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Four Mohawk Kings
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Four Indian Kings painted by John Verelst, 1710. From left to right: Etow Oh Koam (Mohican), Sa Ga Yeath Qua Pieth Tow, Ho Nee Yeath Taw No Row, and Tee Yee Ho Ga Row. (National Archives of Canada - Artist: John Verelst C-092421, C-092419, C-092417, C-092415)
The Four Indian Kings' Speech to Her Majesty, published in London by John Baker. This is a transcription of the speech that the Four Kings made to Queen Anne on April 20, 1710.
Pamphlet printed in London in 1710 which describes and depicts the Four Kings

The Four Indian Kings or Four Kings of the New World were three Mohawk chiefs from one of the Five Nations of the Iroquois Confederacy and a Mohican of the Algonquian peoples, whose portraits were painted by John Verelst in London to commemorate their travel from New York in 1710 to meet Queen Anne of Great Britain.[1] The three Mohawk were: Sa Ga Yeath Qua Pieth Tow of the Bear Clan, called King of Maquas, with the Christian name Peter Brant (grandfather of Mohawk leader Joseph Brant); Ho Nee Yeath Taw No Row of the Wolf Clan, called King of Canajoharie ("Great Boiling Pot"), or John of Canajoharie; and Tee Yee Ho Ga Row, meaning "Double Life", of the Wolf Clan, also called Hendrick Tejonihokarawa or King Hendrick.[2] The Mohican chief was Etow Oh Koam of the Turtle Clan, mistakenly identified in his portrait as Emperor of the Six Nations. The Algonquian-speaking Mohican people were not part of the Iroquois Confederacy. Five chiefs set out on the journey, but one died in mid-Atlantic.[citation needed]

History

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The four Native American leaders visited Queen Anne in 1710, as part of a diplomatic visit organised by Pieter Schuyler, mayor of Albany, New York. They were received in London as diplomats, being transported through the streets of the city in Royal carriages, and received by Queen Anne at the Court of St. James Palace. They also visited the Tower of London and St Paul's Cathedral.[3]

In addition to requesting military aid for defence against the French, the chiefs asked for missionaries to offset the influence of French Jesuits, who had converted numerous Mohawk to Catholicism. Queen Anne informed the Archbishop of Canterbury, Thomas Tenison. A mission was authorized, and Mayor Schuyler had a chapel built the next year at Fort Hunter (located near the Mohawk "Lower Castle" village) along the Mohawk River. Queen Anne sent a gift of a silver Communion set and a reed organ. The Mohawk village known as the "Lower Castle" became mostly Christianized in the early 18th century, unlike the "Upper Castle" at Canajoharie further upriver. No mission at the latter was founded until 1769, when William Johnson, the British agent to the Iroquois, built the Indian Castle Church. It still stands.[2]

To commemorate the diplomatic visit to London, the Crown commissioned John Verelst to paint the portraits of the Four Kings. These paintings were initially displayed at Kensington Palace, then moved to Hampton Court Palace (where they appeared in an inventory of 1835). They do not appear in any later inventories and must be assumed to have left the Royal Collection. Paintings of the four kings by John Verelst appear in the collection of Lord Petre at Thorndon Hall by 1851. These paintings were purchased by the Public Archives of Canada with aid from the Secretary of State in 1977.[4] Queen Elizabeth II unveiled them in Ottawa.

During their visit to London, they lodged at The Crown and Cushion, in King Street, Covent Garden. Thomas Arne was their host, he was an inn keeper and an upholsterer, he was very kind and considerate to his visitors. Because of this, the Indians renamed him Cataraqui in a Mohawk christening ceremony. Cataraqui was the fort that has now become the city of Kingston, Ontario. Here they slept on beds for the first time and became accustomed to them.

The four kings were quite a spectacle in London, they were all described in a contemporary pamphlet as being in shape, muscular and within an inch or two of being six feet tall. Their complexions were described as being brown and their hair long and black."Their visages are very awful and majestick, and their features regular enough, though something of the austere and sullen."[5] Their faces are covered in art, probably meant to inspire terror during battle. They are described as polite, they will not refuse any drink or food that is offered to them. They loved English beef more than any other kind of food offered to them. The people of London also described them as healthy. "Their health is good, as is proper for primitives; they know no gout, dropsy, gravel, or fevers."[5]

When they met with Queen Anne the court was mourning for the death of the Prince of Denmark, so the four Indian Kings were dressed in all black attire when they met with her. Their address to her was read, they asked for military assistance and missionaries to lead them to "true religion." After the reading, the chiefs presented the queen with several belts of wampum to signify their meeting. Queen Anne was moved by the address and had it referred to her Ministry. The queen also engaged the four men in conversation through their interpreter, Peter Schuyler's brother John. The chiefs offered to show the queen their abilities by hunting down a deer and capturing it without a weapon, although there is no proof they were put to the test. In return for the gifts of the wampum, the queen gave them a set of communion plates, with the royal cipher and coat of arms, for a future Mohawk chapel. (These are now divided between the Mohawk reserves at Brantford, Ontario, and Tyendinaga, near Kingston.) The Archbishop of Canterbury gave each of the chiefs a Bible bound in Turkey-red leather.[5]

The four Chiefs also got to tour and do things all over London to honor their visit. They watched a review of the Guards in Hyde Park; they visited the Banqueting House and Chapel at Whitehall; they were taken on the Queen's barge to Greenwich Hospital and the Woolwich Arsenal, where they heard a saluting cannonade. They listened to sermons in the city's churches. They were guests of honour at a dinner hosted by the Board of Trade and were privately entertained by William Penn at the Taverne du Diable at Charing Cross. They attended a performance of Powell's Marionettes at Punch's Theatre; a presentation of Macbeth where they got to sit on the stage.[5]

The Kings, with Peter Schuyler, sailed for home in May 1710. Their mission had consequences. It encouraged the Court to war against French Canada. "It helped to bind the Mohawk to the English side in the century of conflict that was to follow. And it inspired a notable missionary effort. By royal order a combination military stronghold and missionary center was erected in the heart of the Mohawk country. This was Fort Hunter, near Amsterdam, New York."[5]

None of the four Indian King's recollections of their experience in London, England has survived, as it was told in the Mohawk tradition of verbal story telling. A contemporary editor (Spectator 27/04/1711) provided a translated specimen of their ostensible observations.[5]

Sa Ga Yeath Qua Pieth Tow (King of Maquas) (Peter Brant)

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Sa Ga Yeath Qua Pieth Tow was one of the three Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) chiefs who traveled to Great Britain to meet the Queen. He is a Mohawk Chief and a member of the Bear clan. During his visit, Sa Ga Yeath Qua Pieth Tow was baptized and from then on called Peter Brant. He was the grandfather of famous Iroquois leader Joseph Brant. This portrait of Peter Brant is some of the best records of 18th-century Aboriginal tattooing in existence.[6] The tattoos were created by first stenciling on the skin and then stabbed into the flesh with needles or little bones until it bled.[7] Although the exact meaning of his tattoos is unknown it can be assumed that his detailed tattoos are because of his status as a leader and a warrior. Brant died soon after he returned from London.[6] Sa Ga Yeath Qua Pieth Tow was the brother of the "Emperor" Tee Yee Ho Ga Row.[5]

Ho Nee Yeath Taw No Row (King of Canajoharie) (John of Canajoharie)

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Ho Nee Yeath Taw No Row was born in what is now Upstate New York. He was one of the three Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) chiefs who traveled to Great Britain to meet the Queen. Ho Nee Yeath Taw No Row was baptized and then called John. Ho Nee Yeath Taw No Row was a part of the Wolf Clan, and that is why a wolf is depicted with him in his portrait by John Verelst. Just like the other chiefs the symbolic skin markings, clothing, and beautiful or unique items were all ways that Native diplomats demonstrated their values and status.[7]

Etow Oh Koam (Nicholas)

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Etow Oh Koam was a Mahican and not a Haudenosaunee chief, but he also traveled with the other chiefs to Great Britain to meet the Queen. In Etow Oh Koam's portrait by Verelst, he is holding a carved wooden ball-headed club, which shows his status as a warrior. Etow Oh Koam has a Thunderbird tattooed on his face, the Thunderbird was thought to be a powerful sky spirit and it was a symbol of spiritual support for a warrior to wear it.[7]

Tee Yee Ho Ga Row (Hendrick Tejonihokarawa) (King Hendrick)

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Tee Yee Ho Ga Row (baptized Hendrick) was the third of the three Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) chiefs who traveled to Great Britain to meet the Queen. He is called the "Emperor of the Six Nations". Tee Yee Ho Ga Row is depicted in his portrait by Verelst as holding a wampum belt. The wampum belt was a significant item to the Iroquois people that serves to remember the meeting and to represent an alliance that cannot be broken unless the belt is returned.[7] The people of London described Tee Yee Ho Ga Row as tall and handsome, his complexion showed "the shadowed livery of the burnished sun". He was about thirty years old, and a powerful man among his people, he was described as a good friend to the English. Tee Yee Ga Row traveled to England with his brother Sa Ga Yeath Qua Pieth Tow.[5]

See also

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References

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Four Mohawk Kings

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The Four Mohawk Kings, more precisely a delegation of three Mohawk sachems from the Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) Confederacy and one Mahican chief, traveled from colonial New York to London in 1710 to petition Queen Anne for military aid against French forces and their Native allies during Queen Anne's War. The group, organized by British colonial officials Peter Schuyler and Francis Nicholson, consisted of Tee Yee Neen Ho Ga Row (baptized Hendrick, of the Wolf Clan), Sa Ga Yeath Qua Pieth Tow (baptized Brant, of the Bear Clan and grandfather of the later Mohawk leader Joseph Brant), Ho Nee Yeath Taw No Row (baptized John, of the Wolf Clan), and Etow Oh Koam (baptized Nicholas, of the Mahican Tortoise Clan). Though styled as "kings" by promoters to evoke prestige and public interest in England, they held chiefly roles rather than monarchical authority within their matrilineal societies. Upon arriving in April 1710, the delegation was received as celebrities, attending audiences at where they presented wampum belts symbolizing their requests for troops, ships, arms, and Protestant missionaries to counter French Catholic influence. Queen Anne commissioned Dutch artist John Verelst to paint their individual portraits in oil—the earliest known surviving such depictions of Native North Americans—which captured their tattoos, quilled clothing, and status symbols like peace pipes and bows, later displayed at court for over a century. The visit included tours of military sites, theatrical performances such as , and social spectacles, fostering Anglo-Mohawk alliances through shared spectacles of power. The mission yielded tangible results, including Queen Anne's dispatch of Anglican , Bibles, and a silver communion service (now held in Mohawk communities), alongside the construction of Fort Hunter as a and outpost near present-day , which bolstered British efforts against . Hendrick Tejonihokarawa emerged as a prominent in subsequent Anglo-Iroquois relations until his death around 1755, while the portraits endured as artifacts of early intercultural diplomacy, influencing European perceptions of Native leaders amid colonial expansion.

Historical Context

Iroquois-Mohawk Political Structure

The Haudenosaunee Confederacy, also known as the Iroquois League, united five nations—the Mohawk (Kanien'kehá:ka), Oneida, Onondaga, Cayuga, and Seneca—under a governance framework emphasizing collective decision-making and mutual defense, with the Mohawk positioned as the easternmost nation and designated "Keepers of the Eastern Door" to safeguard the alliance's frontier against external threats. This structure, rooted in oral traditions like the attributed to the Peacemaker and around the 12th to 15th centuries, prioritized consensus over centralized authority, as decisions in the Grand Council required unanimity among representatives from each nation. Society within the confederacy was organized matrilineally, with clans tracing through female lines and clan mothers wielding authority to nominate and, if necessary, depose male leaders called sachems (hoyaneh), selected for qualities such as oratory skill, , and diplomatic acumen rather than hereditary entitlement. Each Mohawk —typically three per nation, including , , and —maintained autonomy in local affairs, but sachems represented interests in higher councils, ensuring women's oversight preserved communal and . Early colonial records from Dutch and English traders in the 17th century, such as those documenting Albany negotiations, confirm this non-monarchical system, where sachems derived legitimacy from endorsement, not divine right or lineage alone, contrasting European perceptions of indigenous leadership as kingly. Sachems primarily served as civil focused on treaties, agreements, and internal , operating through extended deliberations to forge consensus, while separate war chiefs emerged based on battlefield prowess to lead raids or defenses. The Mohawk nation, subdivided into groups like the Lower Mohawk at Tiononderoge and Upper Mohawk at Canajoharie, leveraged their geographic position along the valley for controlling routes and buffering against Huron and Algonquian adversaries, as noted in 17th-century Jesuit and Dutch accounts of alliances. This decentralized yet interconnected polity enabled the Mohawk to navigate colonial encroachments strategically, with nine sachem seats allocated to them in the fifty-member Grand Council, underscoring their outsized influence despite comprising a minority of the confederacy's population.

Anglo-French Colonial Rivalries and Native Alliances Pre-1710

The Anglo-French struggle for dominance in the and territorial expansion during the late 17th century drove divergent Native alliances, with arming and allying Huron-Wendat and Algonquian groups to challenge incursions into the . The Mohawks, eastern gatekeepers of the Confederacy, countered by partnering with English traders in Albany, who supplied over 400 firearms by the 1650s and sustained the flow of arms and goods for furs, enabling Mohawk raids on French outposts during conflicts like (1689–1697). This mutual dependence fortified Mohawk defenses against French-backed assaults but exposed them to devastating reprisals, as European powers exploited Indigenous rivalries to advance colonial frontiers. French Governor orchestrated punishing campaigns against Mohawk villages to cripple their capacity for cross-border raids. In February 1692, Nicolas d'Ailleboust de Manthet led 210 French troops and 200 Indigenous allies in a raid on three Mohawk settlements in the , destroying longhouses, killing at least 75 warriors, and capturing 300 prisoners, many of whom were later tortured or adopted. The 1693 expedition, involving 660 combatants under Frontenac and allies, burned multiple Mohawk castles including Tiononderoge, slaughtered livestock, razed cornfields sustaining thousands, and seized over 400 captives, inflicting famine and demographic losses that halved Mohawk fighting strength. These operations, part of broader Iroquois-French hostilities rooted in the , compelled the Confederacy to seek respite amid unsustainable attrition. Exhaustion from such warfare culminated in the on August 4, 1701, where delegates and representatives from 38 nations ratified terms with French Governor Comte de Callière, pledging captive repatriation, trade access for , and neutrality in European wars while tacitly preserving Albany commerce. Yet French influence lingered through Jesuit missions proselytizing among Mohawks and pacts with and other western peoples that encircled lands, eroding the treaty's stability. Albany's Peter Schuyler, serving as from 1694 and Indian commissioner, bolstered Mohawk-English bonds via annual trade fairs distributing cloth, powder, and tools worth thousands of pounds, alongside joint ventures like his 1690 snowshoe march with 120 English and 80 Mohawk warriors to threaten , ensuring pragmatic alignment against persistent French pressures.

The 1710 Delegation to England

Formation and Strategic Objectives

In response to persistent Mohawk appeals for military support amid French raids and territorial pressures from during 1709–1710, Peter Schuyler, Albany's mayor and a longstanding Mohawk advocate, orchestrated the delegation's formation. He selected three influential Mohawk sachems alongside Etow Oh Koam, a Mohican leader from the Turtle Clan, to ensure the group's representativeness and to forge a wider anti-French alliance encompassing and neighboring Algonquian-speaking tribes threatened by Canadian incursions. This composition underscored strategic autonomy, prioritizing leaders capable of articulating shared vulnerabilities in dominance and land security over purely internal tribal hierarchies. The delegation's core objective centered on securing British commitment to an expeditionary force against , explicitly aimed at dismantling French strongholds that jeopardized Mohawk access to hunting territories and riverine commerce routes. Accompanied by endorsements from colonial figures like Schuyler and Francis Nicholson, the envoys intended to press Queen Anne for troop reinforcements, framing the request as a mutual imperial interest in curbing Gallic expansion rather than mere charity. This calculated outreach reflected pragmatic , leveraging transatlantic diplomacy to offset Jesuit-influenced French alliances with other Indigenous groups and safeguard without ceding initiative to European proxies.

Voyage, Arrival, and Diplomatic Engagements

The delegation, consisting of three Mohawk sachems and one Mohican chief, departed on April 13, 1710 (Old Style), aboard the ship , escorted by Colonel Pieter Schuyler of Albany. The approximately three-week transatlantic voyage involved typical hardships for the era, including seasickness among the Native delegates unaccustomed to sea travel, rough weather, and cramped conditions on a vessel not optimized for passengers. They made landfall at on May 5, 1710 (O.S.), before proceeding overland to , arriving around mid-May. In , the group conducted formal diplomatic engagements with key British figures, including an audience with Queen Anne at shortly after arrival. Through an interpreter, the delegates delivered speeches affirming their peoples' loyalty to the English Crown as a counter to French influence, while recounting specific French-led atrocities, such as raids and enslavements that had devastated villages and captives. One translated address stated: "The French have been always our Enemies, and have made us many Depredations upon our Limbs and Lives," highlighting ongoing threats from French and allied tribes. These proceedings included direct requests to British officials for Protestant missionaries to instruct their communities and undermine French Jesuit proselytization, as well as arms, ammunition, and engineering support for a defensive near their territories. The delegates positioned these appeals as mutual interests in containing French expansion, with one speech noting: "We desire you would be pleased to send some Preachers unto us, that our Children may be well educated." Such interactions, documented in official records and printed pamphlets, demonstrated calculated grounded in shared strategic imperatives against .

Public Reception and Cultural Encounters

The arrival of the four Native American delegates in on April 10, 1710, sparked widespread public fascination among Britons, who viewed them as exotic yet allied figures from the colonies. Contemporary accounts in pamphlets portrayed the men—three Mohawk and one Mahican—as robust and dignified, with one publication noting their "well shaped and muscular" builds and composed demeanor amid crowds. This interest manifested in cultural engagements, such as their attendance at a performance of Shakespeare's at the Queen's Theatre in Haymarket, where audience excitement reportedly delayed the production until proper seating was arranged. They also viewed puppet shows, including Powell's Marionettes, and operatic performances, highlighting mutual curiosity between the visitors and London society. To capitalize on this reception for propagandistic purposes, the British Crown commissioned Dutch artist John Verelst to paint official portraits of the delegates in spring 1710, depicting them in European attire alongside Native elements to emphasize their status as "civilized" partners against French colonial threats. These works, executed in , served as visual tools to rally domestic support for imperial expansion and to Native allies, with reproductions like mezzotints by III disseminating the images widely. Pamphlets, including the published text of their April 20 speech to Queen Anne—translated into verse by T.S. in one edition—further amplified their diplomatic message, framing the visit as a call for British intervention in while stoking public enthusiasm for the alliance. The delegates demonstrated notable poise during these encounters, observing British customs at and other sites without reported discomfiture, as noted in eyewitness descriptions of their interactions. Their presence underscored a pragmatic exchange: British exploitation of to bolster war recruitment and imperial narratives, met by the envoys' strategic adaptation to metropolitan scrutiny in pursuit of against French incursions.

Profiles of the Delegates

Sa Ga Yeath Qua Pieth Tow (Peter Brant)

Sa Ga Yeath Qua Pieth Tow, a of the Mohawk Bear Clan also known to Europeans as the King of the Maquas, adopted the Peter Brant following his during the 1710 visit to . He was the grandfather of the influential Mohawk leader Thayendanegea, known as , who later played a key role in British alliances during the . As a hereditary leader within the Confederacy's Mohawk nation, his status positioned him to represent clan interests in diplomacy and warfare. Prior to the delegation, Sa Ga Yeath Qua Pieth Tow had engaged in hostilities against French colonial forces and their allied tribes, reflecting the Mohawks' longstanding resistance to French expansion into the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence regions. These conflicts, including raids on French missions and settlements, underscored the strategic need for stronger British support to counter French influence among Native groups. In the 1710 delegation, organized by colonial governor Robert Hunter, Sa Ga Yeath Qua Pieth Tow helped articulate Mohawk grievances, particularly the destructive impact of French Jesuit missionaries on traditional practices and the encroachment on Mohawk lands and routes. The group's formal speeches to Queen Anne emphasized requests for British military aid, including ships and troops, to enable assaults on French-held , framing the as essential for Mohawk security against ongoing French aggression. His portrayal in commissioned portraits by John Verelst depicted him as a formidable , resting a hand on a British to symbolize potential partnership. Sa Ga Yeath Qua Pieth Tow died shortly after returning to in late 1710 or early 1711, succumbing to an illness likely contracted during the transatlantic voyage, which had exposed the delegates to unfamiliar diseases and harsh conditions.

Ho Nee Yeath Taw No Row (John of Canajoharie)

Ho Nee Yeath Taw No Row, rendered in English as John of Canajoharie, was a Mohawk leader affiliated with the upper village of Canajoharie in present-day , serving as a responsible for representing the interests of this inland settlement more exposed to potential raids from French Canada. As a member of the Wolf Clan—symbolized in his by a at his feet—he focused on securing defenses tailored to Canajoharie's strategic position along northern invasion routes, where French-allied forces posed ongoing threats to Mohawk and . His inclusion in the 1710 delegation to broadened Mohawk advocacy beyond the lower river villages, emphasizing the vulnerabilities of upstream communities like Canajoharie that required fortified British presence to counter encroachments from . During the visit, he joined in presenting collective appeals to Queen Anne for military aid, including a letter dated May 22, 1710, aboard HMS Dragon, which specifically requested construction of a fort near their territories and deployment of officers fluent in Mohawk to facilitate coordination against shared enemies. Contemporary accounts depict him in ceremonial attire with traditional skin markings and a bow, underscoring his warrior-diplomat status, though records note the bow's diminutive size, possibly an artistic liberty rather than a literal depiction. Post-delegation documentation on his activities remains sparse, with no verified records of further prominent engagements, suggesting his primary legacy lay in amplifying upper Mohawk voices within the Iroquois-British alliance framework at a pivotal moment of colonial rivalry.

Etow Oh Koam (Nicholas)

Etow Oh Koam was a sachem of the Mohican people, belonging to the Turtle Clan and recognized as a leader among the River Indians along the valley. His title, "King of the River Nation," reflected his authority within Mohican communities allied with the British against French colonial expansion. Born around 1675, he represented Algonquian-speaking Mohican interests distinct from the Iroquoian linguistic and cultural traditions of the Mohawk delegates. His inclusion in the 1710 delegation to Queen Anne underscored the coalition's aim to demonstrate unified Native opposition to French influence, extending beyond the Iroquois Confederacy to incorporate allied groups like the Mohicans for broader diplomatic leverage. As the sole non-Mohawk participant, Etow Oh Koam symbolized this inclusivity, helping to portray the British as protectors of a wider indigenous alliance in North America. In London, he was baptized with the Christian name Nicholas, a gesture aligning with the delegation's requests for missionaries and reinforcing ties to the Church of England. During audiences, the delegates, including Etow Oh Koam, presented belts to the Queen as tokens of covenant and , with his depicting him adorned in such alongside symbols of his status, including a ball-headed war club denoting his role as a war leader. This contrasted sharply with the Mohawk emphasis on diplomacy, highlighting Etow Oh Koam's warrior-oriented Mohican heritage amid the group's shared anti-French objectives.

Tee Yee Ho Ga Row (Hendrick Tejonihokarawa)

Tee Yee Ho Ga Row, a Mohawk sachem of the Wolf Clan from the lower Mohawk village of Tionondoroge, exhibited pre-1710 Christian leanings through conversion around 1690 under Dutch pastor Godfrey Dellius, adopting the Hendrick Peters and serving as a Protestant to his people. He resided at Tionondoroge, near Albany in the , where he actively discouraged Mohawk migration to French in during 1697 negotiations and participated in colonial land transactions, including a 1701 conveyance of territory to William III. These actions positioned him as an early advocate for Protestant influences and British alliances amid Anglo-French rivalries. During the 1710 London delegation, he received baptism as Hendrick Tejonihokarawa, formalizing his Christian identity in the Anglican tradition. Prior to the visit, he engaged in military efforts aligned with British interests, fighting in —including retaliatory actions following the 1690 Schenectady raid and preparations for a failed Canada invasion—and in , where he recruited warriors for Francis Nicholson's aborted 1709 expedition from Wood Creek against . Such scouting and recruitment roles underscored his strategic contributions to containing French advances through combined Iroquois-British operations. Post-delegation, Tejonihokarawa extended his influence by advising on British countermeasures, facilitating the 1711 establishment of Fort Hunter—complete with Anglican missionaries and German settlers—to bolster defenses and offset French Catholic proselytization among the Mohawks. Despite deposition as a League in winter 1712–13 by Wolf Clan matrons over aggressive missionary policies, he regained status by 1720 and pursued , including a 1722 expedition to mediate peace between and eastern tribes. His persistent pro-British orientation, including warrior recruitment and alliance-building at Fort Hunter against French incursions, sustained cooperation with colonial forces through subsequent conflicts, culminating in his death after April 1735.

Immediate Aftermath and Military Impact

Return and British Response

The delegates sailed from in May 1710, arriving back in New York shortly thereafter. Upon their return, the four leaders conveyed to the council the assurances obtained from Queen Anne, emphasizing British reaffirmation of the alliance and commitments to counter French encroachment in the region. These reports highlighted the queen's receptiveness to their appeals, fostering immediate optimism among Mohawk communities amid ongoing raids from French-allied forces in . In direct response to the delegation's petitions, Queen Anne authorized support measures, including the dispatch of Anglican missionaries to the Mohawk and Oneida to provide religious instruction and offset Jesuit influence from . Diplomatic correspondence following the visit documented her approval for arms and supplies to bolster defenses, reflecting a policy shift toward more tangible colonial backing rather than prior rhetorical alliances. This aid, while limited in scale before larger expeditions, demonstrated causal responsiveness to the delegates' firsthand advocacy, as evidenced in ministerial deliberations prompted by their addresses. The immediate effect included a morale uplift for Mohawk warriors, who viewed the queen's pledges—relayed through council proceedings—as validation of their strategic overtures, encouraging renewed resolve against French threats along the New York frontier in 1710. This short-term reinforcement of the Anglo-Iroquois pact, grounded in the delegates' accounts rather than abstract , temporarily stabilized Mohawk loyalty amid escalating border skirmishes.

The 1711 Quebec Expedition

The 1711 Quebec Expedition, also known as the Walker Expedition, was a British military operation launched in response to intelligence and diplomatic appeals from allies, including the recent delegation of Mohawk leaders who had urged an assault on French to neutralize threats to their territories. Commanded by Rear-Admiral Sir Hovenden Walker for the naval contingent and Brigadier-General John Hill for the land forces, the fleet departed on July 30, 1711, comprising nine ships of the line, two bomb vessels, and approximately 60 transports carrying over 7,000 troops, including colonial militias and British regulars. Logistical preparations were hampered by political appointments prioritizing court connections over expertise, with Walker lacking detailed charts of the and relying on inexperienced pilots. Iroquois scouts, drawn from Mohawk and allied nations, joined the expedition to provide local knowledge for the river ascent and potential overland advance, reflecting the symbolic forged by the delegates' visit; however, their numbers were limited to a few dozen warriors, insufficient to offset the fleet's navigational deficiencies. On the night of August 22–23, 1711, while anchored off the northern shore of the St. Lawrence near Egg Island, a severe scattered the convoy, driving seven transports and one storeship onto submerged rocks; approximately 884 soldiers and sailors drowned in one of the Royal Navy's worst peacetime disasters, with survivors rescued amid chaos and inadequate lifeboats. Walker, citing the irreplaceable losses, uncharted hazards ahead, and risks to the remaining fleet, convened a on August 25 and ordered a withdrawal to , abandoning the Quebec assault despite Hill's arguments for proceeding with reduced forces. The operation's failure stemmed primarily from empirical shortcomings in hydrographic and rather than enemy action, as documented in Walker's contemporary journal, which detailed the fleet's vulnerability to the river's treachery without French interdiction. While no conquest occurred, the expedition compelled French Philippe de Rigaud de Vaudreuil to divert resources for defenses, straining colonial logistics amid ongoing campaigns; Mohawk involvement, though marginal in scale, underscored the delegation's success in catalyzing British commitment, yielding tactical on French positions that informed later raids. Total British casualties exceeded 900 when accounting for disease and deserters, contrasting with negligible French losses but highlighting the punitive cost of overambitious planning without adequate reconnaissance.

Long-Term Legacy and Reassessments

Influence on Iroquois-British Alliances

The 1710 delegation of Mohawk and Mahican leaders to reinforced the , a series of interlocking treaties dating to the late that bound the Confederacy to British colonial authorities through pledges of mutual defense, trade access, and diplomatic consultation. By securing Queen Anne's personal audience and commitments to counter French incursions, the visit embedded Iroquois appeals within imperial priorities, prompting British officials to prioritize alliance maintenance in subsequent negotiations. This diplomatic prestige translated into formalized renewals at Albany conferences, such as those in the 1720s and 1740s, where Iroquois sachems invoked the "kings'" stature to enforce adherence and secure arms shipments against shared threats. Post-visit, the bolstered ties supported Iroquois neutrality policies, formalized after the 1701 , by providing leverage to mediate between British and French spheres without full belligerency. Iroquois envoys exploited the enhanced rapport—evident in British construction of Fort Hunter in 1711 as a of commitment—to negotiate restraints on French missionary and trading advances into Haudenosaunee territories, preserving autonomy amid the (1701–1714) and (1744–1748). This balancing act deterred unilateral French expansion, as British diplomatic responses, including exchanges and border guarantees, affirmed the Chain's vitality. The alliance's endurance manifested in the (1754–1763), where warriors, drawing on obligations, supplied scouts, raiders, and auxiliaries to British campaigns, notably under Hendrick Tejonihokarawa's influence until his death at the on September 8, 1755. Such joint operations—totaling hundreds of fighters in key engagements—amplified British logistical reach and intelligence, contributing to the expulsion of French forces from the continent by 1760. Economic reciprocity grew through Albany's hub, fostering interdependence that sustained the partnership into the 1750s despite fluctuating pelt yields from overhunting.

Artistic Representations and Historical Portrayals

In 1710, Queen Anne commissioned Dutch portraitist John Verelst to paint full-length oil portraits of the four Native American delegates, marking the earliest surviving such depictions from life. Completed in late summer that year, the paintings presented the men in a hybrid of European military attire and Native regalia, including wampum belts and tattoos, to symbolize alliance while exoticizing their origins for British audiences. Initially hung at Kensington Palace as state portraits, they fueled public fascination, evidenced by widespread engravings that propagated images of the "kings" as noble, tattooed foreigners aligned against French colonial threats. The portraits' provenance underscores their role in alliance-building : Verelst received £40 per subject from the royal treasury, and the resultant images, distributed via prints in Britain and colonies, shaped perceptions of loyalty to bolster support for expeditions like the one against . engravings by artists such as the Lens family, derived from miniatures of the originals, produced numerous impressions that circulated transatlantically, reinforcing narratives of mutual British-Native interests. Woodblock broadsides, including those the delegates' speeches to the Queen, further amplified this, portraying them as articulate sovereigns petitioning for aid. Today, Verelst's original oils reside at the National Portrait Gallery of the in , having survived relocation from . Eighteenth-century reproductions, like John Simon's engravings circa 1755 after Verelst, sustained the imagery's influence, framing the delegates as endorsing British North American presence amid ongoing conflicts. These visual legacies, blending exoticism with alliance rhetoric, indirectly supported justifications for territorial consolidation by depicting Native leaders as willing partners in imperial ventures, though detached from the delegates' non-monarchical roles. Nineteenth-century historical texts and reprints echoed this, perpetuating the portraits in accounts of early colonial without addressing their propagandistic intent.

Misconceptions and Debates on Leadership Titles

The appellation "kings" applied to the four delegates represented a colonial exaggeration, incongruent with the system's emphasis on collective deliberation rather than hereditary monarchy. Iroquois sachems, selected via matrilineal clan mothers, held authority circumscribed by the , which mandated consensus among fifty council representatives and permitted removal of ineffective leaders to preserve communal harmony. This structure prioritized pragmatic equilibrium over absolutism, rendering European-style kingship an ill-suited projection onto indigenous governance. Contemporary historical questions the delegates' preeminent status, portraying them as relatively junior figures chosen for the mission rather than paramount rulers of the Haudenosaunee Confederacy. Eric Hinderaker contends that their elevation to "kings" facilitated British propagandistic visions of empire, masking the delegates' limited influence and partial representation of Mohawk interests amid internal confederacy divisions. This view challenges anachronistic assumptions of monolithic indigenous authority, underscoring instead the selective agency exercised by colonial intermediaries like Pieter Schuyler in curating the group. Critiques framing the 1710 visit as exploitative cultural imposition overlook evidence of the delegates' volitional , as articulated in their address to Queen Anne, where they described the voyage as an unprecedented initiative to enlist British forces against French threats in . The inclusion of Mohican delegate Etow Oh Koam, far from inadvertent, aligned with Schuyler's established ties to both Mohawk and Mohican warriors from prior joint expeditions, broadening for alliance support. Their explicit request for missionaries to instill "" further evidences calculated strategic maneuvering for technological and military advantages, rather than coerced assimilation. Such actions reflect Haudenosaunee diplomacy's emphasis on balancing European powers for territorial preservation, countering victimhood narratives with documented pursuit of tangible geopolitical gains.

References

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