outbreak of the French and Indian War in 1754. When colonial governments failed to restore the relationship with the Iroquois, Britain made diplomacy with American Indians an imperial responsibility in 1755, creating the British Indian Department. The department appointed superintendents responsible for the protection of Indian lands and the regulation of trade between Indians and often exploitative colonials, and provided regular gifts to tribes to gain favour. These policies convinced the Iroquois to re-align with the British and contribute to their war effort in the French and Indian War. Britain's eventual victory resulted in its acquisition of the vast majority of France's North American territory under the Treaty of Paris (1763). The Royal Proclamation of 1763 formalised the department's protective policies as imperial British law and established the land west of the Appalachian Mountains as an Indian reserve, while also outlining a process through which the government could purchase Indian land through treaty agreements. The Royal Proclamation cemented a "nation-to-nation" diplomatic relationship between Britain and its Indian allies, based on protection and conciliation. The tribes maintained their allegiance throughout the American Revolutionary War, leading to the loss of their traditional lands upon Britain's defeat in 1781; in response, Britain provided land within its remaining North American territories (the British Canadas) for its Indian allies to resettle. Creation of Indian reserves From 1815 onwards, imperial Britain's political stance towards American Indians expanded beyond protection and began to incorporate the objective of ‘civilization’. Driven by Protestant sects in the colonies and Britain, a growing ideological movement emphasised the government's responsibility to ‘civilise’ the Indians, which would entail both their conversion to Christianity and their adoption of European cultural and societal values. This political pressure led to the creation of Indian reserves in Upper and Lower Canada in 1830, where Indians would be trained in farming practices and technical skills, receive an English education, and become Christianised through the work of missionaries. The Act for the Protection of the Indians in Upper Canada (1839) classified the reserves as Crown lands. In 1850, further protective Acts were passed in both Upper and Lower Canada: Indians living on reserves were designated as exempt from taxation, and colonials were prohibited from trespassing on Indian lands or seizing them in the case of unpaid debts. In the Act for Lower Canada, a legislative precedent was set as the government instituted a legal definition of ‘Indian status’ for