Chronology of American Indian History

requests payment for her past assistance to the col-
ony. In the past, she had served as an interpreter for
the colony’s founder, James Oglethorpe, and used
her influence among the Creek to help him estab-
lish white settlements on tribal lands.
When the authorities ignore her demands,
Bosomworth, now calling herself the Creek’s
queen, leads a small force of Creek warriors into
the town of Savannah and threatens to destroy
it. Town officials treat her gingerly until they
discover that her warriors feel no allegiance to
Bosomworth. Becoming hysterical when her au-
thority is questioned, Bosomworth is placed in a
guardhouse, but she is soon released. The incident
earns her the enmity of both the Georgia colonists
and her fellow Creek.

1751

November 20

The Akimel O’odham (Pima) rebel against
the Spanish.
Angered by their brutal oppression at the hands of
the Spanish military, Akimel O’odham (Pima) In-
dians led by Luis Oacpicagigua rise up against the
Spanish in their territory. The Indians kill more than
one hundred Spaniards and burn their churches.
The rebels, however, are soon overtaken by the
Spanish, largely because the Tohono O’odham
(Pagago) and Apache refuse to join in the rebellion
as they earlier had pledged to do. Oacpicagigua is
imprisoned but escapes execution by agreeing to re-
build the churches—a promise he later refuses to
keep. (See also entry for 1695.)

1752

The Treaty of Logstown gives whites control
of prime Ohio lands.
At a Mingo village at Logstown in Pennsylvania,
leaders of the Mingo, Lenni Lenape (Delaware),
Shawnee, and other Ohio Valley tribes meet with

representatives of the British government and the

Ohio Company of Virginia. Offering the Indians

a huge gift of trade goods, the company negotiates

a treaty that gives it title to rich lands surround-

ing the forks of the Ohio River. The English treaty

commissioners also use the occasion to berate

the French and solidify their friendship with the

Indian groups present, particularly the mighty

Iroquois.

June 21

French troops destroy a Miami trading

center.

Angered by the high prices and scarcity of French

goods, Miami trader Memeskia (known to whites

as Old Briton) persuades his band to establish

the village of Pickawilany in present-day western

Ohio. At Pickawilany, the Miami welcome Eng-

lish traders, infuriating their former French allies.

After Pickawilany emerges as a major trading

center, the French with the help of their Ottawa

and Ojibway allies storm the village in a surprise

attack. Outnumbered 10 to one, the Miami are

quickly defeated, and Pickawilany is destroyed.

The French commander, Charles Langlade, orders

Memeskia’s execution. In a demonstration of their

contempt for the British-allied Indian trader, some

of Langlade’s fighters boil Memeskia’s body and

eat his remains.

1753

George Washington demands that the

French abandon their forts in the Ohio

River valley.

The Virginia government sends George Washing-

ton, a 21-year-old surveyor, to negotiate with the

French who are building forts in the Ohio River

valley. The forts are intended to solidify French con-

trol over the area, which is also claimed by Virginia,

Pennsylvania, the Iroquois Confederacy, and the In-

dians who live in the region. On behalf of Virginia,

Washington insists that the French abandon their