The Treaty of Paris, signed in 1763, ended the French and Indian 
War. It also gave large tracts of Algonquian Indian land to Britain. 
This angered the great chief Pontiac. Pontiac, leader of a league of 18 
Algonquian-speaking tribes, began a campaign against the British 
forts in what was then the Northwest, the territory between the Ohio 
and Missippi rivers. In a little over a month, the Algonquian had 
overrun nine British forts. The well-organized Indian offensive 
slowed in the summer of 1763, when Pontiac failed to capture the 
major British post at Detroit. In 1765, the British struck back. After a 
truce the next year, Pontiac accepted the "peace belt" from the 
British and the conflict was over. The failure of Pontiac's rebellion 
marked the end of the Algonquian Confederacy. The engraving above 
shows Pontiac's warriors attacking a British fort.