Abstract

This thesis considers two aspects of colonial history which never seem to have been given the appropriate amount of attention in overall histories of the time period involved, 1763-1783. The first subject deals with the failure of British policy for the territories west of the 1763 Proclamation Line. The events which led up to Pontiac's 1763 rebellion are covered, beginning with the surrender of New France by the Marquis de Vaudreuil to General Amherst on September 8th, 1760. Attention is given to the rebellion itself, followed by an account of the difficulties experienced by the British in their efforts to occupy the Illinois Country. The efforts of Major-General Gage, the Commander in Chief, to obtain firm policy directives are also covered. The second subject is General Haldimand's defence of Canada, 1778-1783. In addition to the perceived French threat to Canada, the multitude of problems Haldimand also had to deal with are presented, not the least of which were his communications with England, together with the unreliability of his overland contacts with General Clinton, which took his agents through hostile territory. Particular attention has been given to the successful deception of Haldimand by Washington as to the objective of his 1779 campaign. Finally, the last two chapters of the thesis are devoted to the Haldimand Negotiations with Vermont which took place between 1780 and 1782. Their purpose was to try to entice that (at the time) independent republic to rejoin the British empire.