Etow Oh Koam, King of the River Nation

In 1710, London was captivated by the diplomatic visit of a delegation that consisted of the English governor of the New York colony and four Native American leaders --- styled by the organizers of the visit, and the lively London press, as kings. The American visitors became instant celebrities. They attended the theater, were granted a royal audience, and posed for portraits in oil, which were then reproduced in mezzotint for distribution to a broad audience. The result was one of the few suites of early European images that depict Native Americans not just drawn from life, but in a manner that was intended to emphasize their actual appearance and status as dignitaries. (The original paintings are now at the National Library and Archives of Canada.)

Yet all was not as it seemed. The four delegates, representatives of the Mahicans and the Haudenosaunee Confederation [Iroquois], were indeed in London on official business. But despite the fanfare and the royal honors, they were not, in fact, kings. Indeed, only one of the Native American visitors had particularly high status at home. Instead, the visit was a carefully choreographed piece of political theater, organized by the English colonists and certain factions among the Native American nations in what would become upstate New York. Officially, those nations were neutral in the contest between Britain and France that was slowly carving the Eastern Woodlands of North America into competing imperial spheres. But there were some Native American groups who had decided there was advantage in choosing sides. The mission to London was an attempt by one such group to ensure robust British support for the claims of English settlers in the contested regions.

Despite the play acting and diplomatic sleight of hand, the mission, and these prints, had a real effect. Although the British did not come through with quite the full-throated military support the delegation desired, the prints had a fascinating afterlife. Within two years, they had been posted in British government buildings throughout the northeast as evidence of the new alliance, and they are also documented in Native American contexts. There is even some evidence that the very existence of the images may have enhanced the social and political status of the sitters, who returned home with both a pictorial record of their time in Britain as well as diplomatic gifts and trade goods.