Treaty of Fort Stanwix (1768)
 | This article includes a list of general references, but it lacks sufficient corresponding inline citations. (November 2015) |
 A portion of the 1768 Fort Stanwix Treaty line, showing the boundary in New York | |
| Type | Land boundaries |
|---|---|
| Signed | 5 November 1768 |
| Location | near modern-day Rome, New York |
| Signatories | Sir William Johnson |
| Parties |  Great Britain
|
| Language | English |
The Treaty of Fort Stanwix was a treaty signed between representatives from the Iroquois and Great Britain (accompanied by negotiators from New Jersey, Virginia and Pennsylvania) in 1768 at Fort Stanwix. It was negotiated between Sir William Johnson, his deputy George Croghan, and representatives of the Iroquois.[1]
The treaty established a Line of Property 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. The treaty also settled land claims between the Iroquois and the Penn family; the lands thereby acquired by American colonists in Pennsylvania 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 set forth in the Royal Proclamation of 1763. 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.[2]
The final treaty was signed on November 5 with one signatory for each of the
Although the Six Nations of New York had previously recognized colonial rights southeast of the Ohio River at the
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
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, 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. 182–194 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.
- Taylor, Alan (2006). The Divided Ground: Indians, Settlers, and the Northern Borderland of the American Revolution. New York: Alfred A. Knopf. ISBN 0-679-45471-3.
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
