The Napoleonic Wars and the War of 1812

Tensions with the United States

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Hostilities Between Settlers and Natives

Immediately following the American War of Independence the British continued to keep a military presence in several strategic points south of the Great Lakes, including Detroit, Mackinac and Niagara. In the early 1790s tensions between the United States and England over the issue of borders with Canada were becoming increasingly passionate.

Most of the Amerindian nations were hostile to the Americans and the settlers moving westward had to face guerilla warfare. In 1790 and 1791 the American government sent troops to quell the Amerindian hostilities, but they were wiped out by the alliance of several nations formed by the Iroquois chief, Joseph Brant. Some Loyalists and French Canadians who detested the "Yankees" helped the Amerindians and sometimes fought alongside them, which did nothing to improve diplomatic relations between Canada and the United States.