Diplomacy and Indian Gifts

This study of gifts to the Indians is an attempt to illuminate a hitherto almost obscure factor in the Colonial westward movement. These “presents,” comprising such eighteenth-century items as fabrics, hardware, munitions, food, toys, jewelry, clothing, wampum, and liquors, were a potent factor in the complex diplomatic history of Indian politics along the old Northwest frontier. Thousands of pounds sterling were expended both by the French and by the English in observing this old Indian custom that was so necessary to Indian diplomacy. Indeed, the civilizing influence of this concomitant of Western culture reached ahead of the fur trade far into the wilderness to the Mississippi Valley. These so-called presents also served as a measure of compensation for the vast areas of virgin forest that were bought by the English. The French competed with the British in securing the friendship of the powerful Indian confederacies, which, even as late as 1750, held the balance of power in North America. During the years 1748-1763, it became the policy of the colonies bordering the Ohio and Northwest frontiers to “brighten the chain of friendship” by giving presents to such influential “nations” as the members of the Iroquoian confederacy. Moreover, in some cases the Indians became so accustomed to these frequent outlays of free merchandise that they came to be almost completely dependent upon European goods.—Wilbur R. Jacobs