Old Briton
Old Briton was a Native American leader who sought to shift his people's trade alliances from the French to the British due to frustration with high prices and shortages of French goods. In 1747, after a failed uprising against the French, he established a new village named Pickawillany on the Great Miami River in western Ohio. Recognizing the benefits of British trade, he successfully negotiated a treaty with Pennsylvania that opened up new trading opportunities. The village quickly became a significant trading hub, attracting various tribes like the Weas, Piankashaws, Kickapoos, and Mascoutens. Despite facing pressure from the French to maintain their previous trade relations, Old Briton adeptly resisted these attempts. However, tensions escalated, leading to a French attack on Pickawillany in 1751, which prompted Old Briton to rally his people for a general conflict against the French. Ultimately, in 1752, he was captured and executed by French forces, leading to the abandonment of Pickawillany. Despite his demise, the eventual expulsion of the French from the region allowed the Miami to establish trade exclusively with the British.
Subject Terms
Old Briton
- Born: Unknown
- Birthplace: Wabash River area, northwestern Indiana
- Died: June 21, 1752
- Place of death: At Pickawillany, on the Miami River in Ohio
Tribal affiliation: Miami (Piankashaw band)
Significance: Old Briton attempted to change Miami trading partners and allies from the French to the English in the mid-eighteenth century
Frustrated by high prices and chronic shortages of French trade goods, Old Briton hoped to persuade his people to break ties with the French and open trade with the British. Having met British traders in his earlier travels along the Lower Wabash and on the Ohio Rivers, he understood that political relations with the British would be advantageous. In the fall of 1747, after participating in a failed uprising against the French, Old Briton led his followers east and founded a new village, Pickawillany, on the Great Miami River in western Ohio. Old Briton sent a delegation to Pennsylvania, which signed a treaty of friendship and alliance and initiated the desired trading relationship. Despite repeated French efforts to persuade or intimidate Old Briton back into the old relationship, he diplomatically put them off. Pickawillany grew into a major western trading center, with Weas, Piankashaws, Kickapoos, and Mascoutens bringing their furs to the British. A small, ineffective French attack on Pickawillany in the summer of 1751 stimulated Old Briton to organize a general Indian war against the French, which included his execution of three French soldiers and mutilation of a fourth, who was then sent back to Canada.
Recognizing the threat Old Briton posed to their empire, the French enlisted Charles Langlade (Ottawa/French) in the spring of 1752 to raise a force of Ottawa, Ojibwa, and others to destroy Pickawillany. On June 21, just after most Pickawillany warriors had left to hunt, Langlade attacked. Caught by surprise, Old Briton was outnumbered ten to one. Wanting to make an example of Old Briton, Langlade had him executed, after which his body was boiled and his remains eaten by some of the attackers. Pickawillany was abandoned, but by the end of the decade the British had expelled the French in war and the Miami found themselves with no other trade partner but the British.