Treaty of Easton
Encyclopedia
The Treaty of Easton was a colonial agreement in North America
signed in October 1758 during the French and Indian War
(Seven Years War). Briefly, chiefs of 13 Native American nations, representing tribes of the Iroquois
, Lenape
-Delaware, Shawnee
and others, agreed to be allies of the British colonies during the French and Indian War
(Seven Years War), already underway. In return the governments of Pennsylvania
and New Jersey
recognized Native rights to hunting grounds in the Ohio Valley and settlements in the Ohio Country. They promised not to establish additional settlements west of the Appalachian Mountains
.
between the British
colonial governors of the provinces of Pennsylvania
and New Jersey
, and representatives of 13 Indian nations, including the Iroquois
, who sent chiefs
of three of their nations to ensure their domination of the Ohio Country
region; the eastern and western Lenape
(Delaware), represented by two chiefs and headmen; Shawnee
and others. More than 500 Native Americans attended the outdoor ceremony, after lengthy negotiations to bring peace to the regions of Pennsylvania, New Jersey and the Ohio Country
.
Conrad Weiser
served as an interpreter and arbitrator for the British colonial governments. The negotiations were held to hopefully resolve conflicts created by The Walking Purchase
of 1737, which had lasting effects on the relationships between the Native Americans and the colonists. Attorney General of Pennsylvania, Benjamin Chew, Esq.
attended the negotiations of the Treaty of Easton and documented the proceedings in his Journal of a Journey to Easton.
The treaty specified that the Native American nations would not fight on the side of the French
against the British in the current war. In return, Pennsylvania returned large blocks of land which the Iroquois had ceded a few years before; the British colonial governors promised to recognize Iroquois and other tribes' rights to their hunting grounds in the Ohio River
valley; and to refrain from establishing colonial settlements west of the Allegheny Mountains
after the conclusion of the war. This clause of the treaty contributed to the Crown
's subsequent Proclamation of 1763, by which it attempted to reserve territory west of the Appalachians for Native Americans and prohibit European-American advancement into the area. In addition, colonial governor William Denny of Pennsylvania agreed to negotiate directly with the Lenape-Delaware again without Iroquois intervention and marked the agreement by rekindling a "council fire." The conference concluded on October 26, 1758 and in November, Governor Denny announced to the Pennsylvania Assembly that "a general peace was secured at Easton."
By the treaty, the Lenape ceded all remaining claims to land within the Province of New Jersey
for the sum of one thousand Spanish dollars. They received payment immediately.
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
signed in October 1758 during the French and Indian War
French and Indian War
The French and Indian War is the common American name for the war between Great Britain and France in North America from 1754 to 1763. In 1756, the war erupted into the world-wide conflict known as the Seven Years' War and thus came to be regarded as the North American theater of that war...
(Seven Years War). Briefly, chiefs of 13 Native American nations, representing tribes 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...
, Lenape
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...
-Delaware, Shawnee
Shawnee
The Shawnee, Shaawanwaki, Shaawanooki and Shaawanowi lenaweeki, are an Algonquian-speaking people native to North America. Historically they inhabited the areas of Ohio, Virginia, West Virginia, Western Maryland, Kentucky, Indiana, and Pennsylvania...
and others, agreed to be allies of the British colonies during the French and Indian War
French and Indian War
The French and Indian War is the common American name for the war between Great Britain and France in North America from 1754 to 1763. In 1756, the war erupted into the world-wide conflict known as the Seven Years' War and thus came to be regarded as the North American theater of that war...
(Seven Years War), already underway. In return the governments of Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
and New Jersey
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
recognized Native rights to hunting grounds in the Ohio Valley and settlements in the Ohio Country. They promised not to establish additional settlements west of the Appalachian Mountains
Appalachian Mountains
The Appalachian Mountains #Whether the stressed vowel is or ,#Whether the "ch" is pronounced as a fricative or an affricate , and#Whether the final vowel is the monophthong or the diphthong .), often called the Appalachians, are a system of mountains in eastern North America. The Appalachians...
.
Scope of Native American nations
Negotiations of more than a week were concluded on October 26, 1758, at a ceremony held in Easton, PennsylvaniaEaston, Pennsylvania
Easton is a city in Northampton County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 26,800 as of the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Northampton County....
between the British
Kingdom of Great Britain
The former Kingdom of Great Britain, sometimes described as the 'United Kingdom of Great Britain', That the Two Kingdoms of Scotland and England, shall upon the 1st May next ensuing the date hereof, and forever after, be United into One Kingdom by the Name of GREAT BRITAIN. was a sovereign...
colonial governors of the provinces of Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
and New Jersey
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
, and representatives of 13 Indian nations, including 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...
, who sent chiefs
Tribal chief
A tribal chief is the leader of a tribal society or chiefdom. Tribal societies with social stratification under a single leader emerged in the Neolithic period out of earlier tribal structures with little stratification, and they remained prevalent throughout the Iron Age.In the case of ...
of three of their nations to ensure their domination of the Ohio Country
Ohio Country
The Ohio Country was the name used in the 18th century for the regions of North America west of the Appalachian Mountains and in the region of the upper Ohio River south of Lake Erie...
region; the eastern and western Lenape
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...
(Delaware), represented by two chiefs and headmen; Shawnee
Shawnee
The Shawnee, Shaawanwaki, Shaawanooki and Shaawanowi lenaweeki, are an Algonquian-speaking people native to North America. Historically they inhabited the areas of Ohio, Virginia, West Virginia, Western Maryland, Kentucky, Indiana, and Pennsylvania...
and others. More than 500 Native Americans attended the outdoor ceremony, after lengthy negotiations to bring peace to the regions of Pennsylvania, New Jersey and the Ohio Country
Ohio Country
The Ohio Country was the name used in the 18th century for the regions of North America west of the Appalachian Mountains and in the region of the upper Ohio River south of Lake Erie...
.
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...
served as an interpreter and arbitrator for the British colonial governments. The negotiations were held to hopefully resolve conflicts created by The 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, which had lasting effects on the relationships between the Native Americans and the colonists. Attorney General of Pennsylvania, Benjamin Chew, Esq.
Benjamin Chew
Benjamin Chew was a third-generation American, a Quaker-born legal scholar, a prominent and successful Philadelphia lawyer, head of the Pennsylvania Judiciary System under both Colony and Commonwealth, and Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of the Province of Pennsylvania...
attended the negotiations of the Treaty of Easton and documented the proceedings in his Journal of a Journey to Easton.
The treaty specified that the Native American nations would not fight on the side of the French
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
against the British in the current war. In return, Pennsylvania returned large blocks of land which the Iroquois had ceded a few years before; the British colonial governors promised to recognize Iroquois and other tribes' rights to their hunting grounds in the Ohio River
Ohio River
The Ohio River is the largest tributary, by volume, of the Mississippi River. At the confluence, the Ohio is even bigger than the Mississippi and, thus, is hydrologically the main stream of the whole river system, including the Allegheny River further upstream...
valley; and to refrain from establishing colonial settlements west of the Allegheny Mountains
Allegheny Mountains
The Allegheny Mountain Range , also spelled Alleghany, Allegany and, informally, the Alleghenies, is part of the vast Appalachian Mountain Range of the eastern United States and Canada...
after the conclusion of the war. This clause of the treaty contributed to the Crown
The Crown
The Crown is a corporation sole that in the Commonwealth realms and any provincial or state sub-divisions thereof represents the legal embodiment of governance, whether executive, legislative, or judicial...
's subsequent Proclamation of 1763, by which it attempted to reserve territory west of the Appalachians for Native Americans and prohibit European-American advancement into the area. In addition, colonial governor William Denny of Pennsylvania agreed to negotiate directly with the Lenape-Delaware again without Iroquois intervention and marked the agreement by rekindling a "council fire." The conference concluded on October 26, 1758 and in November, Governor Denny announced to the Pennsylvania Assembly that "a general peace was secured at Easton."
By the treaty, the Lenape ceded all remaining claims to land within the Province of New Jersey
Province of New Jersey
The Province of New Jersey was one of the Middle Colonies of Colonial America and became the U.S. state of New Jersey in 1776. The province had originally been settled by Europeans as part of New Netherland, but came under English rule after the surrender of Fort Amsterdam in 1664, becoming a...
for the sum of one thousand Spanish dollars. They received payment immediately.
External Links
- Chew Family Papers The Historical Society of Pennsylvania possesses the documents pertaining to the Journal of a Journey of Easton.