Background
When Joseph Brant traveled to London, England in 1775, on the eve of the American Revolution, he obtained a promise from the government that if the Iroquois fought on the British side, they would obtain a land grant in Canada. During and after the American Revolution, American colonists confiscated land and property from those who were Loyalists during the war. The British government compensated both Indian and non-Indian Loyalists with cash payments for their losses.
By early 1783, Brant had selected the valley of the Grand River as a place of settlement; in 1784 Frederick Haldimand agreed. The land was acquired from the Mississaugas in May 1784, with Lieutenant-Colonel John Butler acting as an agent of purchase on behalf of the government.
Later, the Crown adopted the position that it had failed to obtain title to the entire valley at the time of its purchase from the Mississaugas.
Read more about this topic: Haldimand Proclamation
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