BRITISH ILLINOIS, 1763-1778

Little has been known until recent years of the events which took place in the territory of the present state of Illinois during the period when the British flag waved upon the banks of the Mississippi River. In the histories of the state the period is usually dismissed with a paragraph or two, and even these are misleading or incorrect. The present series of five or six volumes, which will include most of the known sources of the British occupation, will shed light on this obscure period and will make possible the correct interpretation of events.

The documents, although covering only a few years, will be found of great significance not only for the history of the state's territory and of the whole West but also for the proper interpretation of American history. The Illinois country was one of the centers of activities in the West, a veritable Mecca for fur traders and land speculators, and is therefore very representative of the region as a whole; and for this reason the policy towards the West that was formulated or pursued by the British ministry may be studied in the history of Illinois. It is this typical character of Illinois history that has made it necessary to include in the collection many documents of general character which will give a more correct understanding of particular

events.

That success of the British in the French and Indian War, which placed them in undisputed possession of a vast territory in America, brought with it grave responsibilities

and created problems in colonial policy never before considered. Unfortunately the conditions in British politics were not favorable for the development of a constructive policy for this broad domain, since factional strife and the stubborn determination of George III to break the power of the old aristocracy brought into being new ministries in rapid succession, so that no time was given to any particular ministry to learn the conditions in the West and to solve the many complex problems connected with its develop

ment.

A careful examination of the following documents will prove, however, that certain very definite lines of development were planned and certain decisions looking toward a steady movement of the settlements westward were reached. In general it may be said that the successive ministries of the mother country were in favor of moderate expansion. In reality, however, there were only three definite acts taken which affected the West, although there were many plans proposed. These three were the proclamation of October 7, 1763, the running of the Indian boundary line,' and the Quebec act of 1774.1 The first was issued hurriedly for the purpose of quieting the Indians and prohibited "for the present" all settlement west of the mountains; but a careful analysis of the document proves that, when it was issued, it was the plan of the ministry to open up the region of the upper Ohio as soon as the Indians could be pacified.2

On account of the changes in the ministry no immediate steps were taken to complete this policy; but in 1767 this

1 All these will be printed with their accompanying documents in the following volumes, and may be found by consulting the indexes in the several volumes or else the general index at the end of the last volume. For the proclamation see post, 1:39.

For a full discussion see Alvord, "Genesis of the Proclamation of 1763," in Michigan Historical Collections, 36:20 et seq.

omission was called to the attention of Lord Shelburne, at the time secretary of state for the southern department, under whom colonial affairs were conducted and he immediately sent orders to the superintendents of Indian affairs to complete the boundary line. This was finally accomplished by a succession of Indian treaties1 under the administration of Lord Hillsborough.

The third act was passed by the British parliament in 1774 for the purpose of organizing the government of the province of Quebec. On account of the disturbances caused by the frontiersmen and the land speculators in the Old Northwest, and on account of the lack of any civil government of the various French communities of the region, the territory lying between the Ohio and the Mississippi rivers was added to the northernmost province. It was expected that the authorization of French law throughout the territory would prevent further attempts to make settlements of English-speaking Americans north of the Ohio River, and that the latter would turn their speculative enterprises toward the Old Southwest.

Besides these definite acts concerning the West that were actually taken by the British government, there were several plans which were considered but not put into operation. After the proclamation of 1763, the board of trade, which was the principal advisory body for the colonies, drew up an elaborate and costly plan for the management of the Indian trade. This was made operative by the two superintendents of Indian affairs, although without proper authorization. The cost entailed was so great that the plan was abandoned in 1768 and the control of the trade placed

1 Farrand, "The Indian Boundary Line," in American Historical Review, 10:782; Alvord, "The British Ministry and the Treaty of Fort Stanwix," in Wisconsin Historical Society, Proceedings, 1908, pp. 165-183.

2 Printed post, 273.

in the power of the colonies. During the years 1764-1768, however, many letters were written about the plan, and in these the course of public opinion concerning this attempt to imperialize the West may be easily followed.

Two ministerial plans for the West will be found particularly illuminating. The first is Lord Barrington's plan of May, 1766, which was ultraconservative and was drawn up for the purpose of preventing permanently all settlement west of the Appalachian Mountains and of making it possible to concentrate all the British troops in the East, where they could be maintained at a less expense. This plan was, however, not even acted upon by the ministry. It is here printed, it is believed, for the first time. Concerning the later plans of Lord Shelburne, who was in favor of the rapid expansion of the settlements westward, there will be found in the following pages many documents. In the final draft of his plan he proposed the immediate founding of three colonies along the Mississippi River from the great lakes to the Gulf of Mexico; but political events in the mother country prevented him from putting his plan into operation, and the affairs of western America passed into the hands of the reactionary Lord Hillsborough.

Other phases of the imperial side of the government in the West will be also well illustrated. The maintenance of a British army with a commanding general in America brought about an imperialization of the military system and affected the development of the West in no uncertain manner. The many letters from General Gage to the ministry at home and to other persons will be found of particular interest to historians of the colonial era, and the changing plans for the West may be followed in the distribution of the troops in successive years.

Besides the military system there is the Indian depart