This printed engraving is the only surviving depiction of the seven Cherokee delegates who visited London in 1730. The delegates were accompanied by Sir Alexander Cuming, an eccentric Scottish aristocrat who had traveled to South Carolina the previous year (without any government credentials) with a scheme to secure the allegiance of the Cherokees to Great Britain. The Cherokees were increasingly recognized in Britain as a powerful player in the region. Cuming believed that he could establish an alliance between Britain and the Cherokees that would erode French influence in the region and in turn make him rich and famous.