Canasatego
Encyclopedia
Canasatego was a leader of the Onondaga
nation who became a prominent diplomat and spokesman of the Iroquois Confederacy in the 1740s. He was involved in several controversial land sales to British America
n officials. He is now best-known for a speech he gave at the 1744 Treaty of Lancaster
, where he recommended that the British colonies emulate the Iroquois by forming a confederacy. He was reportedly assassinated, perhaps by sympathizers or agents of New France
.
people, one of the six nations of the Iroquois
(Haudenosaunee) League. According to most modern scholars, Canasatego was apparently not one of the fourteen Onondaga hereditary sachem
s who sat on the Iroquois Grand Council. One modern source disagrees, however, maintaining that Canasatego held the League title of Tadadaho.
In the 1730s, a faction of Iroquois leaders opened a diplomatic relationship with the British Province of Pennsylvania
, facilitated by Conrad Weiser
, Pennsylvania's interpreter and agent. Pennsylvania agreed to recognize the Iroquois as the owner of all Indian lands in Pennsylvania; the Iroquois, in turn, agreed to sell lands only to Pennsylvania. Canasatego probably attended a 1736 treaty where some Iroquois chiefs sold land along the Susquehanna River
to Pennsylvania, even though the Iroquois did not really have a claim to this land.
Canasatego served as the speaker for Onondagas at another conference in 1742, where the Iroquois chiefs collected the final payment for the 1736 land sale. At this meeting, Canasatego managed to convince Governor Thomas Penn
to pay more than the original purchase price. Penn, for his part, urged Canasatego to remove the Delaware Indians
from the land purchased in the controversial Walking Purchase
of 1737. Canasatego complied, berating the Delawares as "women" who had no right to sell land, and ordering them to leave. "You are women; take the Advice of a Wise Man and remove immediately", he told the Delawares. The Iroquois designation of the Delawares as "women" has been the subject of much scholarly writing.
. Witham Marshe
, a Marylander
in attendance, recorded the only written description of Canasatego:
At the treaty conference were representatives of the Iroquois nations (except the Mohawks), and the provinces of Pennsylvania, Maryland, and Virginia. With King George's War
underway, the British colonies needed to cultivate a good relationship with their Iroquois neighbors, who might otherwise become French allies. After a speech by Canasatego, officials from Maryland and Virginia agreed to pay the Iroquois for land in their colonies, even though they knew that the Iroquois had no legitimate claim to those lands. Virginia got the better part of the deal, however: although Canasatego and other Iroquois leaders believed that they had sold only the Shenandoah Valley
to Virginia, the official deed gave Virginia much more land than that.
Near the end of the conference, Canasatego gave the colonists some advice:
Canasatego was concerned that the British colonies lacked a coordinated policy to deal with the military threat coming from New France
. He made similar recommendations about colonial unity at another conference in 1745. His words became a central part of the Iroquois Influence Thesis, the controversial proposal that the Iroquois League was a model for the United States Constitution
.
Canasatego was reportedly assassinated with poison in September 1750. There were several contemporary rumors about why he was killed. Some said that he was killed for taking bribes in exchange for selling lands. Another rumor maintained that he had been poisoned by agents of New France. Historian William Starna argued that Canasatego was probably assassinated by pro-French Iroquois who wanted to repudiate Canasatego's diplomatic ties with Pennsylvania.
After his death, a fictional version of Canasatego appeared in the 1755 novel Lydia: or Filial Piety, by English writer John Shebbeare
. Following a literary convention where Native Americans were used to satirize Europeans, Canasatego was portrayed as wise and honest, in stark contrast to the scheming Englishmen he encounters.
Onondaga (tribe)
The Onondaga are one of the original five constituent nations of the Iroquois Confederacy. Their traditional homeland is in and around Onondaga County, New York...
nation who became a prominent diplomat and spokesman of the Iroquois Confederacy in the 1740s. He was involved in several controversial land sales to British America
British America
For American people of British descent, see British American.British America is the anachronistic term used to refer to the territories under the control of the Crown or Parliament in present day North America , Central America, the Caribbean, and Guyana...
n officials. He is now best-known for a speech he gave at the 1744 Treaty of Lancaster
Treaty of Lancaster
The Treaty of Lancaster was a treaty concluded between the Six Nations and the colonies of Virginia and Maryland. Deliberations began at Lancaster, Pennsylvania on June 28, and ended on July 4, 1744....
, where he recommended that the British colonies emulate the Iroquois by forming a confederacy. He was reportedly assassinated, perhaps by sympathizers or agents of New France
New France
New France was the area colonized by France in North America during a period beginning with the exploration of the Saint Lawrence River by Jacques Cartier in 1534 and ending with the cession of New France to Spain and Great Britain in 1763...
.
Early career
Canasatego only appears in historical documents for the final eight years of his life, and so little is known of his background. His earliest documented appearance is at a treaty conference in Philadelphia in 1742, where he was a spokesman for the OnondagaOnondaga (tribe)
The Onondaga are one of the original five constituent nations of the Iroquois Confederacy. Their traditional homeland is in and around Onondaga County, New York...
people, one of the six nations of the Iroquois
Iroquois
The Iroquois , also known as the Haudenosaunee or the "People of the Longhouse", are an association of several tribes of indigenous people of North America...
(Haudenosaunee) League. According to most modern scholars, Canasatego was apparently not one of the fourteen Onondaga hereditary sachem
Sachem
A sachem[p] or sagamore is a paramount chief among the Algonquians or other northeast American tribes. The two words are anglicizations of cognate terms from different Eastern Algonquian languages...
s who sat on the Iroquois Grand Council. One modern source disagrees, however, maintaining that Canasatego held the League title of Tadadaho.
Province of Pennsylvania
The Province of Pennsylvania, also known as Pennsylvania Colony, was founded in British America by William Penn on March 4, 1681 as dictated in a royal charter granted by King Charles II...
, facilitated by Conrad Weiser
Conrad Weiser
Weiser's colonial service began in 1731. The Iroquois sent Shikellamy, an Oneida chief, as an emissary to other tribes and the British. Shikellamy lived on the Susquehanna River at Shamokin village, near present-day Sunbury, Pennsylvania. An oral tradition holds that Weiser met Shikellamy while...
, Pennsylvania's interpreter and agent. Pennsylvania agreed to recognize the Iroquois as the owner of all Indian lands in Pennsylvania; the Iroquois, in turn, agreed to sell lands only to Pennsylvania. Canasatego probably attended a 1736 treaty where some Iroquois chiefs sold land along the Susquehanna River
Susquehanna River
The Susquehanna River is a river located in the northeastern United States. At long, it is the longest river on the American east coast that drains into the Atlantic Ocean, and with its watershed it is the 16th largest river in the United States, and the longest river in the continental United...
to Pennsylvania, even though the Iroquois did not really have a claim to this land.
Canasatego served as the speaker for Onondagas at another conference in 1742, where the Iroquois chiefs collected the final payment for the 1736 land sale. At this meeting, Canasatego managed to convince Governor Thomas Penn
Thomas Penn
Thomas Penn was a son of William Penn, founder of the Province of Pennsylvania, the English North American colony that became the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. Thomas Penn was born in Bristol, England after his father returned there in 1701 because of financial difficulties...
to pay more than the original purchase price. Penn, for his part, urged Canasatego to remove the Delaware Indians
Lenape
The Lenape are an Algonquian group of Native Americans of the Northeastern Woodlands. They are also called Delaware Indians. As a result of the American Revolutionary War and later Indian removals from the eastern United States, today the main groups live in Canada, where they are enrolled in the...
from the land purchased in the controversial Walking Purchase
Walking Purchase
The Walking Purchase was a purported 1737 agreement between the Penn family, the proprietors of Pennsylvania, and the Lenape . By it the Penn family and proprietors claimed an area of 1,200,000 acres and forced the Lenape to vacate it...
of 1737. Canasatego complied, berating the Delawares as "women" who had no right to sell land, and ordering them to leave. "You are women; take the Advice of a Wise Man and remove immediately", he told the Delawares. The Iroquois designation of the Delawares as "women" has been the subject of much scholarly writing.
Lancaster treaty
In 1744, Canasatego served as a speaker at the Treaty of LancasterTreaty of Lancaster
The Treaty of Lancaster was a treaty concluded between the Six Nations and the colonies of Virginia and Maryland. Deliberations began at Lancaster, Pennsylvania on June 28, and ended on July 4, 1744....
. Witham Marshe
Witham Marshe
Witham Marshe was the representative of the colony of Maryland at the negotiation of the Treaty of Lancaster in 1744. He noted that the Iroquois were heavy drinkers, however they were careful to remain sober while negotiating important treaties....
, a Marylander
Province of Maryland
The Province of Maryland was an English and later British colony in North America that existed from 1632 until 1776, when it joined the other twelve of the Thirteen Colonies in rebellion against Great Britain and became the U.S...
in attendance, recorded the only written description of Canasatego:
At the treaty conference were representatives of the Iroquois nations (except the Mohawks), and the provinces of Pennsylvania, Maryland, and Virginia. With King George's War
King George's War
King George's War is the name given to the operations in North America that formed part of the War of the Austrian Succession . It was the third of the four French and Indian Wars. It took place primarily in the British provinces of New York, Massachusetts Bay, New Hampshire, and Nova Scotia...
underway, the British colonies needed to cultivate a good relationship with their Iroquois neighbors, who might otherwise become French allies. After a speech by Canasatego, officials from Maryland and Virginia agreed to pay the Iroquois for land in their colonies, even though they knew that the Iroquois had no legitimate claim to those lands. Virginia got the better part of the deal, however: although Canasatego and other Iroquois leaders believed that they had sold only the Shenandoah Valley
Shenandoah Valley
The Shenandoah Valley is both a geographic valley and cultural region of western Virginia and West Virginia in the United States. The valley is bounded to the east by the Blue Ridge Mountains, to the west by the eastern front of the Ridge-and-Valley Appalachians , to the north by the Potomac River...
to Virginia, the official deed gave Virginia much more land than that.
Near the end of the conference, Canasatego gave the colonists some advice:
Canasatego was concerned that the British colonies lacked a coordinated policy to deal with the military threat coming from New France
New France
New France was the area colonized by France in North America during a period beginning with the exploration of the Saint Lawrence River by Jacques Cartier in 1534 and ending with the cession of New France to Spain and Great Britain in 1763...
. He made similar recommendations about colonial unity at another conference in 1745. His words became a central part of the Iroquois Influence Thesis, the controversial proposal that the Iroquois League was a model for the United States Constitution
United States Constitution
The Constitution of the United States is the supreme law of the United States of America. It is the framework for the organization of the United States government and for the relationship of the federal government with the states, citizens, and all people within the United States.The first three...
.
Final years
Canasatego's final appearance at a treaty conference was in August 1749, one year after the end of King George's War. In Philadelphia, he complained that colonists were settling on Native land along the Susquehanna River. He agreed to sell this land to Pennsylvania, but once again, the written document ceded much more land than what had been agreed upon in negotiations.Canasatego was reportedly assassinated with poison in September 1750. There were several contemporary rumors about why he was killed. Some said that he was killed for taking bribes in exchange for selling lands. Another rumor maintained that he had been poisoned by agents of New France. Historian William Starna argued that Canasatego was probably assassinated by pro-French Iroquois who wanted to repudiate Canasatego's diplomatic ties with Pennsylvania.
After his death, a fictional version of Canasatego appeared in the 1755 novel Lydia: or Filial Piety, by English writer John Shebbeare
John Shebbeare
John Shebbeare was a British tory political satirist.-Life:He was the eldest son of an attorney and corn-factor of Bideford, Devonshire. A hundred and a village in Devon, where the family had owned land, bear their name...
. Following a literary convention where Native Americans were used to satirize Europeans, Canasatego was portrayed as wise and honest, in stark contrast to the scheming Englishmen he encounters.