Canasatego facts for kids

Canassatego (born around 1684, died 1750) was an important leader of the Onondaga people. He became a key diplomat and speaker for the Iroquois Confederacy in the 1740s. He was involved in several land sales to British officials. Canassatego is most famous for a speech he gave in 1744. During the Treaty of Lancaster, he suggested that the British colonies should unite, just like the Iroquois had. He reportedly died suddenly, possibly due to disagreements with others.

Who Was Canassatego?

Early Life and Role

We don't know much about Canassatego's early life. He first appears in British records during his last eight years. His first known appearance was at a meeting in Philadelphia in 1742. There, he spoke for the Onondaga people. The Onondaga are one of the six nations of the Iroquois (Haudenosaunee) League.

Most experts today believe Canassatego was not one of the 14 traditional Onondaga chiefs. These chiefs sat on the Iroquois Grand Council. However, some historians disagree. They suggest Canassatego might have held the important Iroquois title of Tadadaho.

Important Meetings and Land Deals

In the 1730s, some Iroquois leaders started working with the British Province of Pennsylvania. This was helped by Conrad Weiser, Pennsylvania's interpreter. Pennsylvania agreed to see the Iroquois as the owners of all Native lands in the area. In return, the Iroquois agreed to sell land only to Pennsylvania.

Canassatego likely attended a 1736 treaty. At this meeting, some Iroquois chiefs sold land along the Susquehanna River to Pennsylvania. This land had traditionally belonged to the Lenape people.

This map shows Pennsylvania's land purchases from Native Americans. Canassatego had a role in the 1736 and 1749 sales, although the Iroquois League nations had a questionable claim to those lands.

Canassatego was the Onondaga speaker at another meeting in 1742. Here, the Iroquois chiefs received the final payment for the 1736 land sale. Canassatego successfully convinced Governor Thomas Penn to pay more than the original price. Penn, in turn, asked Canassatego to remove the Delaware Indians from land involved in the Walking Purchase of 1737. This purchase was very controversial. Canassatego agreed. He told the Delaware people that they had no right to sell land and ordered them to leave.

The Lancaster Treaty of 1744

In 1744, Canassatego was a main speaker at meetings for the Treaty of Lancaster. A man from Maryland named Witham Marshe was there. He wrote down the only known description of Canassatego:

The first of these sachems (or chiefs) was a tall, wellmade man; had a very full chest, and brawny limbs. He had a manly countenance, mixed with a good-natured smile. He was about 60 years of age; very active, strong, and had a surprising liveliness in his speech, which I observed in the discourse betwixt him, Mr. Weiser, and some of the sachems.

Representatives from five Iroquois nations attended the treaty. The Mohawk tribe was the only one not present. Also there were officials from Pennsylvania, Maryland, and Virginia. At this time, King George's War was happening. The British colonies needed to have a good relationship with the Iroquois. Otherwise, the Iroquois might become allies with the French.

After Canassatego's speech, Maryland and Virginia agreed to pay the Iroquois for land in their colonies. This was even though they felt the Iroquois didn't truly own those lands. Virginia got a better deal, though. Canassatego and other Iroquois leaders thought they had only sold the Shenandoah Valley to Virginia. But the official document gave Virginia much more land than that.

Canassatego's Advice for Unity

Near the end of the meeting, Canassatego gave the colonists some important advice:

We have one thing further to say, and that is We heartily recommend Union and a Good Agreement between you our Brethren. Never disagree, but preserve a strict Friendship for one another, and thereby you as well as we will become the Stronger.

Our wise Forefathers established Union and Amity between the Five Nations; this has made us formidable, this has given us great weight and Authority with our Neighboring Nations.

We are a powerful confederacy, and, by your observing the same Methods our wise Forefathers have taken, you will acquire fresh Strength and Power; therefore, whatever befalls you, never fall out with one another.

Canassatego was worried that the British colonies were not working together. He felt they needed a plan to deal with the military threat from New France. He gave similar advice about colonial unity at another meeting in 1745. His words became a key part of an idea called the Iroquois Influence Thesis. This idea suggests that the Iroquois League was a model for the United States Constitution.

Later, Hendrick Theyanoguin took over as a diplomat for the Six Nations. He continued building alliances with Britain's Northern Colonies. He worked with his friend William Johnson in 1754. Hendrick Theyanoguin was killed fighting the French a year later. The work started by Canassatego and continued by Hendrick Theyanoguin led to Benjamin Franklin's ideas for a union of the British Colonies. These ideas became a model for the US Federal system declared in 1776.

His Final Years

Canassatego's last appearance at a treaty meeting was in August 1749. This was one year after King George's War ended. In Philadelphia, he complained that colonists were settling on Native land along the Susquehanna River. He agreed to sell this land to Pennsylvania. But again, the written document included much more land than what had been agreed upon during the talks.

Canassatego reportedly died suddenly in September 1750. There were different ideas about why he died. Some accounts from that time said he was killed because he took payments for selling tribal lands. Others said he was poisoned by agents from New France. Historian William Starna suggested that Canassatego was likely killed by Iroquois who supported the French. These individuals wanted to end Canassatego's diplomatic ties with Pennsylvania.

What is Canassatego's Legacy?

A made-up version of Canassatego appeared in a 1755 novel. It was called Lydia: or Filial Piety, by English writer John Shebbeare. In books of that time, Native American characters were sometimes used to make fun of Europeans. Canassatego was shown as wise and honest, very different from the tricky Englishmen he met.

The US Navy named a harbor tugboat, the USS Canassatego (YN-38/YNT-6/YTM-732), after him.