In the meantime important political developments had occurred which were to have a far-reaching significance in the relations between the English and French Governments and the Iroquois. The signal triumphs which Marlborough had obtained over the armies of Louis XIV had forced the French king to agree to the Peace of Utrecht (1713). By the terms of this Treaty, France confirmed England's possession of Acadia (Nova Scotia), Hudson's Bay and Newfoundland, and acknowledged the suzerainty of the English Government over the Six Nations and their territory. Thenceforward any aggression by France against the Iroquois would be tantamount to an act of hostility against England, but unfortunately the question of the boundaries of the Iroquois country was left unsettled, to become a fruitful cause of dispute for the next fifty years. At the same time the treaty made no mention of excluding the French Jesuits, who were therefore still at liberty to continue their activities unchecked. For this reason the importance of Mr Andrews' mission as a political counterstroke to these foreign emissaries received due recognition from the New York Governor and his advisers.

During the winter of 1713 and the following spring, Mr Andrews concentrated on his work at the school for Mohawk children, and on translating the Prayer Book into the Mohawk language with the assistance of his interpreter, Lawrence Claessen. He found, however, that after a few months the Mohawks grew tired of instruction and ceased to attend the school. He had some success with two boys whose parents agreed to allow them to stay at the fort, and this encouraged him to persevere in his difficult task.