Illinois-Wabash Company - Land Purchases and British Denial of Title

Land Purchases and British Denial of Title

In the middle of the 18th century, merchants and land speculators in the British Empire were looking to expand beyond the Appalachian Mountains into the interior of North America. Companies such as the Ohio Company of Virginia had been formed for this purpose, but rivalry between the British and the French for access to the region led to the outbreak of the French and Indian War (1754–1763), interrupting the activities of the companies. After the British victory in the war, the Crown issued the Royal Proclamation of 1763, which sought to organize and stabilize the vast new territory won from France. In order to prevent the conditions which had produced the war and its sequel, Pontiac's Rebellion (1763–1766), the British government forbade private individuals or companies from purchasing land from American Indians. Thereafter, only royal officials would be permitted to conduct treaties in order to buy Native American lands.

In 1768, a group of prominent merchants from Philadelphia began doing business in the Illinois Country, selling provisions to American Indians and British troops. In 1773, William Murray, the merchants' agent in Illinois, learned of a British legal opinion known as the Camden-Yorke Opinion. This opinion made quite an impact in North America because it was interpreted by some to suggest that private purchases of land from American Indians would now be recognized by the British Crown. With this in mind, Murray and his Philadelphia employers organized the Illinois Company and, on 5 July 1773, purchased two tracts of land from the Kaskaskia, Peoria, and Cahokia tribes.

British officials, however, refused to recognize the legality of the Illinois Company's purchase–the interpretation of Camden-Yorke circulating in America had been misleading. In April 1774, Murray turned to his kinsman, Lord Dunmore, the Royal Governor of Virginia. Dunmore agreed to lend support to the company's purchases in exchange for a piece of the action. Murray then formed the Wabash Company with Lord Dunmore as a member. On October 18, 1775, an agent for the Wabash Company purchased two tracts of land along the Wabash River from the Piankashaw tribe. Soon after the outbreak of the American Revolutionary War, however, Dunmore was forced to flee Virginia, and the companies were compelled to turn to new officials for recognition of its purchases.