Transatlantic Encounters

Transatlantic Encounters examines the diverse origins and experiences of approximately 175 American Indians and Inuits who traveled to the British Isles before the American Revolution. Their homelands ranged from northern Canada to Brazil, their ages from infant to nonagenarian, their statuses from slave (the largest category) to "emperor," their occupations from warrior to missionary. Some American natives died soon after arrival, but others remained as long as fourteen years and returned home; still others, their arrival and death dates undocumented, may have endured long lives abroad. And always, Indians and Inuits fascinated the British people, whether the Americans were captives or on commercial display, interpreters-in-training, or voluntary voyagers to petition the monarch and tour Britain's famous sites. British artists painted their portraits and eminent writers invoked them in plays and essays. In the imperial crisis of 1776, Indian diplomats who had been to London would staunchly support the British Empire.