Focus on Audience Given by the Trustees of Georgia to a Delegation of Creek Indians and explain the Background.
In February 1733, James Oglethorpe and a group of one hundred British colonists arrived at the mouth of the Savannah River, where Tomochichi had led a band of two hundred Creek followers (which became the Yamacraw band) to settle in the late 1720s, far from their ancestral lands in the Chattahoochee River basin. Tomochichi and Oglethorpe quickly established friendly relations that culminated in a treaty of friendship and trade, enabling the British to form the new colony of Georgia. Tomochichi also played an important role in negotiating alliances between Lower Creek communities and the British.In 1734, a Yamacraw delegation accompanied Oglethorpe to London to meet with the Trustees for the Establishment of the Colony of Georgia in America and other English dignitaries. Oglethorpe hoped that the Indians' presence would attract  greater investments to the colony. During a four-month visit, the delegates met with King George II and Queen Caroline on August 1 and with Georgia's trustees on September 11 before sailing for home in late October. Verelst painted a group portrait of this meeting between the delegates and trustees. The portrait was likely painted from sketches in the months after the visit. Verelst also painted a separate portrait of Tomochichi and his heir.
colony of Georgia Tomochichi King George II Trustees for the Establishment of the Colony of Georgia in America Savannah River James Oglethorpe Creek London Chattahoochee River Yamacraw Queen Caroline