Tamaqua | |
|---|---|
&sq=Envato&lang=en&file=File:Tamaqua,_a_Delaware_Indian_diplomat.jpg) "Tamaqua, a Delaware diplomat," exhibit at the Fort Pitt Museum, Pittsburgh | |
| Born | c. 1725 |
| Died | c. 1770 (aged c. 45) |
| Years active | 1751-1765 |
| Known for | Peace negotiations during the French and Indian War and Pontiac's War |
| Predecessor | Shingas |
| Successor | Netawatwees |
Tamaqua or Tamaque, also known as The Beaver and King Beaver (c. 1725 – 1769 or 1771),[2] was a leading man of the Unalachtigo (Turkey) phratry of the Lenape people. Although the Haudenosaunee in 1752 had appointed Shingas chief of the Lenape at the Treaty of Logstown, after the French and Indian War Tamaqua rose in prominence through his active role as peace negotiator, and was acknowledged by many Lenape as their "king" or chief spokesman.[3] He was among the first to hand over English captives at the end of the French and Indian War and was active in peace negotiations at the conclusion of Pontiac's War. By 1758, he was recognized as one of three principal leaders of the Lenape, being the primary spokesman for the western Lenape in the Ohio Country. He founded the town of Tuscarawas, Ohio, in 1756 and died there in 1769 or 1771.
- ^ Francis P. Jennings, "The Delaware Interregnum," Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Biography, vol. 89, no 2, April 1965; pp. 174-98
- ^ Gille, Frank H., ed. (1999). "Tamaque", In Encyclopedia of Massachusetts Indians, Vol. 1. St. Clair Shores, MI.: Somerset Publishers, Inc. p. 230.
- ^ Sipe, Chester Hale. The Indian chiefs of Pennsylvania, or, A story of the part played by the American Indian in the history of Pennsylvania: based primarily on the Pennsylvania archives and colonial records, and built around the outstanding chiefs. Butler, PA: Zeigler Press, 1880.