Iroquois Diplomacy on the Early American Frontier: The Penguin Library of American Indian History

A portrait of the Iroquois nation during America's colonial period offers insight into their influence over regional politics, their active participation in period trade, and their neutral stance throughout the Anglo-French imperial wars. More than perhaps any other Native American group, the Iroquois found it to their advantage to interact with and adapt to white settlers. Despite being known as fierce warriors, the Iroquois were just as reliant on political prowess and sophisticated diplomacy to maintain their strategic position between New France and New York. Colonial observers marveled at what Benjamin Franklin called their "method of doing business" as Europeans learned to use Iroquois ceremonies and objects to remain in their good graces. Though the Iroquois negotiated with the colonial governments, they refused to be pawns of European empires, and their savvy kept them in control of much of the Northeast until the American Revolution.

Iroquois Diplomacy and the Early American Frontier is a must-read for anyone fascinated by Native American history or interested in a unique perspective on the dawn of American government."--Publisher's description. In the fourth title in The Penguin Library of American Indian History, Timothy J. Shannon tells the story of the most influential Native American confederacy of the colonial era. The Iroquois occupied a strategic region between Canada and New York and engaged in active trade and diplomacy with their colonial Dutch, French, and British neighbors. While they were famous as fierce warriors, it was actually their intercultural diplomacy that accounted for the span and endurance of their power in early America. By carefully maintaining their neutrality in the Anglo-French imperial wars in North America, they were able to claim an unrivaled influence in colonial America at a time when other Indian nations experienced dispossession and dispersal. Europeans who wanted to remain in the good graces of the Iroquois had to learn the ceremonies and the use of sacred objects that their diplomacy entailed. Shannon's portrayal contradicts the notion of the "noble savage," showing just how politically savvy--and at times treacherous--the Iroquois Nation was in the face of colonialism.

Includes bibliographical references and index.