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 Montre-
al’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 trad-
ing 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.
June 1
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.
October 22
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.1785Indians of African-American ancestry lose
Indian status in Virginia.
The Assembly of Virginia defines any person with
one-quarter African-American ancestry as a mu-
latto. Indians with at least one African-American
grandparent, therefore, are no longer legally consid-
ered Indians and are denied all rights and privileges
conferred with Indian status.Toypurina leads a mission uprising.
Under the leadership of a Gabrielino medicine
woman named Toypurina, six villages of Indians rise
up against the priests and soldiers at the San Gabriel
mission, near what is now Los Angeles. Toypurina’s
followers are convinced that her supernatural pow-
ers will lead them to victory. The Spanish, however,
are warned about the attack; their forces quickly
quash the uprising and arrest Toypurina. At her
trial, the medicine woman is permitted to speak,
an opportunity she uses to eloquently condemn
the Spanish for their harsh treatment of her people.
Toypurina’s life is spared, but she is exiled to the San
Carlos mission to prevent her from further influ-
encing the Gabrielino.May 20The Land Ordinance is passed.
The Confederation Congress establishes a means of
distributing public domain land in the Old North-
west (today the states of Ohio, Indiana, Illinois,
Michigan, and Wisconsin) through the passage of
the Land Ordinance. This law calls for a federal
survey to divide the land into six-square-mile town-
ships each containing 36 lots. Each lot is then to be
sold by auction for a minimum of $640 (one dol-
lar per acre). By making this land readily available