Shingas (

fl. ''Floruit'' ( ; usually abbreviated fl. or occasionally flor.; from Latin for 'flourished') denotes a date or period during which a person was known to have been alive or active. In English, the unabbreviated word may also be used as a noun indic ...

1740 – 1763) was a

Lenape The Lenape (, , ; ), also called the Lenni Lenape and Delaware people, are an Indigenous peoples of the Northeastern Woodlands, Indigenous people of the Northeastern Woodlands, who live in the United States and Canada. The Lenape's historica ...

chief and warrior who participated in military activities in

Ohio Country The Ohio Country (Ohio Territory, Ohio Valley) was a name used for a loosely defined region of colonial North America west of the Appalachian Mountains and south of Lake Erie. Control of the territory and the region's fur trade was disputed i ...

during the

French and Indian War The French and Indian War, 1754 to 1763, was a colonial conflict in North America between Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain and Kingdom of France, France, along with their respective Native Americans in the United States, Native American ...

. Allied with the French, Shingas led numerous raids on

Anglo-American Anglo-American can refer to: * the Anglosphere (the Anglo-American world) * Anglo-American, something of, from, or related to Anglo-America ** the Anglo-Americans demographic group in Anglo-America * Anglo American plc Anglo American plc is a ...

settlements during the war, for which he was nicknamed "Shingas the Terrible" by the settlers. The colonial governments of

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...

and

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States between the East Coast of the United States ...

responded to these raids by placing a bounty on Shingas.

Early life

Shingas was born and raised in the Tulpehocken Creek Valley, in Berks and

Lebanon Lebanon, officially the Republic of Lebanon, is a country in the Levant region of West Asia. Situated at the crossroads of the Mediterranean Basin and the Arabian Peninsula, it is bordered by Syria to the north and east, Israel to the south ...

counties, on the upper

Schuylkill River The Schuylkill River ( , ) is a river in eastern Pennsylvania. It flows for U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map(). accessed April 1, 2011. from Pottsville, Pennsylvania, Pottsville ...

, with his uncle

Sassoonan Sassoonan or Allumapees ( 1675 – 15 October 1747) was a Lenape chief who lived in the colonial-era Province of Pennsylvania in the late 17th and early 18th century. He was known for his negotiations with the provincial government of Pennsylvani ...

and his brothers.Michael McConnell, "Pisquetomen and Tamaqua: Mediating Peace in the Ohio Country," in ''Northeastern Indian Lives, 1632-1816,'' Robert S. Grumet ed., Amherst: University of Massachusetts Press, 1996
/ref> One source reports that Shingas had six brothers ( Tamaqua,

Pisquetomen Pisquetomen (died 1762)Nenatcheehunt, Buffalo Horn, Munhuttakiswilluxissohpon, and Miuskillamize).Timothy Alden, "An Account of the Captivity of Hugh Gibson among the Delaware Indians of the Big Beaver and the Muskingum, from the latter part of July 1756, to the beginning of April, 1759," ''Collections of the Massachusetts Historical Society,'' 1837
/ref> He was a member of the

Turkey clan (or

phratry In ancient Greece, a phratry (, derived from ) was a group containing citizens in some city-states. Their existence is known in most Ionian cities and in Athens and it is thought that they existed elsewhere as well. Almost nothing is known about th ...

), was a nephew of

(also known as Allumapees), a leader who was regarded by colonial authorities in

as the Lenape "king". This title had no traditional meaning for the Lenape, who lived in autonomous villages. However, since the colonial governments of the

Thirteen Colonies The Thirteen Colonies were the British colonies on the Atlantic coast of North America which broke away from the British Crown in the American Revolutionary War (1775–1783), and joined to form the United States of America. The Thirteen C ...

preferred to deal with a single leader rather than numerous village elders, Sassoonan emerged as the Lenape "king". Colonial officials in Pennsylvania found Sassoonan useful because he could be induced (with the help of gifts such as large quantities of liquor) to sign away Lenape lands to the colony.

Appointment as chief of the Lenape

Sassoonan died in 1747, and Shingas's brother

Pisquetomen Pisquetomen (died 1762)Allegheny Mountains The Allegheny Mountain Range ( ) — also spelled Alleghany or Allegany, less formally the Alleghenies — is part of the vast Appalachian Mountain Range of the Eastern United States and Canada. Historically it represented a significant barr ...

and settling at Kittanning on the

Allegheny River The Allegheny River ( ; ; ) is a tributary of the Ohio River that is located in western Pennsylvania and New York (state), New York in the United States. It runs from its headwaters just below the middle of Pennsylvania's northern border, nor ...

. The Iroquois instructed Tanacharison to decide on a leader acceptable to all parties, and at the Logstown Treaty Conference of 1752, Tanacharison presented Shingas as his choice, arguing "that is our right to give you a King" to represent the Lenape in "all publick Business" between the Lenape, the Six Nations, and the British."The Treaty of Logg's Town, 1752." ''Virginia Magazine of History and Biography,'' vol. 13, 1906; Pp 154–174.
/ref> Tanacharison announced to the Virginia commissioners, "we have given our Cousins, the Delawars, a King, who lives there, we desire you will look upon him as a Chief of that Nation." Shingas was absent from the treaty conference, so Tamaqua "stood proxy for his brother and was presented with a lace hat and jacket and suit."

French and Indian War

Even on the other side of the mountains, the western Lenape were still caught in a three-way power struggle between the Thirteen Colonies,

New France New France (, ) was the territory colonized by Kingdom of France, France in North America, beginning with the exploration of the Gulf of Saint Lawrence by Jacques Cartier in 1534 and ending with the cession of New France to Kingdom of Great Br ...

, and the

Haudenosaunee The Iroquois ( ), also known as the Five Nations, and later as the Six Nations from 1722 onwards; alternatively referred to by the Endonym and exonym, endonym Haudenosaunee ( ; ) are an Iroquoian languages, Iroquoian-speaking Confederation#Ind ...

. The Haudenosaunee at this time claimed sovereignty over the Lenape, a dubious claim that British colonial officials recognized in order to strengthen ties with the Haudenosaunee. In an attempt to assert control over the western Lenape, a Haudenosaunee chief Tanacharison (the "Half-King"), dubbed Shingas the "king" of the Lenape at the treaty conference at the Treaty of Logstown conference in June 1752. British colonial officials approved this "coronation," but would come to regret it, as Shingas proved just as difficult to control as his brother. The struggle between

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the north-west coast of continental Europe, consisting of the countries England, Scotland, and Wales. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the List of European ...

and

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

for control of the interior of the North American continent began near Shingas's village close to the forks of the

Ohio River The Ohio River () is a river in the United States. It is located at the boundary of the Midwestern and Southern United States, flowing in a southwesterly direction from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, to its river mouth, mouth on the Mississippi Riv ...

. Like most Lenape, Shingas and his villagers stayed neutral in the early stages of the conflict, declining to assist

George Washington George Washington (, 1799) was a Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father and the first president of the United States, serving from 1789 to 1797. As commander of the Continental Army, Washington led Patriot (American Revoluti ...

Fort Necessity Fort Necessity National Battlefield is a National Battlefield in Fayette County, Pennsylvania, United States, which preserves the site of the Battle of Fort Necessity. The battle, which took place on July 3, 1754, was an early battle of the ...

in 1754 and the

Braddock Expedition The Braddock Expedition, also known as Braddock's Campaign or Braddock's Defeat, was a British Empire, British military expedition which attempted to capture Fort Duquesne from the French colonial empire, French in 1755 during the French and Ind ...

in 1755. The Lenape had no desire to be French subjects either, but when France asserted dominance in the region after Braddock's defeat, the Lenape reluctantly aligned themselves with the French. Shingas took part in the brutal backcountry war with the Thirteen Colonies, leading raids deep into colonial settlements in Pennsylvania and

. Although he was an implacable foe in battle, he was never known to treat his prisoners of war with cruelty. The colonies were unable to mount an effective resistance to the hit-and-run tactics of the Lenape, though the destruction of Shingas's base of operations in the

Kittanning Expedition The Kittanning Expedition, also known as the Armstrong Expedition or the Battle of Kittanning, was a raid during the French and Indian War that led to the destruction of the American Indian village of Kittanning, which had served as a staging p ...

in 1756 surprised the Lenape and compelled them to move further west, settling in what is present-day

Ohio Ohio ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Erie to the north, Pennsylvania to the east, West Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Indiana to the ...

. A peace faction led by Shingas's brother Tamaqua soon gained ascendancy. Though the brothers apparently always worked in harmony, Tamaqua, known to the whites as "the Beaver" or " King Beaver," would eventually eclipse his brothers in fame and influence. In 1758, Pisquetomen was dispatched to the east to help negotiate the

Treaty of Easton The Treaty of Easton was a colonial agreement in North America signed in October 1758 during the French and Indian War (Seven Years' War) between British colonials and the chiefs of 13 Native American nations, representing tribes of the Iroquois, ...

, which effectively ended Lenape involvement in the French and Indian War, and enabled

British Army The British Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of the United Kingdom. the British Army comprises 73,847 regular full-time personnel, 4,127 Brigade of Gurkhas, Gurkhas, 25,742 Army Reserve (United Kingdom), volunteer reserve perso ...

officer John Forbes to capture

Fort Duquesne Fort Duquesne ( , ; originally called ''Fort Du Quesne'') was a fort established by the French in 1754, at the confluence of the Allegheny and Monongahela rivers. It was later taken over by the British, and later the Americans, and developed ...

without interference from local Indian tribes. Fearing retribution because of his actions in the war, Shingas kept a low profile.

Final years

The British Army constructed Fort Pitt on the ruins of

, to the consternation of the local Lenape, contributing to the outbreak of

Pontiac's War Pontiac's War (also known as Pontiac's Conspiracy or Pontiac's Rebellion) was launched in 1763 by a confederation of Native Americans who were dissatisfied with British rule in the Great Lakes region following the French and Indian War (1754– ...

in 1763. Fort Pitt was besieged by the Lenape; Shingas may have participated in the siege at this time. He and Tamaqua unsuccessfully tried to convince the garrison of Fort Pitt to withdraw from the region, but the fort was relieved by an expedition led by Swiss mercenary Henry Bouquet. Shingas and Tamaqua, who advised accommodation with the British, began to lose influence to more militant Lenape leaders influenced by Neolin, the "Delaware Prophet". Shingas disappears from the historical record around 1764; some historians have speculated that he may have contracted

smallpox Smallpox was an infectious disease caused by Variola virus (often called Smallpox virus), which belongs to the genus '' Orthopoxvirus''. The last naturally occurring case was diagnosed in October 1977, and the World Health Organization (W ...

from blankets distributed to the besieging Lenape from Fort Pitt during the siege, but there is no clear evidence that he died as a result of the incident.

Bibliography

*Franks, Kenny A. "Tamaqua" in ''American National Biography''. Oxford University Press, 1999. *Lambert, Paul F. "Shingas" in ''American National Biography''. Oxford University Press, 1999. *McConnell, Michael N. ''A Country Between: The Upper Ohio Valley and Its Peoples, 1724–1774.'' Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 1992. *Weslager, C. A. ''The Delaware Indians''. New Brunswick, New Jersey, 1972. *White, Richard. ''The Middle Ground: Indians, Empires, and Republics in the Great Lakes Region, 1650–1815''. New York, 1991.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Shingas 18th-century births 18th-century deaths Native American leaders Lenape people Indigenous people of the French and Indian War People from Pennsylvania People from colonial Pennsylvania Native American people from Pennsylvania