Virginia land speculators were wanting to expand their land holdings along the Ohio River Valley, so they commissioned the Ohio Company to go out and acquire the land. Virginia claimed the land through a charter, but the Iroquois (who no longer lived there) also claimed the land.
The Company bartered for the land, and even though the Iroquois had no right to sell it, they signed the Treaty of Lancaster giving Virginia the acreage they wanted. In order to obtain more from the Indians, merchants were sent to sell goods to the Indians at lower prices than the French. They slowly increased the price while decreasing the quality and availability of the goods, thus leaving the Indians in a lot of debt. The only thing that the Indians had left in value anymore was their land which they were forced to sell to the Company.
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