Chapter Chronology

Quiz for Visualizing History: “Cultural Cross-Dressing in Eighteenth-Century Portraits”

Choose the best answer to each question.

Question

1. The image of Chief Hendrick suggests that he might have adopted British dress for this 1755 portrait because he wanted to

A.
B.
C.
D.
Correct. The answer is B. In 1755, Chief Hendrick and his people were allied with the American colonists and British soldiers in the fight against the French and their Indian allies. He is probably dressed in English-style clothing in order to express his dual allegiances to the Mohawks and the British.
Incorrect. The correct answer is B. In 1755, Chief Hendrick and his people were allied with the American colonists and British soldiers in the fight against the French and their Indian allies. He is probably dressed in English-style clothing in order to express his dual allegiances to the Mohawks and the British.

Question

2. This engraving of Chief Hendrick was widely disseminated in England and the American colonies to celebrate and memorialize him after his death at the beginning of the Seven Years’ War. What do the portrait and its popularity suggest about how the British citizens who bought it regarded Chief Hendrick himself?

A.
B.
C.
D.
Correct. The answer is D. The popularity of both Hendrick and this portrait suggests that British citizens living in both England and America thought of Hendrick as an important political leader who retained pride in his Indian heritage while working with British leaders to formulate political strategy. The image presents him as a dignified and noble figure deserving of respect and a Mohawk Indian who expresses important elements of his own culture.
Incorrect. The correct answer is D. The popularity of both Hendrick and this portrait suggests that British citizens living in both England and America thought of Hendrick as an important political leader who retained pride in his Indian heritage while working with British leaders to formulate political strategy. The image presents him as a dignified and noble figure deserving of respect and a Mohawk Indian who expresses important elements of his own culture.

Question

3. This image of John Caldwell, painted in Britain in 1780, suggests that he might have adopted Indian dress for his portrait in order to

A.
B.
C.
D.
Correct. The answer is C. Caldwell was a titled Irishman and officer in the British army who had been stationed during the Revolutionary War at Fort Detroit, where he aided the Ojibwa tribes of that region who were battling the Americans. The Ojibwa honored him by giving him an Indian name and, probably, giving him the clothing he wears in this picture. This context, combined with Caldwell’s pose, suggests that Caldwell commissioned the portrait to display his successful assertion of authority over the Indians during his military service in the recent war.
Incorrect. The correct answer is C. Caldwell was a titled Irishman and officer in the British army who had been stationed during the Revolutionary War at Fort Detroit, where he aided the Ojibwa tribes of that region who were battling the Americans. The Ojibwa honored him by giving him an Indian name and, probably, giving him the clothing he wears in this picture. This context, combined with Caldwell’s pose, suggests that Caldwell commissioned the portrait to display his successful assertion of authority over the Indians during his military service in the recent war.

Question

4. The very existence of these two portraits supports which of the following conclusions about the state of British-Indian relations in the eighteenth century?

A.
B.
C.
D.
Correct. The answer is D. The existence of the portraits seems to indicate that British subjects and Indians each regarded the other group with a mixture of fear and respect. Both Hendrick and Caldwell participated in British/Indian conflicts, but each portrait also seems to display a measure of respect for the other’s culture.
Incorrect. The correct answer is D. The existence of the portraits seems to indicate that British subjects and Indians each regarded the other group with a mixture of fear and respect. Both Hendrick and Caldwell participated in British/Indian conflicts, but each portrait also seems to display a measure of respect for the other’s culture.

Question

5. What shared attitude might Hendrick and Caldwell have been trying to convey regarding the other’s culture by adopting its standard of dress for their portraits?

A.
B.
C.
D.
Correct. The answer is A. Both subjects’ willingness to adopt the dress of the other culture and pose for traditional, formal portraits seems to indicate that they were displaying admiration for the culture that was not their own. Neither portrait seeks to ridicule, mock, or defame the “other,” and both transcend mere curiosity.
Incorrect. The correct answer is A. Both subjects’ willingness to adopt the dress of the other culture and pose for traditional, formal portraits seems to indicate that they were displaying admiration for the culture that was not their own. Neither portrait seeks to ridicule, mock, or defame the “other,” and both transcend mere curiosity.