In 1733 James Edward Oglethorpe (1696 - 1785) established the Georgia colony on a high point along the Savannah River, about ten miles from the Atlantic Ocean.  Oglethorpe and his Georgia colonists were not alone.  Nearby was Yamacraw, a Creek Indian village.  Tomochachi (c. 1644 - 1739), its chief, and Oglethorpe forged a close friendship.  The chief and his nephew, Tooanahowi (c. 1719 - 1743), accompanied Oglethorpe to London in 1735 where they were painted by the artist William Verelst.  The portraits of the two men present an intriguing dialogue between the people of the Old and New Worlds.  It is tempting to see a symbolic relationship between Tomochachi’s deerskin and Oglethorpe’s ermine cape.

To learn more about the print of James Edward Oglethorpe, see the MESDA.org Collections pages

To learn more about the print of Tomochachi and Tooanahowi, see the MESDA.org Collections pages