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| Format | Journal Article |
|---|---|
| Author, Analytic | Babcock, Matthew |
| Title, Analytic | German-Comanche Diplomacy on the Texas Frontier: Assessing the Meusebach-Comanche Treaty of 1847 |
| Journal Title | Yearbook of the Society for German-American Studies |
| Date of Publication | 2021 |
| Volume ID | 56 |
| Location in Work | 57-72 |
| View Online | View Online |
| Abstract | "On January 22, 1847, a pack train of forty men, consisting of a company of mounted Germans, five Mexicans, and Anglo-American surveyors left Fredericksburg, Texas and headed north for the Comanchería, or Comanche country. After several days of arduous travel over steep limestone ridges, the party, led by German colonization agent John O. Meusebach (1812-97), passed through the game-abundant upper Pedernales and Llano River valleys into Comanche territory. . . . The treaty councils and Meusebach-Comanche Treaty of 1847 that followed are significant because they produced a lasting peace agreement based on reciprocal German and Comanche trust and respect. Anglo Texans routinely followed most of the same treaty protocols as the Germans in their own diplomatic relations with Comanches, from gift-giving to smoking the calumet pipe. By the 1840s, however, treachery and reciprocal violence had damaged their relationship, which meant these ceremonies and the treaties they produced held less meaning for both parties. The fact that Germans sought permission from Comanches before settling on their land places them in sharp contrast to most Anglo Texans of the era. The clearest sign of the importance of this treaty, however, is that Germans and Comanches still honor the Comanche-Meusebach Treaty in Fredericksburg today." |
| Call Number | Digital file |
| MKI Terms | Native Americans/ Germans -- Texas -- History -- 19th century |