Russians establish a settlement in Alaska.
On Kodiak Island, Russian fur trader Gregory Shelikov founds Three Saints, the first permanent non-Indian settlement in Alaska. Through the efforts of Shelikov and his employee Alexander Baranov, the Russians will dominate the fur trade in the region. They will brutally exploit the indigenous populations, compelling entire villages through threats and force to hunt and prepare pelts for them. (See also entry for 1799.)
Iroquois led by Joseph Brant begin moving to Canada.
At the insistence of Mohawk leader and British loyalist Joseph Brant (see entries for NOVEMBER 11, 1778; July 1777; and NOVEMBER 1775), the English government grants a tract of land on the Grand River in Ontario to Indians who fought on their side during the American Revolution. Brant and his followers will found the present-day town of
Brantford. Eventually, more than 2,000 Indians, most of whom are from the Iroquois tribes, will move to the Grand River settlement.
The North West Company joins the fur trade.
English, Scottish, and American merchants and traders based in Montreal join to form the North West Company. In addition to dominating Montreal’s fur trade, the new firm will challenge its greatest competitor, the Hudson’s Bay Company (see entry for 1670), by exploring previously uncharted areas in western Canada and establishing posts and trading relationships with the Indians there. Until the two companies merge (see entry for 1821), Indians will be drawn into numerous conflicts sparked by the firms’ heated rivalry.
The Creek sign the Treaty of Pensacola with Spain.
Under the leadership of Alexander McGillivray, Creek negotiators agree to the Treaty of Pensacola, in which Spain pledges to protect Creek lands in Spanish Florida. The treaty also allows the Creek to import goods, particularly guns and other military gear they need to defend their nation. McGillivray’s first great diplomatic victory, the agreement will help persuade the U. S. government to respect the Creek’s borders out of fear of attack by combined Creek and Spanish forces.
The Treaty of Fort Stanwix is signed.
At Fort Stanwix, near present-day Rome, New York, U. S. treaty negotiators meet with a small group of Iroquois. The negotiators are eager to punish the four Iroquois tribes that sided with the British during the American Revolution (see entry for JULY 1777) and to gain control of their western lands. Using intimidation and violence, they force the Iroquois into signing the Treaty of Fort Stan-wix. In exchange for peace with the United States, the Indians cede their lands west of Pennsylvania and New York. The treaty infuriates many Iroquois, who maintain that the signers had no authority to speak for all of their people.
World History
