Discover how trade shaped a colony’s fate and kept a fragile balance with a powerful rival.This edition presents Peter Wraxall’s highly regarded abridgment of the New York Indian records, covering the period 1678 to 1751. Edited with an introduction by Charles Howard McIlwain, it places the Indian trade at the center of eighteenth‑century politics, showing how commerce helped secure alliances, influence Indigenous nations, and counter French power in North America.
From the diary-like notes and official minutes to carefully curated introductions, this volume offers a clear window into how colonial leaders regulated trade, managed diplomacy, and navigated conflicts that shaped the region’s history. The text is supplemented by scholarly apparatus that clarifies sources and context, helping readers understand both the events and their enduring significance.
- Focus on the regulation of the New York fur trade and its strategic role in colonial diplomacy.
- Accessible abridgment of primary records, with modern introductory framing and notes.
- Context from Harvard‑trained editors and historians that illuminate eighteenth‑century politics.
- Detailed references to colonial law, council minutes, and Indian records for further study.
Ideal for students, researchers, and history readers interested in colonial New York, Indigenous relations, and the economic basis of empire.