The "Four Indian Kings": War and Diplomacy in 1710

"We have undertaken a long and tedious Voyage…that we might see our great Queen, and relate to her those things we thought absolutely necessary for the Good of Her and Us, her Allies, on the other side of the Great Water."

In 1710, British colonial leaders intent on securing an Aboriginal alliance against the French in the battle for control of North America asked four representatives of the Haudenosaunee (Iroquoian) and Algonquian nations to accompany them to London. These Aboriginal emissaries travelled to the court of Queen Anne to request military assistance and ask for missionaries. In recognition of their special status, the British called the visitors the "Four Indian Kings".

To commemorate the visit, Queen Anne commissioned artist John Verelst (1648-1734) to paint official portraits of the delegates. His works are among the earliest known oil portraits from life of North American Aboriginal peoples.

Three hundred years after they were commissioned, the portraits serve as a record of early political and cultural diplomacy between Aboriginal peoples and the British.

The Portraits
The "Four Indian Kings" are depicted in a style reserved for royalty and dignitaries. Each figure is shown in full-length, in a pose that speaks power. The artist portrays each man against an imaginary North American landscape, accompanied by his doodem (clan) animal. Three are holding weapons that are shown in use in the background (an arrow kills a deer, a club is used in warfare). All four paintings feature a hatchet on the ground, signifying that the ambassadors come in peace.

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