Category: HISTORY
Guide Created By: Harold Arnold
Discussion Leader(s): Harold Arnold
Click here to visit the discussion

Guide Description

Plot Synopsis

In the Preface to this book the author, Francis Jennings, tells us it "is a history neither of the tribes nor of the colonies, but rather of the Covenant Chain that bound them together." The Covenant Chain was the unique 17th and 18th century trade arrangement for the conduct of North American, inter-culture trade between the Northeast tribes and the English Colonies. The Dutch at their Fort Orange colony originally initiated the Covenant Chain early in the 17th century. Later after Fort Orange had become English, renamed Albany, the concept of the chain was refined and formalized by a series of treaties between the tribes and the English. Under these treaties the Iroquois Confederation acquired a particularly strong position of power as middlemen and the agent of other tribes in their trade dealings with the English colonies. This position of Iroquoian power led Jennings to suggest the use of the word, "Empire," to describe the status of the Iroquois Confederation during the last half of the 17th and much of the 18th centuries.

After the Iroquois through a series of successful 17th century inter-tribal conflicts known as "the Beaver Wars" established their position of power, Jennings continues to document the significantly different interpretations of the respective roles of the Iroquois and the English in the Covenant Chain. While the Iroquois never saw the relationship as involving any concession of tribal sovereignty on their part, the English, on the other hand, interpreted the position of the Indians, including the Iroquois, as junior partners, the subordinate agents of the European powers subject to their overall sovereignty.

As Jennings continues his account of the century long story of Iroquois successes and failures, the reader can not help but note the accumulating effect on the Iroquois of the mounting losses from war and pestilence, and the growing pressure from the ever increasing European population. At this point Jennings ends his book with the 1744 Treaty of Lancaster, which, as interpreted by the English, opened the entire Ohio Valley west of the mountains for the European settlement that promptly followed. Though the Iroquois still remained a power in the Covenant Chain, their inevitable decline was poised to follow.

Biography of the Author

After a long career in academia, Francis Jennings died on November 17, 2000, well recognized as an American Colonial and American Indian historian. Click Here for an "In Memoriam" message with biographical information published on the Organization of American Historians web page.

Bibliography of Author's works

Bibliography of Author's Works: Click Here for 15 titles listed in the Barnes and Noble on-line catalog authored by Francis Jennings. All of the titles are on American Colonial or Northeast Indian history.

Critical Reviews

I felt the sudden ending of the history with the 1744 Treaty of Lancaster was abrupt and premature. Though this event may have marked the beginning of the end of the Iroquois as an empire and the acceleration of their decline already underway after years of war and exposure to European disease, they yet remained in a position of power that should have been followed until the end of the Covenant Chain as a dominant North American trade structure.

While this book is extremely well researched and documented, it was not an easy book to read and understand. This was the result of the small light print as well as the author's writing style, which while acceptable for professional historians, appeared rather formidable for SeniorNet's readers accustomed to the popular presentations of Ambrose and McCullough. As a result, many of the original half dozen discussion participants quickly disappeared. Despite the fact that Jennings specifically told his readers that the book was a history of the Covenant Chain, not a history of the Iroquois, he none-the-less treated those who finished the book to generous portions of Iroquois history and culture. And the concept of the Covenant Chain to me was an interesting example of a very early inter-American trade experiment. Americans are indebted to Francis Jennings for his rediscovery of this almost forgotten trade structure. I think those who read the book and remained with the discussion to its end were well rewarded for their efforts

Harold Arnold, Discussion Leader

Comments From Critics

Short Review From the Publisher

Questions

Some pertinent questions raised by the book and the discussion:

1. North American Indians had lived for many millennia in North America without European trade goods. Why in the early 17th century with the arrival of European colonies did the obtaining of European manufactured goods become so important?

2. What did the Iroquois, particularly the Mohawks, gain and lose as the result of the Beaver Wars?

3. How did a Virginia/Maryland offensive in the 1660's against the Susquehannocks enable the English Governor Andros of New York to transform the Iron Dutch Chain into the Silver English one? Explain the use of the metaphors, iron and silver, in this question? Do you note an early indication of the emergence of New York as a financial and trade center in the events of these years?

4. What were the effects of the creation of Pennsylvania on the Covenant Chain and the role of the Iroquois? How did William Penn's Indian policy in the Susquehanna and Delaware River valleys differ from the usual English Indian policy?

5. By the early years of the 18th century, the combined effects of years of war and pestilence were having an adverse effect on the Iroquois social structure. What unique strategy did the Iroquois employ to make up their losses and maintain their position of power in the Covenant Chain? How were the interests of the Euro-English imperialists and the Amer-English colonists differentiating as the new 18th century progressed? Do you see the first vestiges of "Americans" emerging from the English seed?

6. How did the bankrupt condition of the William Penn estate cause his heirs to press their colony for more revenues through the abandonment of William Penn's "fair dealings" Indian policy? What was the significance of the "Walking Purchase?"

7. How did the meaning of the 1744 Treaty of Lancaster as interpreted by the English differ from the interpretation of the Iroquois? What were some of the results of the English policies resulting from their interpretation? Why did Francis Jennings end his history with the Treaty of Lancaster instead of continuing until the Covenant Chain finally became irrelevant a half century later?

Interesting Information

The Iroquois Nation- A Condensed Iroquois History

Iroquois History

Iroquois Dreamworks and Spirituality

The Iroquois Constitution

Iroquois Net

Iroquois Oral Traditions

Iroquois Language and Songs

The Iroquois of the Northeast