King of the Delawares

The poignant story of one of the Delaware Indians’ greatest leaders is a classic of Native American studies. Using a psychological/anthropological approach that he largely invented, Wallace clearly demonstrates—better than anyone before or since—the tragedy of the Delawares’ existence, caught between the English, the French, and the Iroquois. Painting a rich tapestry of the history and culture of the Delawares and of the sociopolitical context of the fraudulent Walking Purchase of 1737, Wallace brings Teedyuscung to life before us. Born in 1700 on the outskirts of Trenton, New Jersey, Teedyuscung was barely able to earn a living as a broom and basket maker along the shabby fringes of the white settlements. He was simultaneously dependent upon, and resentful of, the invaders. The strange mixture of love and hatred for Europeans made him notorious as both the enemy and friend of white settlers. King of the Delawares, with a new preface by the author, provides a fascinating portrait of Teedyuscung, from his early years when he tried to bring white customs to the Delawares, through his long and ardent efforts to regain the lands belonging to his people, and ending with his murder in 1763 by land hungry settlers.