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As there was no paper work involved in the Treaty of Shackamaxon, historians who supported the tradition often found it difficult to locate the exact place where the treaty was orally made. Even as the year in which the treaty was done continued to be a matter of contention the Penn Society erected a monument stone on the spot where the traditional elm tree under which Penn made the treaty with the Indian tribes stood earlier. The inscription suggests that the treaty born out of unbroken faith between the two parties, William Penn and the Lenni Lenape tribal group, was made in 1682 (Newman, 2012). This monument, currently part of the memorials located in the Penn Treaty Park in Fishtown, is also believed to be the first ever historical monument built in Philadelphia.
William Penn talked to the native tribes through interpreters while making the treaty. Penn swore in the name of the Spirits that made both him and the Native Americans and who ruled both the heaven and earth knew that he and the tribes wished to live peacefully in the land (Sigourney, 2010). By promoting love and brotherhood among the Native Americans Penn established friendly relationship with them. Following the treaty, Penn made various agreements with the indigenous communities on buying the land by offering many gifts. The agreements included common sharing of lands including rights for the tribes to cultivate.
Penn paid a fairly decent sum for purchasing the land from the Lenni Lenape tribal community. He in fact followed the treaty parameters earlier adopted by fellow Swedish and Dutch colonists. The colonists also guided Penn by providing details of contact persons for getting assistance to various services like land delineation. The Indians continued to preserve the rich tradition of peace agreement they made with Penn and continued to have good relationships with his successors even after a century. Traditionally known as the “Great Treaty,” the Treaty of Shackamaxon, occupies a celebrated place in the history of Native Americans, Pennsylvania and America.
Gloria De Church was built by the Swedes between 1698 and 1700 in Pennsylvania (Gallery, 2004). This suggests that the Swedes were the first colonists to settle in Pennsylvania. Penn’s cordial relationship with the Swedish colonists helped him to approach the native Indians and gradually found Pennsylvania. In other words, the Swedes who had earlier established good rapport with the Native Indian Tribes helped Penn with interpretations while talking to the tribes. Thus the Treaty of Shackamaxon was made before the Swedes built the Gloria De Church in the locality. In brief, even before the Church was built, Penn bought some land from the tribes following the Treaty of Shackamaxon and started founding Pennsylvania.
References
Gallery, J.A. (2004). Philadelphia Architecture: A Guide to the City (2nd ed.). Philadelphia: Foundation for Architecture
Newman, A. (2012). On Records: Delaware Indians, Colonists, and the Media of History and Memory. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press.
Sigourney, L.H. (2010). Traits of The Aborigines Of America: A Poem (1822). Whitfish: Kessinger Publishing
Written by: Clifford Owusu-Gyamfi