Jesse,
I hadn't even heard of it. I'm so glad you brought it up.
I'm hoping that it was recorded by someone at some time. As you know,
there were and are some efforts to record native traditions and
languages before they are all lost. These efforts are not nearly as
timely or vigorous as I would like.
The efforts to record this information were rigorous indeed since
lives and fortunes depended on it.
Some background:
1) In the first half of the 18th century, the copyright laws were an
effective way to control the proliferation of those seditious devices
otherwise known as printing presses. By restricting the printing of
material to only those presses which were licensed by the author, the Crown
was able to limit the number of them. One side effect was that this placed
a premium on new content, since popular works could only be printed by
shops in contract with the author.
2) In the first half of the 18th century, the largest army on the
continent belonged to the Iroquois Confederacy which just happened to be
situated smack in between the French settlements on the Great Lakes, and
the British Colonies along the Atlantic seaboard. The fate of the colonies,
British and French alike, hinged on whether the Confederacy decided to
remain neutral, or come in on one side or the other.
3) The British colonial delegates had to learn the customs and
procedures of the Confederacy in order to be able to argue their case
effectively. When success is a matter of life or death, one tends to pay
very close attention indeed.
4) The colonials were very interested in the proceedings of the
Confederate conclaves because the Confederacy was the primary buffer
between them and the French, but it also went far beyond that - there was
also a tremendous interest in the raw fact that such an organization could
even exist as a voluntary association without a king. It wasn't the
democratic aspects of the Confederacy that fascinated the colonials, but
rather the fact that it was non-aristocratic - that it's prestigious men
were recognized by virtue of their demonstrated merit rather than by their
bloodline.
5) This was the age of Rousseau and the dream of the "noble savage"
unspoiled by tyrannical kings and predatory aristocrats. The fact that
"savages" had manifestly created a system of governance that had been
stable for centuries was very heady stuff to Europeans eager for any lever
they could use to topple the towers of aristocratic privilege.
6) The clerks who attended the delegates sent to fourteen of the
Confederate conclaves took full and careful notes, which upon their return
were snapped up by an eager young printer in Philadelphia who cranked out
hundreds and hundreds of copies that were immediate best sellers - high
priced volumes which sold out as soon as they hit the docks of Europe.
Indeed, it was the incredible financial success reaped by his aggressive
printer which allowed him to later indulge his interests in science and
politics.
7) Two other points for those interested in the behind the scenes
details. The first is that the Confederacy was too eager to confine its
power to the six tribes, and by refusing to allow others to join into the
Confederacy, they weakened themselves and set the stage for the"divide and
conquer" end game that worked out the only way it could.
8) And second, while it is true that the Constitution and the Bill of
Rights are littered with Confederate principles, it shouldn't be forgot
that the founders also leaned heavily on the history of the Republic of
Venice, a powerful and independent entity which, while lacking the
leadership of a King, still was able to dominated European affairs for
almost a thousand years. It later fell to Napoleon's cannons, but back when
the founders were founding, it's history as an independent republic made it
the envy of libertarians everywhere.
Walt
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