The Changing Role of the Indians

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As Taylor says, both the French and English realized that the help of the Indians would be essential in the battles over colonial territory. The Indians could prove most useful and to lose their support would also hinder a side greatly. The French were out numbered and tried very hard to win the favor of the Indians. The English were less friendly, but non the less tried to gain favor as well. The support of the Indians gave to the Indians a bit of power, at least until their services were no longer needed.

The Indians were able to gain some power as their services were needed. Both the French and English saw that the Indians were essential and so they had to ask for help. This help came in a few forms, mostly better trade agreements for the Indians. Many tribes helped both sides. Taylor mentions that Indians had to ask themselves which trade would prove more favorable before choosing a side. The English had better goods for decent prices, but they were not as welcoming as the French, who were not as well off trading wise. So the Indians basically had to choose between better goods, or better relations.

The Indians thrived at gorilla warfare, a type of warfare that many were resistant to change to. The officers of the British armies much preferred the open field battles they were used to and often fell easily to the Indians attacking in the woods. For this reason the English worried about the use of Indian soldiers. The Indian advantage of the French could not, however, overcome the superior numbers of the English and their colonists.

As the war progressed and ended the Indians lost any of the power they may have gained by allying with either power. As Wang points out in the last post, the Colonists started to see all Indians as the enemy, even those who were in good relations with them. Colonists would openly attack or kill Indians of any tribe for any reason. Such men also would be free from persecution. This new attitude towards the Indians on the colonial front meant almost constant bloodshed and increasing costs to the British empire. The colonists’ desire for new land and their attitude towards the Indians, led them to take more and more land.

The Indians profited initially from the conflict between the French and English, but as time passed their power was diminished to an even lower margin than before the conflict began. This change of power showed the Indians the true intentions of the colonists and gave insight to the future relations with them. Parliament tried to stop the conflicts by restricting the growth of the colonies westward, but that was not enough to deter the desires of the colonists. The Seven Years War, and the following conflicts, set the fate of the Indians as one filled with conflicts with the English and, to a lesser extent, the French colonists.