Meanwhile the contemporaneous colony of Louisiana had grown to some importance, and in 1717, when the Company of the West assumed control of the province, the Illinois country was annexed. Prior to this time it had been within the jurisdiction of Quebec. This gave the Illinois country a period of prosperity, many new enterprizes being undertaken. Shortly after its annexation to Louisiana, Pierre Boisbriant was given a commission to govern the Illinois country, and among his instructions was an order to erect a fort as a protection against possible encroachments from the English and Spanish. About 1720 Fort Chartres was completed and became thereafter the seat of government during the French regime. In 1721 the Company of the West divided Louisiana into nine districts, [9] extending east and west of the Mississippi River between the lines of the Ohio and Illinois rivers. In 1732 Louisiana passed out of the hands of the Company of the West Indies, and, together with the Illinois dependency, became a royal province. [10] It remained in this status until the close of the Seven Years War. During this period its relation with Louisiana had become economic as well as political, all of its trade being carried on through New Orleans, and the southern colony often owed its existence to the large supplies of flour and pork sent down the river from the Illinois country. [11]
CHAPTER II.
THE OCCUPATION OF ILLINOIS.
By the treaty of Paris the title to the Illinois region passed to Great Britain, but Fort Chartres was not immediately occupied. Detachments of British troops had taken possession of practically every other post in the newly ceded territory as early as 1760. The occupation of the forest posts of Green Bay, Mackinac, St. Joseph, Ouitanon, Detroit, Fort Miami, Sandusky, Niagara and others seemed to indicate almost complete British dominion in the West. The transfer of the Illinois posts, however, remained to be effected, and although orders were forwarded from France in the summer of 1763 to the officers commanding in the ceded territory to evacuate as soon as the English forces appeared, [12] almost three years elapsed before this was accomplished; for soon after the announcement of the treaty of cession, that broad belt of Indian tribes stretching from the fringe of the eastern settlements to the Mississippi rose in open rebellion. [13] This unexpected movement had to be reckoned with before any thought of the occupation of the Illinois could be seriously entertained.
Of the two great northern Indian families, the Iroquois had generally espoused the English cause during the recent war, while the Algonquin nations, living in Canada, and the Lake and Ohio regions, had supported the French. At the close of the war the greater portion of the French had sworn fealty to the English crown; but the allegiance of their allies, the Algonquins, was at best only temporary. It was thought that, since the power of France had been crushed, there would be no further motive for the Indian tribes to continue hostilities; but from 1761 there had been a growing feeling of discontent among the western Indians. So long as France and Great Britain were able to hold each other in check in America, the Indian nations formed a balance of power, so to speak, between them. England and France vied with each other to conciliate the savages and to retain their good will. As soon, however, as English dominion was assured, this attitude was somewhat changed. The fur trade under the French had been well regulated, but its condition under the English from 1760 to 1763 was deplorable. [14] The English traders were rash and unprincipled men [15] who did not scruple to cheat and insult their Indian clients at every opportunity. The more intelligent of the western and northern Indians perceived that their hunting grounds would soon be overrun by white settlers with a fixed purpose of permanent settlement. [16] This was probably the chief cause of the Indian uprising. There remained in the forests many French and renegade traders and hunters who constantly concocted insidious reports as to English designs and filled the savage minds with hope of succor from the King of France. [17] Many of the French inhabitance had since 1760 emigrated beyond the Mississippi, because, as the Indians thought, they feared to live under English rule. [18] This doubtless contributed something toward the rising discontent of the savages. Finally the policy of economy in expenses, which General Amherst entered upon, by cutting off a large part of the Indian presents, always so indispensable in dealing with that race, augured poorly for the Indians's future.
On the part of the mass of the Indians the insurrection was probably a mere outbreak of resentment; but Pontiac, the great chief of the Ottawas, had a clearer vision. He determined to rehabilitate French power in the west and to reunite all the Indian nations into one great confederacy in order to ward off the approaching dangers. During the years 1761-1762 the plot was developed. In 1762 Pontiac dispatched his emissaries to all the Indian nations. The ramifications of the conspiracy extended to all the Algonquin tribes, to some of the nations on the lower Mississippi and even included a portion of the Six Nations. The original aim of the plot was the destruction of the garrisons on the frontier, after which the settlements were to be attacked. The attack on the outposts, beginning in May, 1763, was sudden and overwhelming; Detroit, Fort Pitt, and Niagara alone held out, the remainder of the posts falling without an attempt at defense. Had the proclamation of 1763, which aimed at the pacification of the Indians by reserving to them the western lands, been issued earlier in the year, this devastating might have been avoided. Peaceful pacification was now out of the question. During the summers of 1763 and 1764 Colonel Bouquet raised the siege of Fort Pitt, penetrated into the enemy's country in the upper Ohio valley region and completely subdued the Shawnee and Delaware tribes upon whom Pontiac had placed every dependence. Previous to Bouquet's second campaign, Colonel Bradstreet had advanced with a detachment along the southern shore of Lake Erie, penetrating as far west as Detroit, whence companies were sent to occupy the posts in the upper lake region. In the campaign as a whole the Bouquet expedition was the most effective. After the ratification of a series of treaties, in which the Indians promised allegiance to the English crown, the eastern portion of the rebellion was broken.
It now remained to penetrate to the Illinois country in order to relieve the French garrison. Pontiac had retired thither in 1764, after his unsuccessful attempt upon Detroit; there he hoped to rally the western tribes and sue for the support of the French. But as we shall see, his schemes received a powerful blow upon the refusal of the commandants to countenance his pleas.
To what extent Pontiac was assisted by French intriguers in the development of his plans may never be positively known. As has already been pointed out, French traders were constantly among the Indians, filling their minds with hopes and fears. That the plot included French officials may be doubted; although Sir William Johnson and General Gage seemed convinced that such was the case. [19] Their belief, however, was based almost wholly upon reports from Indian runners, whose credibility as witnesses may well be questioned. A perusal of the correspondence of the French officials [20] residing in Illinois and Louisiana, and their official communications with the Indians during this period goes far to clear them of complicity in the affair. [21]