January 1763

Pontiac's Rebellion (1763-1766), the large-scale Indigenous resistance to British occupation of former French territories, placed significant demands on colonial military resources. Southern colonies faced a persistent dilemma: their militias were chronically understaffed, yet arming enslaved Black men — even in service of colonial defense — was seen as an existential threat. Some colonies had previously permitted enslaved men to serve as laborers or in non-combat roles during military crises, with the implicit and sometimes explicit promise of freedom. Each such episode sharpened the contradiction between the colonial demand for military service and the legal definition of enslaved people as property without rights or personhood. This tension would explode with Lord Dunmore's 1775 proclamation offering freedom to enslaved people who fought for Britain.

The Treaty of Paris (1763) ended the Seven Years War. Black men who had served in colonial militias — some as free men, many as enslaved people whose enslavers collected their military pay — received none of the land grants or pension benefits extended to white veterans. Some enslaved men who had been promised freedom for service found their enslavers unwilling to honor the commitment. Their service was erased from official records; their names appear only in scattered muster rolls and pension d

The Treaty of Paris (1763) ended the Seven Years War. Black men who served in colonial militias received none of the land grants or pension benefits extended to white veterans. Some enslaved men promised freedom for service found enslavers unwilling to honor the commitment.

For generations, self-emancipated people built free "maroon" communities deep in the Great Dismal Swamp — even as enslaved laborers were forced to dig its canals for the Dismal Swamp Company, whose investors included George Washington.