanada .2.
Pontiac's Rebellion (1763-1765):American Indian allies of the defeated French renewed the struggle against the British victors, eventually leading to a negotiated truce.3.
Lord Dunmore's War (1774):The expansion of colonialVirginia into the Ohio Country sparked a war with Ohio Indians, primarilyShawnee s andMingo s, forcing them to cede their hunting ground south of theOhio River (modernKentucky ) to Virginia.4.
Frontier warfare during the American Revolution (1775-1783):TheAmerican Revolutionary War spilled over onto thefrontier , with British commanders inCanada working with American Indian allies to halt American expansion and to provide a strategic diversion from the primary battles in the east. With the victory of theUnited States in the war, Great Britain ceded theOld Northwest —the homeland of many of her American Indian allies—to the Americans.5.
Northwest Indian War (1786-1794):The American occupation of the Old Northwest was resisted by a large confederation of American Indians. After suffering great defeats, the U.S. won theBattle of Fallen Timbers and gained control of most of modernOhio .6.
War of 1812 (1812-1814):A number of American Indians, many under the leadership ofTecumseh , continued to resist American hegemony and expansion in the Northwest, suffering a defeat in theBattle of Tippecanoe in 1811. When the United States declared war on Great Britain in 1812, the British once again turned to American Indians to provide much needed manpower for their frontier war effort. The war between the United States and British Canada ended as astalemate , establishing the Great Lakes as a permanent boundary between the two nations. After this struggle, American Indians in the region no longer had European allies in the struggle against American expansion. (This, however, did not halt attempts by the Indians of the Midwest to resist white encroachment. TheWinnebago War broke out in 1827, and theBlack Hawk War five years later. Significantly, Black Hawk expected British assistance from Canada, just as he and other Indians had received in theWar of 1812 ; see Trask, 2006.)References
*Skaggs, David Curtis and Larry L. Nelson, eds. "The Sixty Years' War for the Great Lakes, 1754-1814". East Lansing: Michigan State University Press, 2001.
*Tanner, Helen Hornbeck, ed. "Atlas of Great Lakes Indian History". Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 1987.
*Trask, Kerry A. "Black Hawk: The Battle for the Heart of America". New York: Henry Holt and Company, 2006.
*White, Richard. "The Middle Ground: Indians, Empires, and Republics in the Great Lakes Region, 1650-1815". Cambridge, England: University of Cambridge Press, 1991.
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