Panton, Leslie & Company

Panton, Leslie & Company was a company of Scottish merchants active in trading with the Indians of what is now the Southeastern United States during the late 18th century and early 19th century.

Panton, Leslie & Company was a partnership formed by William Panton, John Leslie, Thomas Forbes, Charles McLatchy and William Alexander in 1783 for the purpose of trading with the Indians of Florida and adjacent territory claimed by Spain. The partners, who were Loyalists, had been forced out of the United States during the American Revolution, with their property confiscated. Having established themselves in Florida and the Bahamas, the company was able to continue operating in Florida after its return to Spain in 1783 because there were no Spanish traders established in the trade with Indians. Panton, Leslie & Company were granted a monopoly on trade with Indians in East Florida, and eventually also dominated the Indian trade in West Florida.

For many years Panton, Leslie & Company dominated trade with the Creeks and Seminoles. They eventually captured much of the trade with the Choctaws and Chickasaws, and were important in the trade with the Cherokees. The partners harbored a great antipathy to the United States, and used their influence with the Indians to advance Spanish territorial claims against the United States, and to encourage the Indians to resist white settlers and United States attempts to acquire land from the tribes.

After the deaths of William Panton and John Leslie, the company was reorganized in 1804 as John Forbes & Company.

References

*Coker, William S. and Thomas D. Watson. (1986) "Indian Traders of the Southeastern Spanish Borderlands: Panton, Leslie & Company and John Forbes & Company, 1783-1847". University of West Florida Press. ISBN 0-8130-0801-8