A few miles west of here on July 18, 1765, Pontiac, an Ottawa chief, and George Croghan, a British representative, met in a formal peace council that ended the most threatening Indian uprising against the British in North America. After the French and Indian War from 1754 to 1763, many Indian tribes were dissatisfied with British rule. Indian leaders believed the land belonged to the Indians and that the French and British occupied it only by their consent, but the British did not intend to accept Indian tribes as independent national units possessing sovereignty. This disagreement, along with others concerning liquor, ammunition, and other gifts, led to open hostilities. On May 3, 1763, Pontiac led the Ottawa and other tribes in an attack on Fort Detroit, and additional tribes attacked other forts. Soon the frontier became the scene of an extensive Indian uprising, and by August only Detroit, Fort Pitt, and Fort Niagara remained in British hands. Pontiac kept his followers in a six months siege of Detroit, remarkable because warriors preferred active combat. Contemporary estimates of those killed or captured by the Indians ran as high as 2,000, but the actual figure was closer to 600. The siege failed, and Pontiac traveled west seeking French aid. When this was refused, he agreed to meet George Croghan. After their meeting, Pontiac accompanied Croghan to Detroit, where they arrived on August 17, 1765, to finalize the treaty with appropriate ceremonies. Pontiac was assassinated in Cahokia, Illinois, in April 1769 by a Peoria Indian.