So I was reading about the War of 1812 and I have one question- why wasn't Tecumseh's treaty with the British honored after he died?
For those who are uninitiated, here's my (very) layman's interpretation of events- Tecumseh was a Shawnee leader who formed a confederacy calling to unite the Native peoples of North America in order to take back their ancestral homeland and ancestral lifestyle and give up on European culture and goods. He was successful in uniting many tribes and there was a bunch of strife with the Americans. In the War of 1812, America was threatening to expand upwards, taking land that the British held. British people strike a bargain with Tecumseh- if he and his people are willing to help resist American forces, then they can have a nation-state to themselves. I believe 3 million acres of land between modern-day Ontario/Quebec and the mid-Eastern states. Tecumseh accepts.
So we know how 1812 goes. The British, with Tecumseh's help, keep possession of most of the land they had previously held and America mainly limps away to lick their wounds. Tecumseh dies, and with him his confederacy and dream of a Native American nation.
So what I want to know is- Tecumseh and his people played a pretty crucial role in the success of the Brits in the War of 1812, and obviously honored their part of the treaty. Why didn't the Brits honor their part of the bargain by giving land to the Natives of Tecumseh's confederacy? Did he not have an heir or contingency plan if he were to die during the war?
If anyone knows (or feels like correcting my knowledge of the War of 1812), thanks in advance for your reply.
While not direct answers to your questions, /u/Reedstilt has talked about Tecumseh and the War of 1812 in the past. You might enjoy reading these answers to provide some context until someone can address your questions directly. Here are two good context posts...
I don't think you seem to have a very good strategic picture of the of the British situation in late 1814 owing to
So we know how 1812 goes. The British, with Tecumseh's help, keep possession of most of the land they had previously held and America mainly limps away to lick their wounds. Tecumseh dies, and with him his confederacy and dream of a Native American nation.
While true that Britain retained Canada the United States had thoroughly defeated the nations in the NW and had largely driven Britain out of the NW. There wasn't anything for Britain "to give", moreover the British had demanded the separate land for the native nations initially during the peace negotiations but American negotiators repeatedly refused and gradually the demands for the natives became watered down and then abandoned all together. But what choice did Britain really have? They didn't occupy the territory in question, had just suffered two key defeats, the war was becoming increasingly unpopular, the war had done notable damage to the British economy, a projected offensive in 1815 was estimated to be very expensive and the best British general was very doubtful of the ability of Britain to win a land war in America.