The Lancaster Treaty of 1744: With Related Documents

by James H. Merrell

The Lancaster Treaty of 1744 provides a close look at colonial-Indian relations in North America, focusing on the Iroquois perspectives on colonial power and diplomacy.

Genres: History

160 pages, Paperback

First published February 11, 2008

About the author

James Hart Merrell, the Lucy Maynard Salmon Professor of History at Vassar College, was born and raised in Minnesota. Professor Merrell is one of the leading scholars of early American history, and has written extensively on Native American history during the colonial era. Professor Merrell is one of only five historians to be awarded the Bancroft Prize twice.

Reviews

[df parizeau]

A really interesting grouping of accounts from this event. In the class I had to read this book for, we were tasked with writing about bias and representation in the source material. Reading this really gave me a strong perspective of what the priorities of the transcriber(s) were and also gave a sense at how different individuals perceived the events that were unfolding around them.

[Doris Raines]

GREAT BOOK.

[Lisa]

I found this an interesting grouping of historical accounts of the same or similar meetings between the British colonist and the native League of the Six Nations. It was very dry reading and probably not interesting to anyone but the most avid history buff. Living near Lancaster and the Conrad Weiser homestead probably helps to give perspective. Included along with the actual treaty are some background information on the treaty points, on what exactly was going on at that time period and accounts of the proceedings by Conrad Weiser (the PA German interpreter), John Bartram (PA naturalist visiting the treaty proceedings at NY), and Witham Marshe (Scottish secretary to the MD delegation). If you are finding the treaty too boring, skip right to the accounts by Bartram, Weiser, and Marshe. In light of the broken promises, cheating land grabs, and other issues discussed in the treaty, the most telling statement, to me, is made by Cayuga leader Gachradodow: "The Great King might send you over to conquer the Indians, but it looks to us that God did not approve of it; if he had, he would not have placed the Sea where it is, as the Limits between us and you." By 1777 the 400-year-old Iroquois Confederacy was ended, torn apart by the French&Indian War and the American Revolution.