Indian barrier state facts for kids
The Indian barrier state was a plan by the British to create a new country for Native American tribes. This country would have been like a "buffer" or "barrier" between British lands and the new United States. The British hoped this state would protect their fur trade and stop American settlers from moving west.
The proposed state would have been in the Great Lakes region of North America. It would have been west of the Appalachian Mountains, between the Ohio and Mississippi rivers, and the Great Lakes. This idea first came up in the late 1750s. It was part of a plan to make peace with the Native American tribes after the French and Indian War in 1763.
After the American Revolutionary War ended in 1783, the land was given to the United States. But British officials still tried to create this Native American state. They wanted to gather the tribes into a Confederation. This group would then form an independent state, guided by the British. Key supporters of this plan included Mohawk leader Joseph Brant and John Graves Simcoe, who was the Lieutenant Governor of Upper Canada. However, the British government finally gave up on the idea in 1814 when they signed the Treaty of Ghent with the United States.
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British Plans for a Barrier State
The British first thought about a barrier state in 1755. They discussed it with France. But after the French and Indian War in 1763, Britain controlled all the land east of the Mississippi River. So, talks with France were no longer needed.
The Royal Proclamation of 1763
Instead, the British Crown issued the Royal Proclamation of 1763. This rule was meant to keep American settlers east of the Appalachian Mountains. It aimed to separate them from the main Native American settlements. The proclamation left the western lands under British control.
However, this rule made the eastern colonies angry. They believed they had rights to much of that land. Also, British governors had promised land to soldiers who fought for Britain. For example, Colonel George Washington worked hard to make sure he and other soldiers received their promised land. This led to a lot of confusion for the next ten years.
The American Revolution and Western Lands
In 1774, the British passed the Quebec Act. This act placed the western lands under the control of British governors in Quebec. This was one of the Intolerable Acts that helped start the American Revolution.
During the Revolution, there was much fighting over these western lands. The American Patriots first gained control. But the British fought back and took some control again from 1780 to 1782.
The Treaty of Paris (1783)
During the peace talks in Paris in 1782, France suggested a plan. It would give Britain control north of the Ohio River. The lands south of the Ohio River and east of the Mississippi River would be split into two Native American states. One state would be guided by the Americans, and the other by the Spanish. The Americans rejected this plan.
The final Treaty of Paris gave the western lands to the United States. British Canada was to the north, Spanish Florida to the south, and Spanish Louisiana to the west. The British mostly left their Native American allies in the new United States. The Native Americans were not part of the treaty. They did not accept it until they were defeated by the United States military. However, the British still promised to support the Native Americans. They sold them guns and supplies. Until 1796, the British also kept forts in American territory.
The British wanted to stay friends with the Native Americans. They also wanted to protect the valuable fur trade based in Montreal. And they hoped to prevent small wars between Native American tribes and American settlers. In 1787, the United States Congress organized the land north of the Ohio River into the Northwest Territory. This plan allowed new states to be created when enough people lived there. Two years earlier, Congress passed the Land Ordinance of 1785. This law made it easy to survey and sell public lands in the region, which encouraged people to settle there.
British Efforts in the 1790s
In the early 1790s, British officials in Canada worked hard to unite the different tribes. They wanted to form a confederation that could become the basis of a Native American state. A big reason for this effort was the success of the Native Americans in November 1791. They destroyed a quarter of the entire United States Army at St. Clair's defeat (also known as the Battle of the Wabash). The British were surprised and happy about this victory. They had been supporting and arming the Native Americans for years. By 1794, the British used their base at Detroit (which was technically in American territory) to give supplies and weapons to many Native American tribes in the region.
The Jay Treaty
The British plans were made in Canada. But in 1794, the government in London changed its mind. A major war had started with France, and London decided it needed to be friends with the Americans. So, they put the barrier state idea on hold. They started friendly talks with the Americans, which led to the Jay Treaty in 1794. One part of this treaty was that the British agreed to American demands. They would remove their forts from American territory in Michigan and Wisconsin. However, the British continued to supply weapons to Native Americans living in the United States from their forts in Upper Canada.
The War of 1812
The War of 1812 in the west was fought over the land that would have been the barrier state. In 1812, the British made big gains. A group of 2,000 American soldiers surrendered Detroit. Native American allies took control of parts of Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois. They also controlled all of Michigan and Wisconsin, and lands further west.
However, in 1813, the Americans pushed back. The Native American forces left the southern areas to support Tecumseh and the British. The Americans won control of Lake Erie. They defeated the British at the Battle of the Thames in Upper Canada and killed Tecumseh. Most of his alliance broke apart.
By 1814, the Americans controlled all of Ohio, all of Indiana, and Illinois south of Peoria. They also controlled the Detroit region of Michigan. The British and their Native American allies controlled the rest of Michigan and all of Wisconsin. The Americans controlled Lake Erie and southwestern Upper Canada. This made it very hard for the British to send help and supplies to their units in Michigan and Wisconsin.
The Treaty of Ghent
In 1814, American negotiators at Ghent refused to consider any plans for a buffer state. They insisted on sticking to the terms of the Paris Peace Treaty and the Jay Treaty. These treaties gave the United States full control over Michigan, Wisconsin, and lands to the south.
The British leaders in London realized that peaceful trade with the United States was more important than the fur trade. The fur trade was the main reason for wanting the barrier state. The British had also lost several important battles to American forces during the war. So, they dropped their demands for a barrier state and for military control over the Great Lakes. The Treaty of Ghent brought back the borders that existed before the war. These borders largely form the modern Canada–United States border. The treaty also promised rights to the Native Americans living in the United States.
After the war, the United States made a series of treaties with the Native Americans. Sometimes these treaties were forced. The U.S. bought their land claims. The Native Americans were then either given reservations near their original homes or moved to reservations further west.
See also
In Spanish: Estado Barrera Indio para niños
