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The Treaty of Fort Stanwix was a treaty signed between representatives from the
Iroquois The Iroquois ( or ), officially the Haudenosaunee ( meaning "people of the longhouse"), are an Iroquoian Peoples, Iroquoian-speaking Confederation#Indigenous confederations in North America, confederacy of First Nations in Canada, First Natio ...
and
Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It ...
(accompanied by negotiators from
New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delawa ...
,
Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth are ...
and
Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...
) in 1768 at Fort Stanwix. It was negotiated between Sir William Johnson, his deputy George Croghan, and representatives of the Iroquois. The treaty established a
Line of Property The Line of Property is the name commonly given to the line dividing Indian lands from those of the Thirteen Colonies, which were established in the 1768 Treaty of Fort Stanwix between British officials and the Iroquois tribes. In western Penns ...
following the Ohio River that ceded the Kentucky portion of the Virginia Colony to the British Crown, as well as most of what is now
West Virginia West Virginia is a state in the Appalachian, Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States.The Census Bureau and the Association of American Geographers classify West Virginia as part of the Southern United States while the ...
. The treaty also settled land claims between the Iroquois and the Penn family; the lands thereby acquired by American colonists in
Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...
were known as the New Purchase.


Treaty

The purpose of the conference was to adjust the boundary line between Indian lands and the
Thirteen Colonies The Thirteen Colonies, also known as the Thirteen British Colonies, the Thirteen American Colonies, or later as the United Colonies, were a group of British colonies on the Atlantic coast of North America. Founded in the 17th and 18th centu ...
set forth in the
Royal Proclamation of 1763 The Royal Proclamation of 1763 was issued by King George III on 7 October 1763. It followed the Treaty of Paris (1763), which formally ended the Seven Years' War and transferred French territory in North America to Great Britain. The Procla ...
. The British government hoped a new boundary line might bring an end to the rampant frontier violence between Native Americans and American colonists. Native Americans hoped a new, permanent line might prevent further encroachment of their lands from the colonists.Billington (1944) The final treaty was signed on November 5 with one signatory for each of the Six Nations and in the presence of representatives from the colonies of
New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delawa ...
,
Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth are ...
and
Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...
as well as Johnson. The Native American nations present received gifts and cash totaling £10,460 7s. 3d. sterling, the highest payment ever made from the British Crown to Native Americans.Taylor, 44 The treaty established a
Line of Property The Line of Property is the name commonly given to the line dividing Indian lands from those of the Thirteen Colonies, which were established in the 1768 Treaty of Fort Stanwix between British officials and the Iroquois tribes. In western Penns ...
which extended the earlier proclamation line of the Alleghenies (the divide between the Ohio and coastal watersheds), much farther to the west. The line ran near Fort Pitt and followed the Ohio River as far as the Tennessee River, effectively ceding the Kentucky portion of the Virginia Colony to the Crown, as well as most of what is now
West Virginia West Virginia is a state in the Appalachian, Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States.The Census Bureau and the Association of American Geographers classify West Virginia as part of the Southern United States while the ...
. The British government had recently confirmed ownership of the lands south and west of the Kanawha to the Cherokee by the
Treaty of Hard Labour In an effort to resolve concerns of settlers and land speculators following the western boundary established by the Royal Proclamation of 1763 by George III of the United Kingdom, King George III, it was desired to move the boundary farther west to ...
. During the Fort Stanwix proceedings, the British negotiators were astonished to learn that the Six Nations still maintained a nominal claim over much of Kentucky, which they wanted to be added into the consideration. In addition, the Shawnee did not agree to this treaty, contesting colonial Virginian settlements between the Alleghenies and Ohio until the 1774
Treaty of Camp Charlotte Lord Dunmore's War—or Dunmore's War—was a 1774 conflict between the Colony of Virginia and the Shawnee and Mingo American Indian nations. The Governor of Virginia during the conflict was John Murray, 4th Earl of Dunmore—Lord Dunmore. H ...
. Although the Six Nations of New York had previously recognized colonial rights southeast of the Ohio River at the 1752 Treaty of Logstown, they continued to claim ownership (by conquest) over all land as far south as the Tennessee River. They had reserved this territory for decades as a hunting ground. They still considered the Tennessee their boundary with the
Cherokee The Cherokee (; chr, ᎠᏂᏴᏫᏯᎢ, translit=Aniyvwiyaʔi or Anigiduwagi, or chr, ᏣᎳᎩ, links=no, translit=Tsalagi) are one of the indigenous peoples of the Southeastern Woodlands of the United States. Prior to the 18th century, th ...
and other "Southern" tribes. Although representatives of the Indian nations who occupied these lands, primarily the
Shawnee The Shawnee are an Algonquian-speaking indigenous people of the Northeastern Woodlands. In the 17th century they lived in Pennsylvania, and in the 18th century they were in Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana and Illinois, with some bands in Kentucky a ...
and
Delaware Delaware ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Maryland to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and New Jersey and the Atlantic Ocean to its east. The state takes its name from the adjacent ...
, were present at the negotiations in 1768, they were not signatories and had no real role in the Iroquois' sale of their homeland. The Iroquois hoped that by releasing Ohio lands, they could take pressure off their own home territories in the New York and Pennsylvania areas. Rather than secure peace, the Fort Stanwix treaty helped set the stage for the next round of hostilities between Native Americans and American colonists along the Ohio River, which would culminate in Dunmore's War. The treaty also settled land claims between the Six Nations and the Penn family, the proprietors of Pennsylvania, where the lands acquired in 1768 were referred to as the "New Purchase". Due to disputes about the physical boundaries of the settlement, however, the final treaty line would not be fully agreed upon for another five years. The final portion of the
Line of Property The Line of Property is the name commonly given to the line dividing Indian lands from those of the Thirteen Colonies, which were established in the 1768 Treaty of Fort Stanwix between British officials and the Iroquois tribes. In western Penns ...
in Pennsylvania, called the
Purchase line The Purchase Line is the name commonly given to the line dividing Indian from British Colonial lands established in the Treaty of Fort Stanwix of 1768 in western Pennsylvania. In New York State documents it is referred to as the Line of Property; s ...
in the State, was fixed in 1773 by representatives from the Six Nations and Pennsylvania who met at a spot called Canoe Place at the confluence of
West Branch of the Susquehanna River The West Branch Susquehanna River is one of the two principal branches, along with the North Branch, of the Susquehanna River in the Northeastern United States. The North Branch, which rises in upstate New York, is generally regarded as the ext ...
and Cush Cushion Creek in what is now
Cherry Tree, Pennsylvania Cherry Tree is a borough in Indiana County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 276 at the 2020 census. History Cherry Tree was originally known as "Canoe Place" because its location marked the spot where the West Branch of the Susqu ...
. American settlers pushing westward and opportunities for economic development turned the attention of investors and land speculators to the area west of the Appalachians. In response to demands by settlers and speculators, colonial authorities sought further land cessions from the Iroquois and Cherokee. The Treaty of Lochaber with the Cherokee followed in 1770, adjusting boundaries established in the
Treaty of Hard Labour In an effort to resolve concerns of settlers and land speculators following the western boundary established by the Royal Proclamation of 1763 by George III of the United Kingdom, King George III, it was desired to move the boundary farther west to ...
, whereby the Cherokee withdrew their claim to parts of the same country, encompassing the south part of present-day West Virginia.


References


Further reading

* Billington, Ray A. "The Fort Stanwix Treaty of 1768," ''New York History'' (1944), 25#2 pp. 182–19
in JSTOR
* Halsey, Francis Whiting. ''The Old New York Frontier'', New York; Charles Scribner's Sons, 1901 (Part 3, Chapter 2: "The Fort Stanwix Deed, and Patents that Followed It (1768–1770)," pp. 99–105) * Marshall, Peter. "Sir William Johnson and the Treaty of Fort Stanwix, 1768." ''Journal of American Studies'' (1967) 1#2 pp 149–179. *


Primary sources


Complete Text of the Treaty of Fort Stanwix, 1768
* ''The Documentary History of the State of New York'', by E.B. O'Callaghan, M.D.; Albany: Weed, Parsons & Co., 1850 (Vol. 1 pp. 379–381 text of treaty of 1768; also extensive correspondence of Sir William Johnson)


External links



{{DEFAULTSORT:Treaty Of Fort Stanwix Legal history of Canada Pre-statehood history of Pennsylvania Fort Stanwix Fort Stanwix 1768 in the Thirteen Colonies 1768 treaties Rome, New York Iroquois Native American history of Pennsylvania