Joseph Brant and His World

Joseph Brant was a Mohawk living in upper New York State during the war and turmoil of the 18th century colonial expansion in North America. He became an influential diplomat and leader and spokesperson for First Nations communities. His support for Britain during the American Revolution led to the resettlement of First Nations peoples in Upper Canada. Their descendants live today on the large Six Nations reserve along the Grand River, near Brantford in southwestern Ontario.

This richly illustrated biography of Brant reflects recent research into the political, social and cultural background of his life. Historian James Paxton rejects outdated narratives of earlier biographers. Paxton reveals a man who was very much a product of his Mohawk heritage with Haudenosaunee (or Iroquois) values that stressed the interdependence of people,. He stands as the product of a unique, multicultural pre-revolutionary 18th century community in the Mohawk Valley, New York.

Revealing a brilliant, pioneering,and sometimes polarizing, figure, this book explores the complex legacy of Joseph Brant.