What started the War of 1812 was the conflict that occurred in Europe for almost 20 years after Napoleon Bonaparte became First Consul (later Emperor) of France. These Napoleonic Wars (1799 – 1815) caused Britain to adopt measures that greatly angered the United States. The Americans felt that the British were interfering with their newly formed independent nation.
For example, Britain had tried to halt trade between France and the United States by stopping French ships before they reached North America. Britain also stopped and searched US ships to remove many former English seamen who now worked for US shipping companies. Britain wanted these men to rejoin the British navy. The Americans also claimed that Britain was encouraging Indigenous people to fight against them.
Many people in both Canada and Britain believed that the Americans wanted to take over British North America and make it part of the United States. As a colony of Great Britain, the Canadian colonies were swept up in the War of 1812 and were invaded a number of times by the Americans. The war was fought in Upper Canada, Lower Canada, on the Great Lakes and the Atlantic, and in the United States.
After two years, the Treaty of Ghent was signed to stop the fighting. British North America remained British. For the Canadians, the War of 1812 had created a sense of nationalism. With the support of French Canadians and Indigenous peoples, the young British colony had driven back the American invaders.
In contrast, the First Nations allies of the British and Canadian colonies suffered much because of the war; not only had they lost many warriors (including the great chief Tecumseh), they also lost any hope of halting American expansion in the west, and their contributions were quickly forgotten by their British and Canadian allies.
(adapted from the Canadian Encyclopedia)
