Native warriors from numerous tribes, dissatisfied with British policies in the Great Lakes region after the British victory in the French and Indian War/Seven Years' War (1754–1763), join an uprising in an effort to drive British soldiers and settlers out of the region.

Alarmed by policies imposed by British General Jeffrey Amherst, they attack a number of British forts and settlements in May 1763.

Eight forts are destroyed, and hundreds of colonists are killed or captured, with many more fleeing the region.

The war is named after the Ottawa leader Pontiac, the most prominent of many native leaders in the conflict.

Warfare on the North American frontier is brutal, and the killing of prisoners, the targeting of civilians, and other atrocities are widespread.

In what is now perhaps the war's best-known incident, British officers at Fort Pitt attempt to infect the besieging Indians with blankets that had been exposed to smallpox.

The ruthlessness of the conflict is a reflection of a growing racial divide between British colonists and Natives.

The British government seeks to prevent further racial violence by issuing the Royal Proclamation of 1763, which creates a boundary between colonists and Natives.

Hostilities come to an end after British Army expeditions in 1764 lead to peace negotiations over the next two years.

The Natives are unable to drive away the British, but the uprising prompts the British government to modify the policies that had provoked the conflict.