Four Mohawk Kings

The Four Mohawk Kings or Four Kings of the New World were the three Mohawk and one Mahican Chiefs of the Iroquoian Confederacy. The three Mohawk were: "Sa Ga Yeath Qua Pieth Tow" of the Bear Clan, called King of Maguas, with the Christian name Peter Brant, grandfather of Joseph Brant; "Ho Nee Yeath Taw No Row" of the Wolf Clan, called King of Canojaharie, or John of Canojaharie ("Great Boiling Pot"); and "Tee Yee Ho Ga Row", meaning "Double Life", of the Wolf Clan, called King Hendrick, with the Christian name Hendrick Peters. The one Mahican was "Etow Oh Koam" of the Turtle Clan, labeled in his portrait as Emperor of the Six Nations.

It was these four First Nations leaders who visited Queen Anne in 1710 as part of a diplomatic visit organised by Pieter Schuyler. Five set out on the journey, but one died in mid-Atlantic. They were received in London as diplomats, being transported through the streets of the city in Royal carriages, and received by Queen Anne at the Court of St. James Palace. They also visited the Tower of London and St. Paul's Cathedral.

In addition to requesting military aid for defence against the French, the Chiefs also asked for missionaries to be sent to them. This request was passed by Anne to the Archbishop of Canterbury, Thomas Tenison, and a chapel was eventually built at Fort Hunter near present day Johnstown, New York in 1711, along with a gift of a silver Communion set and a reed organ from Queen Anne.

To commemorate this visit Jan Verelst was commissioned to paint the portraits of the Four Kings. These paintings hung in Kensington Palace until 1977 when Queen Elizabeth II had them, as possessions of her as the Queen of Canada, relocated to the National Archives of Canada, unveiling them in Ottawa.

See also

The Crown and the First Nations

External links

* [http://www.angelfire.com/mi4/polcrt/4Chiefs.html The Bear Clan: The Four Indian Kings]