1. What was Williamson's legal battle about?
Williamson's legal battle was about proving his identity and story. He spent ten years trying to prove his identity and the nature of the servant trade in Aberdeenshire. He sued the magistrates who had banished him and the merchants who had invested in the voyage that brought him to America. He won both lawsuits and received significant financial awards from them. This legal drama played out while he continued to tour as an Indian performer and published new editions of his narrative. He became the most famous former North American Indian captive living in Great Britain, a reputation that he took great care to cultivate and promote in person and in print.
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2. What evidence did Williamson use to prove his kidnapping in the case against the merchants?
Williamson used an account book kept by James Smith, who had worked as an agent for Cochran and other investors in a voyage to America by the Planter, a ship captained by Robert Ragg. Four entries dated in January 1743 identified Peter Williamson as one of the servants being housed and fed by Smith in a large barn in the center of Aberdeen. These entries said nothing about the kidnapping or coercion of Williamson, but they placed him among the human cargo of the Planter. Williamson also found two new witnesses who stated that he had seen Williamson confined aboard the Planter and another who had seen him sold as a servant in Philadelphia. This evidence helped Williamson prove that he was underage when Smith recruited him as a servant bound for America, thus proving his kidnapping.
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