War under Heaven: Pontiac, the Indian Nations, and the British Empire [Hardcover]

Professor Gregory Evans Dowd (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 29, 2002

The 1763 Treaty of Paris ceded much of the continent east of the Mississippi to Great Britain, a claim which the Indian nations of the Great Lakes, who suddenly found themselves under British rule, considered outrageous. Unlike the French, with whom Great Lakes Indians had formed an alliance of convenience, the British entered the upper Great Lakes in a spirit of conquest. British officers on the frontier keenly felt the need to assert their assumed superiority over both Native Americans and European settlers. At the same time, Indian leaders expected appropriate tokens of British regard, gifts the British refused to give. It is this issue of respect that, according to Gregory Dowd, lies at the root of the war the Ottawa chief Pontiac and his alliance of Great Lakes Indians waged on the British Empire between 1763 and 1767.

In War under Heaven, Dowd boldly reinterprets the causes and consequences of Pontiac's War. Where previous Anglocentric histories have ascribed this dramatic uprising to disputes over trade and land, this groundbreaking work traces the conflict back to status: both the low regard in which the British held the Indians and the concern among Native American leaders about their people's standing--and their sovereignty--in the eyes of the British. Pontiac's War also embodied a clash of world views, and Dowd examines the central role that Indian cultural practices and beliefs played in the conflict, explores the political and military culture of the British Empire which informed the attitudes its servants had toward Indians, provides deft and insightful portraits of Pontiac and his British adversaries, and offers a detailed analysis of the military and diplomatic strategies of both sides. Imaginatively conceived and compellingly told, War under Heaven redefines our understanding of Anglo-Indian relations in the colonial period.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Shifting from councils at frontier outposts to deliberations at Whitehall, Dowd elucidates the contradictions in British policy toward Indian sovereignty that helped ignite the conflict... His explication of both sides' strategies and tactics in the ferocious struggle is both sober and gripping. And, in perhaps his most original contribution, he skillfully uses the perforce meager evidence to analyze the religious dimensions of the Indians' resistance. A stylish writer with a talent for compression, Dowd engages and advances while making the lines of those debates clear to the general reader. His book is the best account of its subject." -- Benjamin Schwarz, Atlantic Monthly

"Masterful and nuanced... Dowd is especially original in his analysis of the war's legacy. Its prime lesson, its ambiguity, was part of a larger crisis of empire... [Pontiac's War] rippled far into the American future. This tightly written and engaging history brings it alive and lifts it convincingly to its proper place as a turning point in the continental story." -- Elliott West, Washington Times

"Dowd draws on his considerable expertise of eighteenth-century Native American resistance movements to construct a detailed retelling of the rebellion... Dowd gives us a fine history." -- Michael McDonnell, Times Literary Supplement

"Provocatively written and masterfully researched, Dowd's important new monograph... challenges much of the recent scholarship on the conflict, offering a bold new interpretation that links this Indian war with broader themes in Atlantic and Native American History... Merits the attention of all students of early American history." -- Jon Parmenter, Journal of American History

"Among historians of early America, the consensus in recent years has been to underplay Pontiac's role as a visionary patriot chief but at the same time to elevate the conflict that bears his name from a 'rebellion' to an all-out war that stopped British imperial expansion in its tracks, at least temporarily. Gregory Evans Dowd provides a thoughtful, expertly researched articulation of that consensus in his new book, which is certain to supplant Howard Peckham's Pontiac and the Indian Uprising as the definitive scholarly account of the conflict... This fine book raises important questions about how we should situate Pontiac's War (or Rebellion, if you like) in the larger story of Britain's eighteenth-century imperial expansion and U.S. empire building to this day." -- Timothy J. Shannon, Common-Place

"Dowd strips away the mythology that has long clouded the reputation of this accomplished Ottawa leader. At the same time, Dowd brilliantly demonstrates that the conflict between the British and the various unified Indian nations was not over land or trade but rather British respect of Indian sovereignty... An elegantly written ethnohistorical study." -- Library Journal

"Dowd's arguments are convincing, his prose is accessible and vibrant, the research is prodigious, and War under Heaven will occupy an important place in the historiography of the pays d'en haut... An important and gripping work of history." -- James Taylor Carson, Journal of Military History

"Dowd does an excellent job of placing the war in the context of Indians' spirituality... a beautifully written and well-researched book." -- Robert M. Owens, Michigan Historical Review

"The story Dowd tells is a complicated one, and that he is able to present it in only 275 pages of text is an amazing feat. He not only presents sophisticated analyses of the Indian cultures of the Great Lakes region, of British Imperial culture as manifested on the North American frontier, and provides several succinct biographies and background information about leaders on both sides, -- not to mention the best hisoriography of Pontiac's life to date -- he does so in away that is useful and accessible to both a scholarly and a general readership." -- Michael Sherfy, Journal of Colonialism and Colonial History

"An insightful account of military operations in what would later be termed 'the Old Northwest territories'... The author provides an analytic treatment, discussing the implications, consequences, and problems created by the Anglo-American victory, and is not afraid to point out and wrestle with difficult problems in historiography and interpretation." -- New York Military Affairs Symposium Newsletter

"Based on exhaustive research, this is the most thorough and judicious study of the Indian uprising, encompassing all its ramifications." -- Choice

"An eventful and comprehensive account of the reasons for and implications of Pontiac's War... Dowd weaves a richly textured and complicated tapestry of the North American frontier in the period between the end of the Seven Years' War and the American Revolution." -- Christian Ayne Crouch, Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Biography

"In his superb new book, Dowd has restored Pontiac as a preeminent figure in the uprisings while recasting his leadership qualities in Ottawa terms... A thoughtful, balanced, judicious response to a generation of rich scholarship in Native American history and imperial-Indian relations... This is a masterful work of scholarship that deserves a wide readership... Artfully crafted and gracefully written, this book will long endure, both as the best account we have of Pontiac's War and as an important contribution to the lively debate about the place of Native Americans in the British empire." -- Eric Hinderaker, William and Mary Quarterly

"A stylish writer with a talent for compression, Dowd engages and advances scholarly debates while making the lines of those debates clear to the general reader. His book is the best account of its subject." -- Benjamin Schwarz, Atlantic Monthly

"Dowd's complex analytical position results in one of the most complete syntheses of documents related to Pontiac and his war." -- James M. McClurken, Western Historical Quarterly

"Dowd continues his excellent scholarship of earlier years in reconstructing the movements and motives of Native peoples." -- Evan Haefeli, American Historical Review

"[War under Heaven] provides a very deep look not only at the man, but the war, Native American politics and strategy, and British indian policy." -- NYMAS Review

"Like the best ethnohistorians, Dowd attempts to explain native motives and actions in native terms... the extent of Dowd's research and his thoughtful interpretations of key points in this colonial conflict should ensure that War Under Heaven becomes the definitive study of Pontiac's War." -- Anne Keary, Itinerario

"Dowd offers a brilliant reinterpretation of the causes and consequences of Pontiac's War... [His] study transcends old debates about the character of Pontiac himself to reveal the cultural, social, and political context within which the war occurred. Along the way, he crafts a bold argument about the place of Indian peoples within the first British Empire." -- Indiana Magazine of History

"Most readers will likely accept as convincing (perhaps even definitive) Dowd's explanation of the war's origins. His description of the conflict's military and diplomatic history will likewise earn well-deserved praise for its eloquence and concision. For a single work to synthesize such a broad and complex movement with such clarity is a rare and most impressive accomplishment." -- Brett Rushforth, Indiana Magazine of History

"Especially welcome... Dowd has constructed a powerful new narrative that has the interpretive force to dislodge the reign of Richard White's now classic and much emulated Middle Ground... sensitive and ultimately persuasive treatment of the religious background and significance of Pontiac's movement... Dowd's War Under Heaven is ultimately a deeper story... and one that goes farther than any recent work in reshaping the narrative not only of colonial-Indian relations, but also of the dynamics of empire in pre-Revolutionary America and the position of Indian peoples in the new nation." -- Rachel Wheeler, Connecticut History

"The best modern re-telling of the Indian-British conflict known as Pontiac's War... Dowd makes another significant addition to early American history." -- W. Gregory O'Brien, Journal of the West

Review

"An up-to-date ethnohistorical study of the war called Pontiac's is long overdue. Gregory Dowd has provided a masterful narrative and analysis of the war, grounded in deep research and insightful readings of the primary sources. He offers an important new interpretation of the conflict, showing how the British and Indian nations understood the war as a struggle for social and political status within the empire. War under Heaven represents a major contribution to understanding eighteenth-century America." -- Colin G. Calloway, Professor of History and Native American Studies at Dartmouth College and author of New Worlds for All: Indians, Europeans, and the Remaking of Early America

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 384 pages
• Publisher: The Johns Hopkins University Press (October 29, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0801870798
• ISBN-13: 978-0801870798
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 6.9 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,120,987 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

23 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Scholarly and Accessible, January 1, 2003

By 

Rod Coffey (Arnold, MD) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: War under Heaven: Pontiac, the Indian Nations, and the British Empire (Hardcover)

I am going to offer a rave review, (admittedly of a favorite period), and want to disclaim the need for a disclaimer --- I do not know the author or have any connection to his University or publisher.

Gregory Dowd can hardly be accused of writing inaccessible history only to other historians on an obscure topic. The linkages in British Colonial Indian policy between the end of the French and Indian War and the Revolution are interesting in their own right. This account covers all perspectives, dealing with French attitudes; Pontiac's turbulent, adroit yet ultimately unpopular leadership; and above all the cultural and emotional influences at work in the era. Not merely about Pontiac's War, this work is aptly subtitled: Pontiac, The Indian Nations and the British Empire.

Of particular import is Dowd's sophisticated analysis of British policy paralleled with a sober yet, when appropriate, complimentary account of the methods of the Indian Nations. Dowd provides new insight in his focus on the issue of status and dignity as a motivating factor in Pontiac's War -- without ever collapsing into easy platitudes on the plight of Native Americans. Wholistic in the best sense of the word, the impact of Indian religion and its interaction with Christianity is also assessed.

Expert, well written, well researched, non-polemic; War Under Heaven, also offers seamless assessments of the work of other historians.

The fact that Dowd accomplishes so much in just 275 pages of text is a testament to good writing and the tightness of the text. Just as accessible to newcomer as to student of the era.

10 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Good Analysis of Pontiac's War...With Reservations, March 4, 2004

By 

Matthew S. Schweitzer "zohoe" (Columbus, OH United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: War under Heaven: Pontiac, the Indian Nations, and the British Empire (Paperback)

Gregory Dowd's "War Under Heaven" is a decent scholarly analysis of the Indian conflict popularly known as Pontiac's War, that bloody uprising against the British along the Eastern frontier in the years immediately after the end of the French and Indian War. Pontiac's War was a result of many factors following France's defeat in the contest for North America, most of which surrounded the uncertainy of the Indians future in an empire now controlled by the British, who unlike the French before them, did not generally look upon the Indians with favor. The result of this uncertainy of status and spirituality led to an especially sanguinary confrontation between the Indians and their British neighbors, or as the Indians saw them, overlords.

Dowd questions the traditionally accepted causes of the war, especially the conclusions of authors like Francis Parkman and Howard Peckham, which placed the ultimate causes of the war at the feet of General Jeffery Amherst and his anti-Indian policies of witholding presents and weapons from the tribes, materials that they had not only come to expect as a matter of course, but were now wholely dependent on for their survival. Dowd attempts to draw a connection to the role of the Delaware Prophet Neolin and his influence on Pontiac and the other western tribes as they struggled to maintain their lifestyle in the face of a an uncertain future. The author maintains that the question of Indian status and prestige lie at the root of the conflict as the Indians tried to keep the balance between themselves and the British which they had always enjoyed with their previous allies, the French. He also attempts to enhance the role played by the spiritual aspect of the war, showing that Pontiac and his followers were greatly influenced by the teachings of the Delaware Prophet and his message of a return to native technologies and lifeways and a rejection of white influence. This is definately not a military history of the war so much as an analaysis of the causes and outcomes of Pontiac's War and the way Indian-white relations evolved over the course of the years 1760-1765.

While the book is well written and researched, I had some serious reservations with some of the conclusions Dowd draws. For one thing, Dowd seriously downplays the significance of Henry Bouquet's success at the Battle of Bushy Run, claiming it was more a draw than the important victory most historians make it out to be. He also downplays the importance of Bouquets expedition into the Ohio Country in 1764, a march that is usually credited with having ended the war and eliciting proclamations of peace from the Ohio tribes. Here Dowd implies that far from cowing the tribes, Bouquet forms a shaky peace with the yet hostile native enemies whom he knows he can not best in open combat.

The biggest problem, however, lies with his almost revisionist treatment of Colonel John Bradstreet's expedition to Detroit which took place simultaneously with Bouquet's march. Historians from Francis Parkmen to Fred Anderson have characterized Bradstreet's expedition as an unqualified disaster. Bradstreet disobeyed his orders from Gage to attack the Shawnee and Delaware villages along the Scioto and attempted to create his own ill-conceived peace accord with the Ohio tribes in a clear affront to his nemesis William Johnson. Bradstreet is generally remembered by history as being the conqueror of Fort Frontenac during the late war with France, but here he proves himself to be an ambitious yet incompetent bungler who's greatest affront comes at Detroit when, enraged at Pontiac's absence from a peace council Bradstreet has called with the disaffected tribes, the colonel proceeds to tomahawk to bits a peace belt Pontiac has sent in his stead, an act that one historian has compared to a diplomat spitting on a proposed peace treaty. Bradstreet also unwisely sends poor Captain Thomas Morris on a fool's errand up the Maumee and Washbash Rivers, into the lion's den so to speak, in an attempt to bring Pontiac to the peace table. Along the way Morris is beaten and nearly burned at the stake by hostile Indians, only to escape to Detroit in failure, angering a deluded Bradstreet by presenting undeniable evidence that the peace he believes he has forged is a total fraud. Bradstreet then leaves Detroit in disgust, is angered further by the Indians failure to show up with prisoners at Sandusky as promised, and then proceeds to abandon half his force on his return to Niagara after many of his bateauxs are foolishly sunk in a storm on Lake Erie when he fails to take the necessary precautions to protect his men and equipment. Dowd, however, portrays Bradstreet as an unsung hero, a man maligned by his superiors who are angered by his mission's lack of bloodshed and chastisement. Whether or not this is an accurate view of Bradstreet is questionable, but Dowd seems to support much of the rest of his arguements soundly.

1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Very well written with one minor complaint, November 16, 2007

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Senna777 "cartfan" (california) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: War under Heaven: Pontiac, the Indian Nations, and the British Empire (Paperback)

The book was well written and I found Dowd's argument convincing. His narration is clear, though there are times when it could have been shortened.

The complaint... Dowd does a decent job explaining the British Navy as an advantage at Fort Detroit. It is possible, and probable that many of the people on the ships were not trained sailors that the royal navy is accustomed to. However, the British certainly knew how to handle their ships. In fact, I would suggest that Pontiac had little to no chance at Fort Detroit. Now, here is the complaint. Where Dowd does a good job showing how the greatest navy in the world would be too much for Pontiac to handle; he fails to point out the reality of England's army. The English had probably the worst land army in Europe at the time. During the 7 years war it was Prussia who kept England ahead in Europe. English armies were battered by France in America. The English enforced discipline, but their army was not elite. For obvious reasons, the royal navy was of more importance. Why is this a complaint? Well, Dowd appears to give Pontiac's warriors a good deal of credit, and rightfully so, but Indian warriors armed with European weapons placed them theoretically on the same "playing field" as the English. The English army was horrible, and Dowd should have pointed this out. The army was not as well trained as the French or Prussians. This is seen as certain captains, commanders, etc. are seen creating their own rules. What I am suggesting is, the weakness of the British army contributed more to Pontiac's success than it is shown.


Complaint aside, the book is definitely worth buying. If you are a history student (European or US) I would suggest it--particularly if you plan to focus on colonial history.


Another good book from this period is "Subjects unto the Same King: Indians, English, and the contest for authority in colonial New England" by Jenny Hale Pulsipher