Wilderness Politics and Indian Gifts: The Northern Colonial Frontier, 1748-1763

208 pp. Black-and-white map of the Old West precedes text. Historians of the frontier have long recognized that Jeffrey Amherst’s order stopping gifts to the Indians was partly responsible for Pontiac’s Rebellion, but few have realized the role of presents in the diplomacy of the late eighteenth century. Hence this compact monograph, which studies the problem for the period 1748-1763, not only fills a real need, but does so most satisfactorily. . . . Dr. Jacobs clearly shows the importance of gifts in Indian diplomacy. Ray Allen Billington Journal of the Illinois State Historical Society - The four initial chapters present a compact statement of the place of “presents” in Indian culture, compare the centralized French with the haphazard English administration of Indian relations, and finally estimate the effect on the red man of his acceptance of rum and gimcracks as well as the useful articles such as tools, weapons, textiles and even foodstuffs. The second division of the book is a chronological account of the years 1748-1763, with special emphasis on the Indian as a factor in deciding the success of the contestants in controlling the eastern Mississippi Valley. . . . Detailed documentation and an index add to the usefulness of this volume. Aubrey C. Land Maryland Historical Magazine Originally published under the title Diplomacy and Indian Gifts: Anglo-French Rivalry‘ Along the Ohio and Northwest Frontiers, 1748-1763.