Treaty of Penn with Indians by Benjamin West

The Treaty of Shackamaxon, also called the Great Treaty and Penn's Treaty, was a treaty between

William Penn William Penn ( – ) was an English writer, religious thinker, and influential Quakers, Quaker who founded the Province of Pennsylvania during the British colonization of the Americas, British colonial era. An advocate of democracy and religi ...

and

Tamanend Tamanend ("the Affable"; ), historically also known as Taminent, Tammany, Saint Tammany or King Tammany, was the Chief of Chiefs and Chief of the Turtle Clan of the Lenni-Lenape nation in the Delaware Valley signing the founding peace treaty w ...

of the

Lenape The Lenape (, , ; ), also called the Lenni Lenape and Delaware people, are an Indigenous peoples of the Northeastern Woodlands, Indigenous people of the Northeastern Woodlands, who live in the United States and Canada. The Lenape's historica ...

signed in 1682. The treaty created peace between the

Quakers Quakers are people who belong to the Religious Society of Friends, a historically Protestantism, Protestant Christian set of Christian denomination, denominations. Members refer to each other as Friends after in the Bible, and originally ...

and Lenape, with Tamanend saying the two would "live in peace as long as the waters anin the rivers and creeks and as long as the stars and moon ndured"

Description

, who had been granted a land charter by King Charles II, arrived in North America in late October 1682. According to historical tradition, he soon made a treaty with the Lenni Lenape under an ancient elm tree. Francis Jennings argues that William Penn very likely signed a treaty, but that his less scrupulous sons, William Jr., John, and Thomas, destroyed the original document. Through such means, according to Jennings, the younger Penns sought to renege on the treaty to which their father had agreed. Curators of the Philadelphia History Museum at Atwater Kent claim that a wampum belt in their possession serves as authentication that such a meeting did indeed take place; however, the wampum belt cannot prove or disprove whether the Lenni Lenape and the colony came to a formal agreement, and if so, what the provisions of such an agreement entailed. The location traditionally associated with the treaty was a meeting place near the

Delaware River The Delaware River is a major river in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States and is the longest free-flowing (undammed) river in the Eastern United States. From the meeting of its branches in Hancock, New York, the river flows for a ...

used by the

Native American tribe In the United States, an American Indian tribe, Native American tribe, Alaska Native village, Indigenous tribe, or Tribal nation may be any current or historical Tribe (Native American)#Other uses, tribe, band, or nation of Native Americans in ...

. ''Shackamaxon,'' the name European settlers used for the area, may have been derived from the Lenape term ''"Sakimauchheen Ing"'' (pronounced Sak-i-mauch-heen Ing) which means "to make a chief or king place." It was where the Lenape "crowned" their many family ''"sakima"'' (chief) or their three clan ''"kitakima"'' (big or clan chief) of the Lenape Nation. The name may have also been derived from ''"Schachamesink"'', meaning "Place of Eels." The site lies within the present-day borders of

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...

. Six Swedish families were recorded as living in this area before Penn's arrival and sold their properties to the English settlers. The territory of Shackamaxon evolved into the neighborhoods of

Kensington Kensington is an area of London in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, around west of Central London. The district's commercial heart is Kensington High Street, running on an east–west axis. The north-east is taken up by Kensingt ...

and Fishtown. There is a Shackamaxon Street that runs several blocks through Fishtown. The event was depicted in several works of art (most notably,

Benjamin West Benjamin West (October 10, 1738 – March 11, 1820) was a British-American artist who painted famous historical scenes such as ''The Death of Nelson (West painting), The Death of Nelson'', ''The Death of General Wolfe'', the ''Treaty of Paris ( ...

's paintings) and was mentioned by the French author

Voltaire François-Marie Arouet (; 21 November 169430 May 1778), known by his ''Pen name, nom de plume'' Voltaire (, ; ), was a French Age of Enlightenment, Enlightenment writer, philosopher (''philosophe''), satirist, and historian. Famous for his wit ...

. The legendary elm tree marking the spot blew down in a storm on March 5, 1810. Its location was memorialized by the placing of an obelisk in 1827 by the Penn Society. The event was further memorialized by the founding of a park in 1893, known as Penn Treaty Park. The

Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission The Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission (PHMC) is the governmental agency of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, responsible for the collection, conservation, and interpretation of Pennsylvania's heritage. The commission cares for hist ...

refers to the Shackamaxon treaty on its website.

References

External links

Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission: Shackamaxon Treaty history website.Penn Treaty Museum
{{authority control History of Philadelphia Lenape Former Native American populated places in Pennsylvania Native American tribes in Pennsylvania Native American history of Pennsylvania

Description

See also

References

External links