The Mahican sachem Etow Oh Koam, or Nicholas, who went to London with 3 Mohawks in 1710. He holds a ball-headed club and the turtle at his feet indicates his clan. Painting by John Verelst, 1710.
In April 1710, four “Indian Kings” representing the Five Nations Confederacy of the Iroquois (Seneca, Cayuga, Oneida, Onondaga, and Mohawk) traveled across the Great Water to visit the court of Her Majesty Queen Anne in London. These Iroquois sachems, or civil chiefs, hoped to secure British military support against the marauding French and their Indian allies (Algonquin, Montagnais, and Huron) in Canada, and to ask for missionaries to come to New York State and instruct their people. Although Native Americans had visited England before (e.g., Pocahontas in 1616), none had ever been treated as royalty on a state visit!
The “Four Indian Kings,” as they were known in England, caused a real sensation in old London town. They were celebrated and honored everywhere they went, and as foreign dignitaries of state the Indian Kings were given a Grand Tour of London, including a performance of Shakespeare’s MacBeth and a visit to the Royal Opera. They also attended a “trial of skill with sword” between two fighting Englishmen and visited the Cockpit Royal, where they witnessed the “Royal Sport” of cockfighting firsthand.
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