Diplomacy and Indian Gifts: Anglo-French Rivalry Along the Ohio and Northwest Frontiers, 1748-1763

The French-English Rivalry For Indian Loyalties During the French and Indian War Years 1748-1763
It seems only once in a lifetime that a book comes along that really unlocks many of the mysteries of a subject you have been studying for as long as you can remember. Diplomacy and Indian Gifts is just such a book! From the beginning, I was always intrigued by the old Indian custom of giving and receiving gifts and how this practice was used both for and against them! During the course of the F & I War years, thousands of pounds sterling was expended by both the French and the British in their diplomatic competition to buy Indian friendship and loyalty through gift giving. Indian gifts and their givers indeed made diplomatic history. To say diplomacy and Indian gifts was a high stakes game would not do justice to everything that was really involved. It was a war for empire, but also was a war for profit, and the Indians were pawns to be bought by whatever means necessary to affect the outcome. These diplomatic missions along with this showering of gifts helped decide the war that inspired a melting pot of people to form a nation. The story makes fascinating reading and Dr. Jacob s book is the final authority. This history of Indian gifts and how it affected the outcome of the early history of our country was hitherto an unexplored area in the records of the Colonial westward movement and Dr. Jacobs spent 7 years in historically sleuthing through old manuscripts, journals and various other printed material in putting together this magnificent record of how the Indians were paid off and how the West was won. Describing the various gifts like vermilion war paint, liquor and trinkets, and even guns for which young warriors would tear the heart out of a trader , the author gives page after page of specific examples of how these coveted treasures were used to buy friendship and loyalty. This never before published book is an exciting, insightful and informative collection of information about the part Indian gifts played in changing the course of American history. Bibliography of over 90 published sources (books, manuscripts, journals, calendars, paper collections, transcripts) & with 1,000+ footnotes. Exceptional Reference Book. 208pp Hardback

Wilbur R. Jacobs (1918–1998) was Professor of History at the University of California, Santa Barbara.