Description
Comprising the papers of the Panton, Leslie & Co., a trading firm, this collection is the most complete ethnographic collection available for the study of Native Americans of the Southeast. More than 8,000 legal, political and diplomatic documents recording the company's operations for over half a century have been selected and organized for this collection.
The company was established in British East Florida during the American Revolution. When Spain won title to both East and West Florida in 1783, the company was granted a virtual monopoly. For many years Panton, Leslie & Company dominated trade with Creek and Seminole people. They eventually captured much of the trade with Choctaw and Chickasaw people, and were important in trade with Cherokee communities. The partners harbored a great antipathy to America, and used their influence with indigenous people to advance Spanish territorial claims against the United States, and to encourage indigenous people to resist white settlers and American attempts to acquire land from the tribes.