iroquois 1

8/12/2019 Iroquois 1

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e: This is a single part of what will be, by my classification, about 240 compact tribalhistories (contact to 1900). t is limite! to the lower 4" states of the #.$. but also inclu!esthose %irst &ations from 'ana!a an! e ico that ha! important roles ( *uron , icmac,+ssiniboine, etc.).

This history s content an! style are representati-e. The normal process at this point is to

circulate an almost finishe! pro!uct among a peer group for comment an! criticism. +t theen! of this *istory you will fin! lin s to those &ations referre! to in the *istory of thero/uois.

#sing the nternet, this can be more inclusi-e. %eel free to comment or suggestcorrections -ia e mail. or ing together we can en! some of the historical misinformationabout &ati-e +mericans. ou will fin! the ego at this en! to be of stan!ar! si3e. Than s forstopping by. loo forwar! to your comments.. . ee $ult3man 5

Iroquois Location The original homelan! of the ro/uois was in upstate &ew or between the +!iron!ac

ountains an! &iagara %alls. Through con/uest an! migration, they gaine! control of mostof the northeastern #nite! $tates an! eastern 'ana!a. +t its ma imum in 16"0, their empiree ten!e! west from the north shore of 'hesapea e 7ay through 8entuc y to the unction ofthe hio an! ississippi ;i-ers< then north following the llinois ;i-er to the south en! of

a e ichigan< east across all of lower ichigan, southern ntario an! a! acent parts ofsouthwestern =uebec< an! finally south through northern &ew >nglan! west of the'onnecticut ;i-er through the *u!son an! upper ?elaware @alleys across Aennsyl-ania

bac to the 'hesapea e. ith two e ceptions the ingo occupation of the upper hio

@alley an! the 'aughnawaga migration to the upper $t. awrence the ro/uois !i! not, forthe most part, physically occupy this -ast area but remaine! in their upstate &ew or-illages.

?uring the hun!re! years prece!ing the +merican ;e-olution, wars with %rench allie!+lgon/uin an! 7ritish colonial settlement force! them bac within their original

boun!aries once again. Their !ecision to si!e with the 7ritish !uring the ;e-olutionary arwas a !isaster for the ro/uois. The +merican in-asion of their homelan! in 1BB9 !ro-emany of the ro/uois into southern ntario where they ha-e remaine!. ith large ro/uoiscommunities alrea!y locate! along the upper $t. awrence in =uebec at the time, roughlyhalf of the ro/uois population has since li-e! in 'ana!a. This inclu!es most of the

ohaw along with representati-e groups from the other tribes. +lthough most ro/uoisreser-es are in southern ntario an! =uebec, one small group ( ichel s ban!) settle! in+lberta !uring the 1"00s as part of the fur tra!e.

n the #nite! $tates, much of the ro/uois homelan! was surren!ere! to &ew or lan!speculators in a series of treaties following the ;e-olutionary ar. ?espite this, most$eneca, Tuscarora, an! non!aga a-oi!e! remo-al !uring the 1"C0s an! ha-e remaine! in

&ew or . There are also si3eable groups of ohaw , nei!a, 'ayuga, an! 'aughnawagastill in the state. ost of the nei!a, howe-er, relocate! in 1"C" to a reser-ation near Dreen
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7ay, isconsin. The 'ayuga sol! their &ew or lan!s in 1"0B an! mo-e! west to oin theingo relati-es ($eneca of $an!us y) in hio. n 1"C1 this combine! group ce!e! theirhio reser-e to the #nite! $tates an! relocate! to the n!ian Territory. + few &ew or

$eneca mo-e! to 8ansas at this time but, after the 'i-il ar, oine! the others in northeastlahoma to become the mo!ern $eneca 'ayuga Tribe of lahoma.

Population 'onsi!ering their impact on history, it is ama3ing how few ro/uois there were in 1600

probably less than 20,000 for all fi-e tribes. Their inlan! location protecte! them somewhatfrom the initial >uropean epi!emics, but these ha! reache! them by 16E0 an!, combine!with warfare, cut their population to about half of its original number. *owe-er, unli eother nati-e populations which continue! to !rop, the ro/uois, through the massi-ea!option of con/uore! ro/uian spea ing enemies (at least B,000 *uron, an! similarnumbers of &eutrals , $us/uehannoc , Tionontati , an! >rie ), actually increase! an! reache!their ma imum number in 1660, about 2E,000. +bsorption of this many outsi!ers was notwithout ma or problems not the least of which was the ro/uois became a minority withintheir own confe!eracy.

%or the moment, the ro/uois talent for !iplomacy an! political unity ept things un!ercontrol, but forces which woul! !estroy them ha! been set in motion. n the positi-e si!e,the a!options ga-e the ro/uois a claim to the lan!s of their former enemies beyon! mereFright of con/uest.F ass a!option, howe-er, was not e ten!e! to non ro/uian spea ingtribes, an! from this point the ro/uois population !roppe!. ?espite the incorporation of1,E00 Tuscarora in 1B22 as a si th member of the eague, the ro/uois numbere! only12,000 in 1B6". 7y the en! of the ;e-olutionary ar, they were less than ",000. %rom that

point there has been a slow reco-ery followe! by a recent surge as renewe! nati-e pri!e has prompte! many to reclaim their heritage. The 1940 census liste! only 1B,000 ro/uois in

both &ew or an! 'ana!a, but current figures approach B0,000 at about 20 settlementsan! " reser-ations in &ew or , isconsin, lahoma, ntario, an! =uebec.

+ppro imately C0,000 of these li-e in the #nite! $tates. f C,E00 'ayuga, C,000 are in'ana!a as part of the $i &ations of the Dran! ;i-er ;eser-e near 7rantfor!, ntario. TheE00 in the #nite! $tates li-e mostly on the $eneca ;eser-ations in western &ew or .There are also 'ayuga among the 2,E00 member $eneca 'ayuga tribe in northeastern

lahoma !escen!ents of the ingo of hio. The nei!a were once one of the smallerro/uois tribes but currently number more than 16,000. The largest group (almost 11,000)

li-es on or near their 2,200 acre reser-ation west of Dreen 7ay, isconsin. +nother B00still li-e near nei!a, &ew or , but since their C2 acre reser-e is so small, many are

force! to li-e with the nearby non!aga. ntario has 4,600 nei!a split between the 2,"00nei!a of the Thames near on!on an! the Dran! ;i-er ;eser-e with the $i &ations.

1,600 non!aga still li-e in &ew or , mainly on a B,C00 acre reser-ation ust south of$yracuse. +nother 600 are at the Dran! ;i-er ;eser-e in ntario which has members fromall si ro/uois tribes. This inclu!es 200 Tuscarora, but the ma ority (1,200) li-e on theTuscarora ;eser-ation (E,000 acres) near &iagara %alls, &ew or . The $eneca were oncethe largest tribe of the ro/uois eague the number of their warriors e/ual to the other fourtribes combine!. Their current enrollment stan!s at 9,100, 1,100 of whom are in ntario at
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Dran! ;i-er. There are four $eneca ;eser-es in western &ew or : +llegheny,'attaraugus, il $prings, an! Tonawan!a (total 60,000 acres). There was once a fifth$eneca reser-ation, but only 100 of the original 9,000 acres of the 'ornplanter grant innorthern Aennsyl-ania remain after it was floo!e! by a !am pro ect in the 1960s. The$eneca, howe-er, are the only &ati-e +merican tribe to own an +merican city $alamanca,

&ew or .

The ohaw are the largest group of ro/uois with more than CE,000 members. $omeestimates of pre contact ohaw population range as high as 1B,000 although half this is

probably closer to the truth. ar an! epi!emic too a terrible toll, an! by 1691 the ohawha! less than "00 people. + large group of 'aughnawaga li-e in 7roo lyn (ironwor ers),

but the only +merican ohaw reser-ation is at $t. ;egis on the &ew or =uebec bor!erwith B,B00 members. $tra!!ling the bor!er as the + wesasne reser-e, the 'ana!ian part hasa population of E,B00. +lmost 12,000 ohaw li-e in ntario as $i &ations of the Dran!;i-er, atha ohaw &ation, an! the ohaw s of the 7ay of =uinte at Tyen!enaga(?eseronto) on the north shore of a e ntario west of 8ingston. The remain!er of the'ana!ian ohaw li-e in =uebec near ontreal: ",200 at 8ahnawa e ('aughnawaga)< an!1,"00 at a (8anesata e, ac !es ?eau ontagnes).

Names

ro/uois is an easily recogni3e! name, but li e the names of many tribes, it was gi-en them by their enemies. The +lgon/uin calle! them the ro/u ( rina hoiw) Frattlesna es.F +fterthe %rench a!!e! the Dallic suffi F oisF to this insult, the name became ro/uois. The

ro/uois call themsel-es *au!enosaunee meaning Fpeople of the long house.F ther names:'anton n!ians< 'onfe!erate n!ians< >hressaronon (*uron)< %i-e &ations< assawomec(Aowhatan)< atchenawtowaig ( ttawa Fba! sna esF)< engue (%rench)< ingo, in/ua,

ingwe (?elaware)< &a!owa, &a!owaig, &autowa ( ibwe Fa!!ersF)< an! after 1B22, the

$i &ations.

Language

ro/uian &orthern. The languages of in!i-i!ual tribes were closely relate! an!, althoughnot i!entical, mutually intelligible. The greatest similarities e iste! between the ohawan! nei!a an! the 'ayuga an! $eneca.

Sub-Nations

%i-e

Cayuga, Mohawk, Onei a, Onon aga, an Seneca . +fter 1B22 the Tuscarorawere a!!e! to the eague as a si th, but non -oting, member.

@illages

&ew or $tate unless otherwise note!. + number in!icates more than one-illage of the same name, while a tribal name shows a mi e! population.


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Cayuga

Dweugwehono. Translate! -ariously as Fpeople of iogouen< where the boatswere ta en out< people at the lan!ing< or people of the muc y lan!.F +lsoreferre! to as Fthose of the great pipe.F

&ames

uioerrhonon (*uron)

@illages

'hon!ote, Dan!asetaigon ( &T), Danogeh, Dayagaanhe, Dewauga,Doiogouen, 8awau a, 8ente ( &T), 8iohero (Thiohero, Tiohero), &eo!a heat,

iogouen (Gesuit mission of $t. Goseph), neniote, nnontare ( notare) (Gesuitmission of $t. ;ene), wego, an! $ annayutenate

Mohawk

8ahnian eha a (Daniengeha a) Fpeople of the flint.F $po en of within theeague as the F eepers of the eastern !oor.F

&ames

+gnier (%rench), +gnierrhonon (*uron), a/ua (+bena i an! ?utch),ohowaanuc (&arragansett Fman eatersF)

@illages

'ana oharie, 'anastigaone, 'anienga, 'aughnawaga ( &T an! & 2),'hurchtonone!a, 8anagaro, 8owogoconnughariegugharie, &owa!aga,

ne agonc a, noalagona, /uaga, s/ua e, $aratoga, $chaunacta!a($chenecta!y), $choharie, Teatontaloga (Gesuit mission of $te. arie),Tewanon!a!on, Tionnontoguen, an! #na!illa

Onei a

nayote aono ( nyotaa a) Fpeople of the stan!ing stoneF

&ames

noiochronon (*uron)

@illages

+wegen, 'ahunghage, 'anowaroghere, 'anow!owsa, 'hittenango,'owassalon, Dana!oga, *ostayuntwa, nei!a (#pper 'astle), polopong (A+),

ris a, ssewingo, stogeron, $choherage, $e-ege, (Tuscarora), $oloc a (A+),


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Tegaso e, Tesero en, Tetoswe en, T anetota, an! Tolungowon ( ).

Onan aga

nun!agaono Fpeople of the hills< place on the hill< people on the mountain.FThe F eepers of the fireF an! Fwampum eepers.F

&ames

nontaerrhonon (*uron)

@illages

+haouet, ?esero en, Da!o/uat, Dannentaha, Distwiahna, 8ana!aseagea('anan!aigua), 8anata owa, non!aga, non!aghara, non!ahgegahgeh,

nontatacet, tiahanague, Teionontatases, Tgasunto, Touenho, an! Tuea!asso.

Seneca

&un!awaono Fgreat hill people.F The F eepers of the western !oor.F

&ames

$enecars, $onnontoerrhonon (*uron)

@illages

7uc aloon (A+), 'ana!asaga, 'anea!ea, 'atherine s Town, 'attaraugus,'hemung, 'heron!eroga, 'on!awhaw, 'onnewango (2 A+), 'ussewago (A+),?ayoitgao, ?eonun!agae, ?eyo!eshot, ?eyohnegano (2), ?eyonong!a!agana,?yosyowan (A+), Daan!owanang, Da!aho, Dahato, Dahayan!u , Danagweh,Danawagus, Daneasos, Dane!ontwan, Danos, Danosgagong, Daonsagaon,Daousge, Das osa!a, Dathtsegwarohare, Deneseo, Dista/uat, Dwaugweh,*oneoye, Gennese!aga (A+), Gonea!ih, 8ahesarahera, 8anaghsaws,8annassarago, 8ashong ('ashong), 8as onchiagon, 8aygen, 8einthe ( &T),

ittle 7ear! s Town, i!!le Town, &ew 'hemung, &ewtown, &on!as, at a,l! 'hemung, nnahee ( naghee), noghsa!ago, non!ar a, wais i,

$ ahasegao, $ oiyase, $ono owauga, Te ise!aneyout, Tioniongarunte,Tonawan!a, Totia ton, or ough, an! oroonwago (A+)

!uscarora

Fshirt wearing people.F &ot an original member of the ro/uois eague, theTuscarora oine! as a non -oting member in 1B22 after they ha! been force! tolea-e &orth 'arolina in 1B14 after a war with the >nglish colonists.

&ames


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+ otas aroren ( ohaw ), +nis alall ('hero ee), +tas alolen ( nei!a),Tewohomomy (8eewahomomy) ($aponi)

@illages

$hawiangto

Mingo

The name comes from F in/ua,F a ?elaware wor! meaning treacherous use!for the $us/uehannoc an! other ro/uian spea ing tribes. The ingo weregroups of in!epen!ent ro/uois mi e! $eneca an! 'ayuga hunters with ahea-y percentage of !escen!ents of &eutrals, *uron, an! >rie who ha! beena!opte! by the ro/uois !uring the 16E0s. They settle! in hio an! westernAennsyl-ania in the early 1B00s an! forme! mi e! -illages with the ?elawarean! $hawnee who arri-e! later.

&ames

'ows in $eneca, &eosho $eneca, hio ro/uois, an! $eneca of $an!us y

@illages

ogstown ('hinin/uH) (?elaware $hawnee A+), ingo Town ( *), Aluggy sTown ( *), $awcun ($au un ) (?elaware $hawnee A+), $ewic ley($hawnee ?elaware A+), $coutash s Town ($hawnee *), $eneca Town ( *),$onnontio (?elaware $hawnee *), a atomica ($hawnee *), asps ( *),

hite ingo Town, an! ellow 'ree ( *)

Caughnawaga (Araying n!ians of =uebec)

'ollecti-ely, the ro/uois (mostly ohaw but with si3eable numbers of nei!a,non!aga, an! 'ayuga) who, after being con-erte! to 'hristianity by %rench Gesuits,

separate! from the ro/uois eague after 166B an! settle! along the $t. awrence ;i-ernear ontreal.

$ub Tribes

7ay =uinte, 'aughnawaga ('aughnawena, 'onewaga, 'oghnawagee,

8ahnawa e, $ault $t. ouis for the ohaw s). a ontagne, a Arairie, a(8anesata e, ac !es ?eau ontagnes, a e of the Two ountains,$cawen!a!ey, $ceno!i!i), swegatchie ( a Aresentation mission), $ault au;ecollet, $t. %rancois Ia-ier !es prHs, $t. Gerome, an! $t. ;egis (+ wesasne)

Aennsyl-ania i e! ro/uois ?elaware @illages

'hin lacamoose ($eneca), Doshgoshun ($eneca C), *ic orytown ( unsee),Ge!a ne, Gohn s Town ( unsee), 8ic enapawling, 8ittaning (+ttiguH)


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('aughnawaga), 8ush us i (8us us i), awun hanne ($eneca),oyalhannon, ahus/uechi o en ( unsee $eneca), &escopec ($hawnee),stonwac in ('ayuga nei!a), $hamo in ($hawnee Tutelo), $henango (C),

$heshe/uin ($eneca), $ enan!owa, Tioga, @enango ($eneca $hawneeyan!ot ttawa), yalusing ( unsee), an! yoming ( unsee $hawneeahican &antico e)

hio i e! ro/uois ?elaware @illages

'oshocton (8oshach in ) ( unsee ?elaware $hawnee $eneca), &ew Town(&ewtown) (1 & an! C *), an! Tullihas ('aughnawaga ahican *)

#nspecifie! @illages

+! ou/uay, +npua/un, +ratum/uat, 'hemegai!e, 'huramu , 'o!ocararen,'o anu , 'ona/uanosshan, 'onihunta, 'onnosomoth!ian, 'onoytown('onoy A+), 'oreorgonel (Tutelo), 'owawago, Dana!oga ( &T),

Danagarahhare (A+), Daneras e ( &T), Danneious ( &T), Dlasswanoge,n!ian Aoint, Ganun!at ( *), Gonon!es, Guniata, Gura en (2 A+), 8ahen!ohon,8anatiochitiage, 8anesa!ageh, 8annawalohalla, 8ara en, 8arhationni,8arhawenra!onh, 8ayeh warageh, anc atawangum (A+), atchasaung (A+),

ohanet (A+), &ewtychanning (A+), hre ionni, naweron, n we ye!e,s anwaserenhon, tseningo (?elaware), ts wira eron, usagwentera,

;unon-ea, $chohorage (A+), $conassi (A+), $ittawingo (A+), $waha!owri,Taiaiagon ( &T), Tohoguse s Town (A+), Tonihata ( &T), Tus o ogie,

a erhon, auteghe, an! oucham

Culture

$imply put, the ro/uois were the most important nati-e group in &orth +merican history.'ulturally, howe-er, there was little to !istinguish them from their ro/uian spea ingneighbors. +ll ha! matrilineal social structures the women owne! all property an!!etermine! inship. The in!i-i!ual ro/uois tribes were !i-i!e! into three clans, turtle,

bear, an! wolf each hea!e! by the clan mother. The $eneca were li e the *uron tribes an!ha! eight (the fi-e a!!itional being the crane, snipe, haw , bea-er, an! !eer). +ftermarriage, a man mo-e! into his wife s longhouse, an! their chil!ren became members ofher clan. ro/uois -illages were generally fortifie! an! large. The !istincti-e, communallonghouses of the !ifferent clans coul! be o-er 200 in length an! were built about aframewor co-ere! with elm bar , the ro/uois material of choice for all manner of things.

@illages were permanent in the sense they were mo-e! only for !efensi-e purposes or whenthe soil became e hauste! (about e-ery twenty years).

+griculture pro-i!e! most of the ro/uois !iet. 'orn, beans, an! s/uash were nown asF!eoha oF or Flife supporters.F Their importance to the ro/uois was clearly !emonstrate!

by the si annual agricultural festi-als hel! with prayers of gratitu!e for their har-ests. Thewomen owne! an! ten!e! the fiel!s un!er the super-ision of the clan mother. en usuallyleft the -illage in the fall for the annual hunt an! returne! about mi!winter. $pring wasfishing season. ther than clearing fiel!s an! buil!ing -illages, the primary occupation of


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the men was warfare. arriors wore their hair in a !istincti-e scalploc ( ohaw ofcourse), although other styles became common later. hile the men carefully remo-e! allfacial an! bo!y hair, women wore theirs long. Tattoos were common for both se es. Torturean! ritual cannibalism were some of the ugly traits of the ro/uois, but these were share!with se-eral other tribes east of the ississippi. The %alse %ace society was an ro/uoishealing group which utili3e! grotes/ue woo!en mas s to frighten the e-il spirts belie-e! to

cause illness.t was the ro/uois political system, howe-er, that ma!e them uni/ue, an! because of it,

they !ominate! the first 200 years of colonial history in both 'ana!a an! the #nite! $tates.$trangely enough, there were ne-er that many of them, an! the enemies they !efeate! inwar were often twice their si3e. +lthough much has been ma!e of their ?utch firearms, the

ro/uois pre-aile! because of their unity, sense of purpose, an! superior politicalorgani3ation. $ince the ro/uois eague was forme! prior to any contact, it owe! nothing to>uropean influence. Aroper cre!it is sel!om gi-en, but the re-erse was actually true. ;atherthan learning political sophistication from >uropeans, >uropeans learne! from the ro/uois,an! the eague, with its elaborate system of chec s, balances,, an! supreme law, almostcertainly influence! the +merican +rticles of 'onfe!eration an! 'onstitution.

The ro/uois were farmers whose lea!ers were chosen by their women rather unusual forwarli e con/uerors. %oun!e! to maintain peace an! resol-e !isputes between its members,the eague s primary law was the 8ainere owa, the Dreat aw of Aeace which simplystate! ro/uois shoul! not ill each other. The eague s organi3ation was prescribe! by awritten constitution base! on 114 wampums an! reinforce! by a funeral rite nown as theF'on!olenceF share! mourning at the passing of sachems from the member tribes. Thecouncil was compose! of E0 male sachems nown -ariously as lor!s, or peace chiefs. >achtribe s representation was set: non!aga 14< 'ayuga 10< nei!a 9< ohaw 9< an! $eneca". &ominate! by the tribal clan mothers (who ha! almost complete power in theirselection), ro/uois sachemships were usually hel! for life, although they coul! be remo-e!for miscon!uct or incompetence. The emblem of their office was the !eer antler hea! !ress,an! gui!e! by an all male council, the sachems rule! in times of peace. ar chiefs werechosen on the basis of birth, e perience, an! ability, but e ercise! power only !uring war.

The central authority of the ro/uois eague was limite! lea-ing each tribe free to pursueits own interests. 7y 1660, howe-er, the ro/uois foun! it necessary to present a unite!front to >uropeans, an! the original free!om of its members ha! to be curtaile! somewhat.

n practice, the ohaw an! nei!a forme! one faction in the council an! the $eneca an!'ayuga the other. The eague s principal sachem (Ta!o!aho) was always an non!aga, an!as F eepers of the council fireF with 14 sachems (well out of proportion to their

population), they represente! compromise. This role was crucial since all !ecisions of thecouncil ha! to be unanimous, one of the eague s wea nesses. There was also a Fpec ingor!erF among members reflecte! by the elo/uent ritual language of eague !ebate.

ohaw , non!aga, an! $eneca were a!!resse! as Fel!er brothersF or Funcles,F whilenei!a, 'ayuga, an! Tuscarora were Fyounger brothersF or Fnephews.F

n this form, the ro/uois use! a combination of military prowess an! s ille! !iplomacy tocon/uer an empire. #ntil their internal unity finally faile! them !uring the +merican;e-olution, the ro/uois !ealt with >uropean powers as an e/ual. The eague was aremar able achie-ement, but it also ha! flaws, the most apparent was its inability to fin! a


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satisfactory means to share political power with its new members. +s mentione!, thero/uois incorporate! thousan!s of non league ro/uian peoples !uring the 16E0s. Aolitical

power was retaine! by the original ro/uois to such an e tent that the a!optees remaine!secon! class citi3ens. The resulting !issatisfaction e-entually le! to the ingo separatingan! mo-ing to hio to free themsel-es from eague control. thers foun! refuge with the%rench at 'aughnawaga an! other Gesuit missions along the $t. awrence.

The eague s massi-e a!options also e plains why it was so relentless in its pursuit of theremnants of !efeate! enemies. $o long as one small ban! remaine! free, the ro/uois werein !anger of an insurrection from within. Aerhaps because they consi!ere! themsel-esF ngwi *onwiF (superior people), the ro/uois ne-er offere! wholesale a!option to thenon ro/uian spea ing peoples who came un!er their control. nstea! they offere!membership in the F'o-enant 'hain,F a terminology first suggeste! by the ?utch at a treatysigne! with the ohaw in 161". 7y 16BB the ro/uois ha! e ten!e! this form of limite!membership to the ahican an! ?elaware an! later woul! offer it to other +lgon/uin an!$iouan tribes. >ssentially, the 'o-enant 'hain was a tra!e an! military alliance which ga-ethe ro/uois the authority to represent its members with >uropeans, but there was no -ote or!irect representation in the eague council, orse yet, the ro/uois were often arrogant an!

place! their own interests first. + system of Fhalf ingsF create! to represent the hio tribesin the 1B40s ne-er really correcte! this problem.

+ list of all noteworthy ro/uois woul! be too long to be inclu!e! here. The $eneca chief,>li Aar er (?onehogawa) was the 'ommissioner of n!ian +ffairs !uring the Drant+!ministration. >!ucate! as a lawyer, he was a!mitte! to the bar but not allowe! to

practice in &ew or . *e ser-e! on Drant s staff !uring the 'i-il ar an! is belie-e! toha-e written the terms of ee s surren!er at +ppomatto . 'atherine Te awitha, the ily ofthe ohaw (16E6 "0) has reache! the final stage before recognition as a saint by the;oman 'atholic 'hurch. The ohaw ha-e gaine! fame as structural ironwor ers. *ire!as laborers in 1"96 !uring the construction of the ?ominion 7ri!ge at ontreal, theyshowe! no fear of height an! ha-e since been in-ol-e! in the construction of e-ery ma or

bri!ge an! s yscraper. CE ohaw were among the 96 ille! in 190B when a bri!ge being built across the $t. awrence at =uebec collapse!.

"istory

+rcheological e-i!ence in!icates the ro/uois ha! li-e! in upstate &ew or for a longtime before the >uropeans arri-e!. onghouse construction !ates to at least 1100 +.?. Themai3e agriculture was intro!uce! in the 14th century prompting a population surge an!other changes. 7y 1CE0 -illages ha! become larger an! fortifie! !ue to increase! warfare,

an! ritual cannibalism began aroun! 1400. The non!aga were the first of the ro/uoistribes that can be positi-ely i!entifie! in &ew or an! seems to ha-e begun after themerger of two -illages sometime between 14E0 an! 14BE. The origin of the other fourtribes is not as certain. +ccor!ing to ro/uois tra!ition, they were once a single tribe in the$t. awrence @alley sub ect to +lgon/uin spea ing +!iron!ac who ha! taught themagriculture. To escape +lgon/uin !omination, the ro/uois say they left the $t. awrencean! mo-e! south to &ew or where they split into opposing tribes.

The e act !ate of this migration is uncertain. hen Gac/ues 'artier first e plore! the $t.
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awrence in 1ECE, there were ro/uoian spea ing peoples li-ing in at least ele-en -illages between $ta!acona (=uebec) an! *ochelaga ( ontreal). *ochelaga was a large fortifie!-illage with large corn fiel!s an! a population o-er C,000. t was still there !uring 'artier ssecon! -isit (1E41 42), but when the %rench returne! to the area in 160C, *ochelaga an!the other ro/uois -illages on the $t. awrence ha! !isappeare!. n their place were

ontagnais an! +lgon in. %or lac of a better term, these ro/uian people ha-e been calle!

the aurentian ro/uois, but their e act relationship to other ro/uian groups has ne-er beenestablishe!. 7oth the *uron an! ohaw tra!itions claim them as their own. inguistice-i!ence ten!s to support the *uron, but it is /uite possible the aurentian ro/uois mayha-e been part of the ohaw .

>/ually confuse! is the e act !ate of the foun!ing of the ro/uois eague. $ome estimates put this as far bac as 900 +.?., but the general consensus is sometime aroun! 1EB0. Thereis no /uestion, howe-er, that all of the ro/uoian confe!eracies (&eutrals, $us/uehannoc ,*uron, an! ro/uois) were establishe! prior to >uropean contact. &or is there any !isputeo-er why this occurre!. +lthough still threatene! by the +!iron!ac after mo-ing to upstate

&ew or , the greatest !anger for the ro/uois was themsel-es. ;elationships between thetribes ha! !eteriorate! into constant war, bloo! feu!s, an! re-enge illings. n !anger ofself !estruction, the ro/uois were sa-e! by the su!!en appearance of a *uron holyman

nown as the FAeacema er.F ?eganawi!a (Two ;i-er 'urrents %lowing Together) recei-e!a -ision from the 'reator of peace an! cooperation among all ro/uois. +pparently he washin!ere! by either a language or speech !ifficulty, but ?eganawi!a e-entually won thesupport of *iawatha (+yawentha *e a es ;i-ers), an non!aga who ha! become a

ohaw war chief.

ith consi!erable effort, they were able to con-ince the other ro/uois tribes to en! theirfighting an! oin together in a league. egen! tells that ?eganawi!a blotte! out the sun tocon-ince the reluctant. + solar eclipse -isible in upstate &ew or occurre! in 14E1suggesting another possible !ate for these e-ents. The formation of the eague en!e! thewarfare between its members bringing the ro/uois a perio! of unprece!ente! peace an!

prosperity. t also brought political unity an! military power, an! unfortunately,?eganawi!a s FDreat AeaceF e ten!e! only to the ro/uois themsel-es. %or outsi!ers it wasa military alliance an! the FDreat arF against any people with whom the ro/uois ha! a!ispute, an! !uring the first 1C0 years of the eague s e istence, there were -ery few tribeswho manage! to a-oi! a !ispute with the ro/uois.

The ro/uois were only re/uire! to maintain peace with each other, the in!i-i!ual membersof the eague were free to pursue their own interests, an! at first, the ro/uois functione! astwo alliances: the $eneca, 'ayuga, an!, to a lesser e tent, the non!aga combine! as thewestern ro/uois< while the ohaw an! nei!a unite! in the east. ?espite this !i-ision,the ro/uois still possesse! a unity an! purpose which their enemies coul! not match.?uring a E0 year war beginning sometime aroun! 1EB0, the eastern ro/uois !ro-e the+lgon/uin from the +!iron!ac ountains an! the upper $t. awrence ;i-er a possiblee planation of the mo-ement of the Ae/uot an! ohegan into southern &ew >nglan! ustafter 1600. There were also s irmishes with the powerful ahican 'onfe!eracy to thesouth o-er the wampum tra!e, an! most li ely because they were +!iron!ac or ahicanallies, the Aocumtuc in western &ew >nglan! were attac e! by the ohaw in 1606. +fterestablishing a settlement at =uebec, the %rench reache! west to the -icinity of ontreal in1609. hat they foun! there was a war 3one where it was possible to tra-el along the $t.
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awrence for !ays without seeing another human being. The +lgon in an! ontagnaiswere so harasse! by ohaw war parties that they usually remaine! well clear of the ri-er.

The %rench only wante! to tra!e for fur. Their potential tra!ing partners, howe-er, wante!help fighting the ohaw which trappe! the %rench into winning their loyalty by umpinginto someone else s war. t must ha-e seeme! a tri-ial at the time, but it pro-e! a fateful

!ecision. n Guly, 1609 $amuel !e 'hamplain accompanie! a *uron, ontagnais, an!+lgon in war party which mo-e! south along the shores of a e 'hamplain. hen theyencountere! ohaw warriors, a battle followe! !uring which %rench guns bro e themasse! ohaw formation illing se-eral war chiefs. The following year, 'hamplain

oine! another attac against a ohaw fort on the ;ichelieu ;i-er. +lthough the ohawsoon !iscar!e! mass formations, woo!en bo!y armor, an! countere! %rench firearms byfalling to the groun! ust before they !ischarge!, they were !ri-en from the $t. awrenceafter 1610. The +lgon in an! ontagnais too control of the area an! its fur tra!e for thene t twenty years. eanwhile, the %rench pushe! west to the *uron -illages an!, in asimilar error in 161E, participate! in an attac on the non!aga.

?uring the years following, the %rench pai! !early for their inter-ention. ro/uois hostility pre-ente! them from using a e ntario an! force! a !etour through the ttawa ;i-er@alley to reach the western Dreat a es. %or the moment, howe-er, the ro/uois nee!e!guns an! steel weapons to protect themsel-es, but these were a-ailable only through a furtra!e controlle! by their enemies. n 1610 ?utch tra!ers arri-e! in the *u!son @alley of

&ew or , an! the ro/uois ha! sol-e! a part of their problem. $till presse! from the north by the *uron, +lgon in, an! ontagnais, the ohaw in 161E were also fighting theirtra!itional $us/uehannoc ri-als to the south. $uspecting the %rench were behin! this, the?utch helpe! the ohaw against the $us/uehannoc . This attache! the ohaw to the?utch, but there were problems. ocate! on the *u!son, the ahican bloc e! ohawaccess to ?utch tra!ers unless tribute was pai! to cross their territory.

This unhappy arrangement !i! not sit well with the ohaw an! perio!ically erupte! intowar. $ince this affecte! their fur tra!e, the ?utch arrange! a truce in 161C. %our years later,renewe! fighting between the ohaw an! ahican force! the closure of %ort &assau near+lbany until another peace was ma!e in 161". eanwhile, the ?utch !eman! for fur ha!create! competition for pre-iously share! hunting territory, an! ohaw encroachment ha!le! to fighting an! sub ugation of some the northern groups of unsee ?elaware !uring161E. *ow long the ?utch coul! ha-e F ept the li! onF this situation is /uestionable. The

ohaw were acting as mi!!lemen for other ro/uois an! ha! e-en greater ambitions. n1624 the ?utch built a new post at %ort range which was actually closer to the the

ohaw . #nfortunately, they also trie! to ta e some of the $t. awrence fur tra!e from the%rench by using ahican mi!!lemen to open tra!e with the +lgon in.

Tra!e with their enemies was too much for the ohaw , an! in 1624 they attac e! theahican in a war the ?utch coul! not stop. %ighting continue! for the ne t four years with

the ahican calling in their Aocumtuc an! $o o i ( estern +bena i ) allies. The ?utch atfirst ten!e! to fa-or the ahican. ?utch sol!iers from %ort range oine! a ahican war

party in 1626. + ohaw ambush resulte! in se-eral !ea! ?utchmen, but rather thanretaliate, the ?utch !eci!e! to remain neutral. 7y 162" the ohaw ha! !efeate! the

ahican an! !ri-en them east of the *u!son ;i-er. #n!er the terms of peace, the ahicanwere force! to pay tribute in wampum, or at least share their profits from wampum tra!e
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with the ?elaware on ong slan!. The ?utch accepte! the ohaw -ictory an! ma!ethem their principal ally an! tra!ing partner. The ro/uois homelan! occupie! a -erystrategic position sitting between the ?utch in the *u!son @alley an! furs of the Dreat

a es. +lrea!y able to force the %rench to stay well north, the ro/uois were rea!y to try to!ominate the %rench tra!e on the $t. awrence.

The result was the 7ea-er ars B0 years of -iolent intertribal warfare for control of the>uropean fur tra!e. argely forgotten to!ay, the 7ea-er ars were one of the critical e-entsin &orth +merica history. ith the ahican !efeate! an! sub ect, the ohaw in 1629continue! the war against the ahican s $o o i an! Aennacoo allies. This may ha-econtinue! for some time if not for the actions of thir! >uropean power, Dreat 7ritain, whichha! begun coloni3ing &ew >nglan! in 1620. ?uring a war in >urope between 7ritain an!%rance, >nglish pri-ateers un!er $ir ?a-i! 8ir e capture! =uebec in 1629. ithout %renchsupport, the +lgon in an! ontagnais were -ulnerable, an! after conclu!ing a truce withthe $o o i, the ohaw too a!-antage by !estroying the +lgon in ontagnais -illage atTrois ;i-ieres. 7y late 16C0 the +lgon in an! ontagnais !esperately nee!e! help againstthe ohaw . %or three long years none came until the Treaty of $t. Dermaine en ayerestore! =uebec to %rance in 16C2.

7y the time the %rench returne! to the $t. awrence that year, the ro/uois (withuninterrupte! tra!e with the ?utch) ha! re-erse! their earlier losses an! were !angerouslyclose to gaining control of the upper $t. awrence an! southern ntario. The ro/uois ha!e hauste! most of the bea-er in their homelan! (they ne-er ha! that many to begin with). fthey were to continue tra!e for the >uropean goo!s on which they become !epen!ent, they!esperately nee!e! to fin! new hunting territory. +s large ro/uois war parties range! freelythrough southern ntario an! the ttawa @alley, the %rench trie! to restore the balance of

power in the region by selling firearms to their tra!ing partners for Fhunting.F %or ob-iousreasons, the >uropeans at first ha! a-oi!e! tra!ing firearms to the nati-es, although theywere pretty free with steel ni-es an! hatchets. ith growing competition in the fur tra!e,howe-er, their reluctance rapi!ly ga-e way.

nitially, the %rench too the precaution of restricting guns to 'hristian con-erts an!limiting the amount of ammunition to preclu!e any use against themsel-es. >-en a limite!supply was sufficient at the time to allow the *uron, +lgon in, an! ontagnais to counterthe ro/uois, while the %rench rebuilt their fur tra!e. The firearms an! steel weapons,howe-er, soon foun! their way into the han!s of the tribes for which the *uron acte! as ami!!leman, an! as the number of bea-er !win!le! in the eastern Dreat a es, &eutral,Tionontati, an! ttawa warriors use! them to sei3e territory from +lgon/uin an! $iouantribes in lower ichigan an! the hio @alley. The 7ea-er ars sprea! westwar! !uring the16C0s an! 40s. The ro/uois were ?utch allies. 7ecause of this an! past hostility, the%rench continue! to a-oi! them. ?espite a limite! tra!e agreement conclu!e! with the

ohaw in 162B, they concentrate! their efforts on tra!e with the *uron who ha! strongtra!ing ties to the western Dreat a es.

$tymie! by *uron military power, the ro/uois wante! their permission to hunt in the prime bea-er territory to the north an! west of their homelan! so they coul! maintain their tra!ewith the ?utch. +t the -ery least, the ro/uois nee!e! the *uron to cooperate an! tra!esome of their furs with them something the two ri-al confe!erations ha! !one for manyyears before arri-al of the %rench an! ?utch. ;esorting to !iplomacy, the eague sent its


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re/uests to the *uron council. The *uron, howe-er, sense! their growing a!-antage an!refuse!. +fter the *uron ille! an ro/uois hunting party in !ispute! territory, all out warerupte!. +lthough the *uron an! their allies outnumbere! them more than two to one,

ro/uois war parties mo-e! into southern ntario trying to cut the *uron lin through thettawa @alley to %rench tra!ers at =uebec. $ome %rench settlements along the $t.awrence were also attac e! in 16CC, but these were ne-er the main target. %or the most

part, the ro/uois shrew!ly trie! to eep the %rench neutral, while they eliminate! theirnati-e allies.

+ peace arrange! with +lgon in in 16C4 faile! almost imme!iately when the +lgon inrenewe! efforts to open tra!e with the ?utch in the *u!son @alley. Two separate ro/uoisoffensi-es !uring 16C6 an! 16CB !ro-e the +lgon in !eep into the upper ttawa @alley an!force! the ontagnais to retreat east towar!s =uebec. $mallpo from &ew >nglan! in16C4 slowe! the ohaw offensi-e, but the $eneca inflicte! a ma or !efeat on the *uronthe following year. 7etween 16CB an! 1641, the *uron pai! a horren!ous price for>uropean contact an! fur tra!e when a series of epi!emics swept through their -illages.

hen these en!e!, the *uron ha! lost many e perience! lea!ers an! almost half their population which seriously wea ene! their ability to !efen! themsel-es against the

ro/uois. hen the %rench ha! begun to pro-i!e firearms to the *uron an! +lgon in, the?utch ha! ept pace in supplying them to the ro/uois. The resulting arms race ha!remaine! on a relati-ely low le-el until the $we!es establishe! a colony on the lower?elaware ;i-er in 16C".

To compensate for their late start in the fur tra!e, the $we!es place! few restrictions on theamount of firearms they sol! to the $us/uehannoc . $u!!enly confronte! by a well arme!enemy to the south in Aennsyl-ania, the ro/uois turne! to the ?utch for more an! betterfirearms. +lrea!y angry the $we!es ha! settle! on territory claime! by themsel-es an!ta en o-er their tra!e, the ?utch pro-i!e! a!!itional guns an! ammunition an! in the

process ga-e the ro/uois a !efinite arms a!-antage o-er the *uron. The first -ictim of thisnew armament was not the *uron, but the small ro/uian spea ing enro tribe of western

&ew or . +ban!one! by their >rie an! &eutral allies, they were o-errun by the ro/uois in16C9. ;esistance continue! until 164C, but the sur-i-ing enro were finally force! to seerefuge with the *uron an! &eutrals. The ma or change came in 1640, when the othernewcomers to the fur tra!e, &ew >nglan! tra!ers from 7oston, trie! to brea the ?utchtra!e monopoly with the ohaw by selling them firearms.

+lthough this sale woul! ha-e -iolate! 7ritish law, the ?utch starte! selling the ro/uois allthe guns an! pow!er they wante!. The le-el of -iolence in the 7ea-er ars escalate!!ramatically, with the ro/uois, now e-en better arme! than the %rench, hol!ing a cleara!-antage in firepower. ?espite this the *uron won two ma or -ictories against the ro/uoisin 1640 an! 1641. but within a year, the ohaw an! nei!a ha! !ri-en the last groups of+lgon in an! ontagnais from the upper $t. awrence. The %rench respon!e! by buil!ingforts, but these pro-e! ina!e/uate to protect e-en their own settlements which were comingun!er attac . The foun!ing of ontreal at the mouth of the ttawa ;i-er in 1642 shortene!the !istance the *uron ha! to tra-el to tra!e, but the %rench were -ulnerable to attac inthis new location. The ro/uois easily compensate! !uring 1642 an! 164C by mo-ing largewar parties into the ttawa @alley to attac the %rench an! *uron trying to mo-e furs to

ontreal.
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+s if the %rench !i! not ha-e enough trouble, a long stan!ing hostility between theontagnais an! $o o i ( estern +bena i) ha! erupte! into war in 1642 when theontagnais attempte! to eep the $o o i from tra!ing !irectly with the %rench at =uebec.

$ince the ohaw were alrea!y at war with the ontagnais, the $o o i put asi!e past!ifferences an! forme! an alliance with the ohaw . This also brought the ahican( ohaw allies since 162") into the fighting, an! in 164E a combine! ohaw , $o o i,

an! ahican war party rai!e! the main ontagnais -illage near $illery, =uebec. The ?utchin 1640 ha! also begun pro-i!ing large /uantities of firearms to the ahican. 7y 1642 boththe ohaw an! ahican were using these weapons to !eman! tribute from the unseean! appinger ?elaware on the lower *u!son. To escape this harassment, the

iech/uaes ec ( appinger) mo-e! south !uring the winter of 1642 4C to anhattanslan! an! the Tappan an! *ac ensac -illages at Aa-onia (Gersey 'ity) for what they

thought was the protection of the ?utch settlements.

The ?utch, howe-er, became alarme! an! in %ebruary, 164C ma!e a surprise attac on theiech/uaes ec -illage illing more than 100 of them. The Aa-onia assacre ignite! theappinger ar (Do-ernor 8ieft s ar) (164C 4E). The fighting sprea! to inclu!e unsee

in &ew Gersey an! #nami (?elaware) an! etoac of western ong slan!, an! the ?utchwere force! to call upon the ahican an! ohaw for help. +fter signing a formal treaty ofalliance with the ?utch that year, the ohaw an! ahican set to wor . 7y the time a

peace was finally signe! at %ort range in the summer of 164E, more than 1,600appinger, unsee, an! etoac ha! been ille!, an! the ohaw an! ahican ha! gaine!

control of the wampum tra!e of western ong slan!. unsee resentment continue! tosmol!er !uring the final 20 years of ?utch rule, but the ohaw stoo! rea!y to crush anuprising. @iolence finally came when fi-e unsee tribes combine! to fight the new ?utchsettlements in the >sopus @alley. The ohaw attac e! the unsee -illages illinghun!re!s, an! when the >sopus ar (1660 64) en!e!, the unsee ha! been con/uere! an!ma!e sub ect to the ro/uois.

%or the %rench, 1644 was an especially grim year. The +tontrataronnon (+lgon in) were!ri-en from the ttawa ;i-er an! force! to see refuge with the *uron, an! three large*uron canoe flotillas transporting fur to ontreal were capture! by the ro/uois. The furtra!e on the $t. awrence ha! come to almost a complete halt, so the %rench were rea!y tolisten when the ro/uois propose! a truce. The peace treaty signe! in 164E allowe! the%rench to resume the fur tra!e, an! the ohaw , who ha! suffere! hea-y losses from waran! epi!emic, got the release of their warriors being hel! prisoner by the %rench. *owe-er,the treaty faile! to sol-e the main cause of the war. The ro/uois e pecte! peace woul!

bring a resumption of their earlier tra!e with the *uron. nstea!, the *uron ignore!ro/uois o-ertures for tra!e an! sent 60 canoe loa!s of fur to ontreal in 164E followe! by

"0 loa!s in 1646. +fter two years of increasingly straine! !iplomacy faile! to change this,all hell bro e loose.

hile their !iplomats too great care to reassure the %rench an! eep them neutral, thero/uois !estroye! the +ren!aronon *uron -illages in 164B an! cut the tra!e route toontreal. @ery few furs got through that year. n 164" a massi-e 2E0 man *uron canoe

flotilla fought its way past the ro/uois bloc a!e on the ttawa ;i-er an! reache! =uebec, but !uring their absence, the ro/uois !estroye! the *uron mission -illage of $t. Gosephtorturing an! illing its Gesuit missionary. This scattere! the +ttigneenongnahac *uron.$ensing a complete ro/uois -ictory, the ?utch pro-i!e! 400 high /uality flintloc s an!


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unlimite! ammunition on cre!it. The final blow came !uring two !ays in arch, 1649. ncoor!inate! attac s, 2,000 ohaw an! $eneca warriors stuc the *uron mission -illagesof $t. gnace an! $t. ouis. *un!re!s of *uron were ille! or capture!, while two more%rench Gesuits were torture! to !eath. *uron resistance abruptly collapse!, an! thesur-i-ors scattere! an! fle! to be !estroye! or capture!.

The ro/uois, howe-er, were not about to ust let the *uron go. +fter 20 years of war an!epi!emic, they ha! pai! a high price for -ictory. ?own to less than 1,000 warriors, theeague ha! !eci!e! on massi-e a!options to refill their ran s. The FDreat AursuitF began

the following ?ecember when the ro/uois went after the +ttignawantan *uron who ha!ta en refuge with the Tionontati. The main Tionontati -illage was o-errun, an! less than1,000 Tionontati an! *uron manage! to escape to a temporary refuge on ac inac slan!near $ault $te. arie (#pper ichigan). The ro/uois followe!, an! by 16E1 the *uron an!Tionontati refugees (who together woul! become the yan!ot) were force! to relocatefarther west to Dreen 7ay, isconsin. The following spring the &ipissing suffere! the samefate (sur-i-ors fle! north to the ibwe), an! the last groups of +lgon in aban!one! theupper ttawa @alley an! !isappeare! into safety of the northern forests with the 'ree forthe ne t twenty years.

eanwhile, the Tahonaenrat *uron ha! mo-e! southwest among the -illages of the &eutrals. Throughout the many wars between ro/uois an! *uron, the &eutrals ha! refuse!to ta e si!es. *uron an! ro/uois war parties passe! through their homelan! to attac eachother, but the &eutrals remaine! neutral hence their name. Aerhaps alarme! by the su!!en

ro/uois -ictory o-er the *uron, they ma!e no effort to pre-ent the Tahonaenrat fromcontinuing to ma e war on the ro/uois. +fter not so !iplomatic re/uests for the &eutrals tosurren!er their FguestsF were ignore!, the ro/uois attac e! them in 16E0. %or the first yearof the war, the &eutrals ha! the support of the $us/uehannoc who ha! been *uron allies

before 164". *owe-er, this en!e! in 16E1 when the ohaw an! nei!a attac e! the$us/uehanna. The main &eutral fort of 8inu a fell to the $eneca that year, an! the other

&eutrals either surren!ere! or were o-errun.

The Tahonaenrat surren!ere! enmass an! were incorporate! into the $eneca, but largegroups of &eutrals an! *uron fle! south to the >rie. Their reception was less than cor!ial,

but they were allowe! to stay in a status of semi sla-ery. The FDreat AursuitF continue!,an! the ro/uois !eman!e! the >rie turn the refugees o-er to them. ;elations between the

ro/uois an! >rie apparently ha! ne-er been frien!ly, an! reinforce! with hun!re!s of newwarriors, the >rie flatly refuse!. The matter simmere! for two years with growing -iolence.

n 16EC an >rie rai! into the ro/uois homelan! ille! a $eneca sachem. + last minuteconference was hel! to a-oi! war, but in the course of a heate! argument, an >rie warriormur!ere! an non!aga, an! ro/uois retaliate! by illing all C0 of the >rie representati-es.+fter this, peace was impossible, an! the western ro/uois prepare! for war. *owe-er,ha-ing great respect for the >rie as warriors, they first too the precaution of arranging a

peace with the %rench.

hen the *uron were o-errun in 1649, the %rench fur tra!e empire collapse!. The Gesuitsha! been ille!, their nati-e tra!ing partners an! allies !estroye! or scattere!, an! the flowof fur stoppe!. The %rench still encourage! the nati-es to come to ontreal for tra!e, but-ery few trie! with the ro/uois controlling the ttawa ;i-er. The offer of peace !i! notinclu!e the ohaw an! nei!a, but the %rench grabbe! at a chance to en! hostilities with


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the other three ro/uois tribes. ith the %rench pacifie! an! the ohaw an! nei!aeeping the only possible ally, the $us/uehannoc , from gi-ing any ai!, the $eneca,

'ayuga, an! non!aga were free to !eal with the >rie. Their initial caution pro-e! ustifie!. ithout firearms, the >rie hel! out for three years until resistance en!e! in 16E6.The sur-i-ors were incorporate! into the ro/uois.

+t this point, no power in &orth +merica coul! ha-e stoo! against the ro/uois eague,e-en the >uropeans. *owe-er, rather than choosing to confront the >uropeans, the ro/uois!eci!e! to !eal with them as e/uals an! use their firearms an! tra!e goo!s to their owna!-antage. To this en!, it shoul! be note! the ro/uois ne-er trie! to eliminate one>uropean power for the benefit of another. nstea!, they attempte! to maintain a wor ingrelationship with each one, e-en the %rench. ;ather than being a ?utch ally, the ro/uoiswere in business for themsel-es to !ominate the fur tra!e with the >uropeans an! set aboutcreating an empire for this purpose. ?etails of how they !i! this ha-e been mostly lost,since no >uropean was present to recor! what happene!. ral tra!itions pro-i!e only

partial answers, but archeological e-i!ence in!icates the western Dreat a es an! hio@alley were rather hea-ily populate! before contact. The first %rench e plorers in the area!uring the 1660s an! B0s, howe-er, foun! few resi!ents an! many refugees.

t is also unclear how much warfare by the *uron, &eutrals, ttawa, >rie an!$us/uehannoc in pursuit of bea-er fur prepare! the way for the ro/uois con/uest of theDreat a es an! hio @alley, but in only ten years, the western ro/uois cleare! the regionof most of its remaining nati-e inhabitants. 7y 166B, the following tribes ha! been force!to relocate from their original locations:

1. The Aotawatomi, %o , $au , an! ascouten ha! left lower ichigan an! were li-ing inmi e! refugee -illages in isconsin.

2. The $hawnee, 8ic apoo , an! part of the iami ha! been force! from hio an! n!iana.The 8ic apoo an! iami mo-e! to isconsin, but the $hawnee scattere! to Tennessee,

llinois, Aennsyl-ania, an! $outh 'arolina.

C. +ttac e! by the $eneca in 16EE for gi-ing refuge to *uron an! &eutrals, the llinois wereforce! west of the ississippi ;i-er. They returne! later but went no further than the

llinois ;i-er @alley which was well to the west of their original territory.

4. The ?hegiha $iou ( sage, 8ansa, Aonca, maha, an! =uapaw) aban!one! the lowerabash @alley an! mo-e! west to the issouri ;i-er. The =uapaw, howe-er, separate!

from the others, went south, an! settle! at the mouth of the +r ansas.

E. The *uron, Tionontati, enro, &eutrals, an! >rie ha! been !efeate! an! absorbe! intothe ro/uois. +ppro imately 1,000 *uron an! Tionontati who escape! capture mo-e! firstto isconsin, then inlan! to the ississippi in innesota, an! finally to the south shore of

a e $uperior.

6.The ttawa ha! left their original location on the islan!s of a e *uron an! mo-e! westto upper ichigan. The &ipissing an! southern ban!s of the ibwe ha! also been force!north to the -icinity of $ault $te. arie.
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B. $ome tribes in the hio @alley ust !isappeare! an! are nown only by name: 'asa,'isca, s ousogom, oneton, ospelea, uabano, Teochanontian, Tomahitan, an!Tramontane. ho they were an! e actly what happene! to them is un nown.

hile the western ro/uois were con/uering the hio @alley, the ohaw an! nei!a were busy in the east. n 164B their war with the +lgon in an! ontagnais ha! sprea! to the

+bena i in aine who were helping the ontagnais.

The ohaw s alliance with the $o o i against the ontagnais en!e! with fighting o-erhunting territory east of a e 'hamplain. The su!!en collapse of the *uron in 1649 ha!alarme! e-eryone, an! the %rench at =uebec trie! to assemble whate-er allies they coul!against the ro/uois. The ohaw struc outlying %rench settlements an! ept attac ingthe small group of 'hristian *uron li-ing ust outsi!e the gates of =uebec. n 16E0 the%rench sent a ontagnais sachem an! Gesuit missionary into northern &ew >nglan! toencourage an alliance between the $o o i, Aennacoo , Aocumtuc, an! ahican against the

ro/uois. The &ew >nglan! colonies were also as e! to participate, but the 7ritish were notintereste!. The %rench got the alliance they were see ing an! began pro-i!ing firearms to

its members. ?espite occasional rai!s against the $o o i in @ermont, the alliance was notteste! initially. The ohaw after 16E1 ha! all they coul! han!le in their war inAennsyl-ania with the $us/uehannoc .

The $us/uehannoc ha! always been formi!able warriors. n 16E1 they ha! been wellarme! by $we!ish tra!ers from the lower ?elaware ;i-er. +fter four years of fighting withhea-y losses to both si!es, the ohaw an! nei!a only succee!e! in capturing part of theupper part of $us/uehanna ;i-er. The war was a stalemate, until the ?utch too the$we!ish colonies in 16EE. $u!!enly !epri-e! of their source of weapons, the$us/uehannoc as e! for peace. The ohaw rea!ily agree!. Aeace with the$us/uehannoc free! the ohaw an! nei!a to turn on their enemies in western &ew>nglan!, an! the alliance recei-e! its first test. &ew fighting between the ohaw an!

ahican concerne! the ?utch, an! at their insistence, the ahican left the alliance in 16E"an! ma!e peace with the ohaw . *owe-er, the ohaw soon !isco-ere! the ahicanwere arranging tra!e between the ?utch an! the ontagnais an! $o o i. ?iplomacy faile!to stop this, an! in 1662 the ohaw attac e! the ahican. Two years of war force! the

ahican to aban!on most of the *u!son @alley, inclu!ing their capital at $ho!ac near+lbany.

$upplie! by both %rench an! 7ritish, the $o o i, Aennacoo , Aocumtuc, an! ontagnaiscontinue! fighting the ohaw an! were hol!ing their own. ro/uois an! +lgon/uin war

parties mo-e! bac an! forth across western &ew >nglan! attac ing each other s -illages.7y 1660 the war ha! sprea! to inclu!e the +bena i in aine who were allies of the

ontagnais. +fter an attac against a ohaw -illage faile! in 166C, the Aocumtuc foun!they were running out of warriors an! as e! the ?utch to arrange a truce. &othing came ofthis, an! in ?ecember a large ohaw an! $eneca war party struc the main Aocumtuc-illage at %ort *ill (?eerfiel!, assachusetts). The assault was repulse! with the loss ofalmost C00 warriors, but the battere! Aocumtuc aban!one! %ort *ill in the spring an! sue!for peace. The ohaw agree!, but someone (not the Aocumtuc) mur!ere! the ro/uoisambassa!ors enroute to the peace conference. The ohaw renewe! their attac s forcingthe Aocumtuc from the mi!!le 'onnecticut ;i-er.
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n the mi!st of this, the 7ritish sei3e! &ew or in 1664. The ?utch recapture! it in 16BC, but it was returne! to the 7ritish by the Treaty of estminster the following year. Theimportant role of the ?utch in &orth +merica en!e! at this point. The 7ritish conclu!e!their own treaty of frien!ship with the ohaw in 1664 an!, most importantly, left the?utch tra!ers at +lbany in charge of the tra!e essential to the ro/uois war machine. 7ritishtra!ers at 7oston saw greater opportunity tra!ing with the powerful ro/uois than &ew

>nglan! +lgon/uin an! mo-e! west to +lbany. Their !eparture left the $o o i, +bena i,an! Aennacoo without support other than the %rench. &o longer concerne! about gettinginto a war with the 7ritish, the ohaw too a!-antage an! began to !ri-e the $o o i an!Aennacoo from the upper 'onnecticut ;i-er, one rai! e-en reaching the -icinity of 7ostonin 166E.

The %rench ha! note! the 7ritish capture of &ew or an! their subse/uent treaty with theohaw . orrie! the 7ritish woul! gain control of the fur tra!e an! tire! of being

threatene! by the ro/uois, the %rench 'rown too formal possession of &ew %rance an! inGune, 166E sent the 1,200 man 'arigan $aliHres regiment to 'ana!a. The %rench sol!iersha! much to learn, an! their first offensi-e against the ro/uois got lost in the woo!s.*owe-er, !uring the winter of 166E 66, they in-a!e! the ro/uois homelan! with!e-astating effect an! burne! the ohaw -illages of Tionnontoguen an! 8anagaro. 7y thefollowing spring the ohaw were as ing the >nglish for help. The go-ernor of &ew or(also concerne! about %rench) agree! to an alliance but only on con!ition the ohaw firstma e peace with ahican an! $o o i. The ahican were rea!y, but the $o o i refuse!.That summer, the ohaw struc the Aennacoo , while the $o o i an! 8ennebec attac e!

ohaw -illages.

The %rench army resume! their attac s in the fall but ran into a ohaw ambush. Theattac s still ha! their effect, an! the ro/uois agree! to a general peace with the %rench in166B. This free! the western ro/uois to concentrate on the still !angerous $us/uehannocwhile the ohaw went after western &ew >nglan!. ?uring 166" the ohaw !ro-e theAennacoo across &ew *ampshire to the protection of the +bena i in aine. Thefollowing year an alliance of &ew >nglan! +lgon/uin (inclu!ing $o o i an! ahican)retaliate!, but the attac on a ohaw -illage was ambushe! on their return home. ith thee ception of issis/uoi on the north en! of a e 'hamplain, by the time peace wasarrange! in 16B0, most $o o i were li-ing un!er %rench protection along the $t. awrence.The peace the ahican agree! to in 16B2 with the ro/uois was actually surren!er.+fterwar!s, the ro/uois han!le! all ahican relations with >uropeans. n 16BB the

ahican became the first member of the 'o-enant 'hain.

The alliance of the 7ritish an! ro/uois ser-e! to protect both from the %rench. t also ga-ethe ro/uois the support of the 7ritish in e ten!ing its authority o-er other tribes bygathering them into the 'o-enant 'hain which greatly increase! the eague s power an!influence. There were se-eral a!-antages for the 7ritish: it ept the 'o-enant 'hain tribesfrom falling un!er %rench influence< negotiations with &ati-e +mericans were simplifie!since the 7ritish only ha! to !eal with the ro/uois< an! it also allowe! the 7ritish to callupon the eague a FpolicemanF in case of trouble. hen the ampanoag trie! to use the

ahican -illage at $chaghtico e as a refuge !uring the 8ing Ahilip s ar (16BE B6), thego-ernor of &ew or calle! on the ohaw to force them bac to assachusetts. The

ohaw later helpe! &ew >nglan! force Ahilip s $o o i an! Aennacoo allies to retreatinto northern aine an! 'ana!a. #nfortunately, this also !ro-e these peoples into an


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alliance with the %rench.

+fter !estroying the >rie in 16E6, the western ro/uois ha! turne! on the +lgon/uin in thehio @alley an! Dreat a es an! !ri-en them west of a e ichigan. The peace the

%rench ha! signe! with the western ro/uois in 16EC, ha! not gi-en the %rench access to thewestern Dreat a es an! left them besiege! in ontreal an! =uebec by the ohaw an!

nei!a. hat little fur reache! them came from the ttawa who, after the !estruction ofthe *uron, ha! assume! the mi!!leman s role in tra!e with the %rench. This e-entuallyannoye! the ro/uois, an! they attac e! the ttawa li-ing on the islan!s of a e *uronforcing them west to isconsin an! upper ichigan. The only %rench to -isit the westernDreat a es !uring this perio! were ;a!isson an! Droseilliers who reache! the west en! of

a e $uperior in 16E" (only to be arreste! when they returne! to =uebec for tra!ingwithout a license). The %rench peace with the ro/uois came to an en! in 16E" with themur!er of a Gesuit ambassa!or, an! it was not until 166E that &icolas Aerot an! %ather'lau!e Gean +lloue3 (6 %rench an! 400 *uron, ttawa, an! ibwe) fought their way upthe ttawa ;i-er an! ma!e their way to Dreen 7ay.

hat they foun! was appalling. ore than C0,000 refugees (%o , $au , ttawa,ascouten, iami, 8ic apoo, ibwe, an! Aotawatomi) ha! o-erwhelme! both theresi!ent innebago an! enominee an! the resources of the area. Too far north forgrowing corn, the area was o-er hunte!, an! the star-ing refugees were fighting amongthemsel-es o-er the little that was left. ar ha! also starte! with the ?a ota ($iou ) to thewest as +lgon/uin hunters encroache! on their territory. The refugees were also sub ect to

perio!ic attac s by the ro/uois whose FDreat AursuitF ha! followe! the yan!ot toisconsin. n 16EC the $eneca ha! attac e! a yan!ot an! Aotawatomi fort near Dreen

7ay, but the ro/uois were force! to with!raw after they ran out of foo!. The yan!ot retreate! inlan! to the ississippi an! finally to the south shore of $uperior. *owe-er, the

ro/uois continue! to stri e without warning. + %o -illage ha! been !estroye! in 16EB,although in 1662 the ibwe, ttawa, an! &ipissing surprise! an! annihilate! a large

ohaw an! nei!a war party at ro/uois Aoint (east en! of a e $uperior).

The peace signe! between the %rench an! ro/uois in 166B was significant. t not onlyinclu!e! all fi-e members of the ro/uois eague but e ten!e! to %rench allies an! tra!ing

partners in the western Dreat a es. The relentless ro/uois pursuit of the yan!ot en!e!,an! the %rench were able to rebuil! their fur tra!e. %rench tra!ers an! Gesuit missionariesimme!iately went west an! began to bring some or!er to the chaos in isconsin. The%rench were also able to e plore the hio @alley for the first time in 1669 which pro-i!e!the basis for their later claim to the area. The ro/uois, of course, alrea!y claime! it by rightof con/uest. ar/uette an! Goliet reache! the ississippi in 16BC, an! a$alle claime!

ouisiana for %rance in 16"2. ore importantly, as fur began to reach the mar ets atontreal an! =uebec once again, the %rench became the me!iator in intertribal !isputes

the first step towar!s organi3e! +lgon/uin resistance to the ro/uois.

hile the %rench use! the peace to rebuil!, the 7ritish became increasingly concerne! with%rench military power an! e pansion. hen they began to increase their own militarystrength, the stage was set for the 100 year struggle between 7ritain an! %rance for controlof &orth +merica. %or the ro/uois, the e-ents of 1664 6B change! the manner in which the

eague functione!. 7y 16BB the ro/uois ha! signe! their first treaties as the F%i-e &ations,F an! members afterwar!s rarely negotiate! separate treaties or con!ucte! their
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own wars. ;elations with >uropean powers grew more comple , an! the eague foun! itnecessary to first resol-e its internal !ifferences in or!er to present a unite! front tooutsi!ers. The peace signe! with the %rench in 166B also ha! a!-antages for the ro/uois.They settle! in the ol! *uron homelan! of southern ntario uninhabite! since 16E0.

hile men ha! fought each other, the bea-er were at peace, an! the area ha! reco-ere! toonce again become a prime fur area.

t also free! the western ro/uois for a war with the one ro/uian spea ing neighbor whoha! remaine! in!epen!ent of the eague. The $us/uehannoc s long war against the

ohaw an! nei!a ha! barely en!e! in 16EE, when a new conflict began with the $eneca,'ayuga, an! non!aga. The western ro/uois foun! them ust as stubborn as ha! the

ohaw . utnumbere! three to one, the $us/uehannoc enliste! support from theirtributary +lgon/uin an! $iouan tribes ($hawnee, ?elaware, &antico e, 'onoy, $aponi, an!Tutelo), an! although they ha! lost the $we!es in 16EE, alliances with arylan! colonistsin 1661 an! 1666 pro-i!e! the necessary weapons. The ohaw ha! their own wars in thetribes in &ew >nglan! an! continue! to honor their peace with the $us/uehannoc . The

ohaw , howe-er, helpe! the ?utch !uring the >sopus ar an!, in crushing the unsee?elaware, !epri-e! the $us/uehannoc of one of their allies in 1664.

The $us/uehannoc concentrate! in a single impregnable fort for !efense, so the ro/uoiswent after their allies an! attac e! the ?elaware li-ing along the ?elaware ;i-er !uring the1660s. The $hawnee also came un!er attac an! were scattere!. The pursuit of these$us/uehannoc allies south into $outh 'arolina an! Tennessee soon ha! ro/uois war

parties fighting with 'hero ee an! 'atawba. n the en! the $us/uehannoc were ust toofew. The greatest blow, howe-er, was not military !efeat but epi!emic when smallpostruc their single, crow!e! -illage with !e-astating effect in 1661. hen the western

ro/uois were free to prosecute the war with their full strength in 166", the $us/uehannocha! only C00 warriors. $till, they continue! to fight for another se-en years, an! it was notuntil 16BE that the ro/uois were finally able to force their surren!er.

The first phase of the 7ea-er ars en!e! with the ro/uois con/uest of the $us/uehannoc .?uring the ne t ten years, the ro/uois finishe! off the last of their &antico e an! 'onoyallies an! incorporate! them into the 'o-enant 'hain. arylan! ma!e peace with the

eague in 16"2, but rai!s (which ha! begun in 16B1) against the $aponi an! Tutelo in@irginia an! the 'atawba in $outh 'arolina continue!. ro/uois power reache! its pea in16"0. 7y this time they ha! won a -ast empire, an! their warriors ha! fought battles ine-ery state east of the ississippi. They ne-er crosse! this ri-er, but the ro/uois alrea!y

new trails lea!ing to $outh ?a ota s 7lac *ills. +fter their war with the $us/uehannoc ,the ro/uois turne! their attention west again, but were unhappy with what they saw. ith

peace in the region after 166B, the %rench fur tra!e was going well, an! the +lgon/uin ha!,for the most part, stoppe! fighting each other.

t ha! not been a perfect peace the $eneca ha! attac e! ac inac in 16B1 an! the ?a otawere fighting the ibwe an! %o along the shores of $uperior, but it was a ma orimpro-ement o-er the chaos the %rench ha! !isco-ere! in 166E. n 16"0 ;obert a$alleha! opene! %ort 'rJ-ecoeur on the upper llinois ;i-er to tra!e with the tribes of the

llinois 'onfe!eration, an! thousan!s of +lgon/uin ha! gathere! in the -icinity. This many potential enemies bothere! the ro/uois, but of greater concern were llinois huntersmo-ing into hio, n!iana an! lower ichigan (claime! by the ro/uois) an! ta ing e-ery


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bea-er they coul!. $ince this inclu!e! the young bea-er, there was no bree!ing stoc toreplace the ones ille!. ro/uois protests resulte! the mur!er of a $eneca sachem by the

llinois at an ttawa -illage beginning the secon! phase of the 7ea-er ars in 16"0.

7ac in western &ew or , the $eneca forme! an enormous war party an! starte! west toteach the llinois a lesson they woul! ne-er forget. >nroute they a!!e! warriors from the

iami ( llinois enemies) an! set out for the llinois -illages near %ort 'rJ-ecoeur. arne!of their approach, the %rench e-acuate! their tra!ing post an! left for isconsin. ost ofthe llinois also mo-e! to safety west of the ississippi, but the Tamora, >spemin ia, an!

aroa chose to remain a fatal mista e. +fter the $eneca ha! finishe! their !ea!ly wor ,the %rench returne! to fin! the -alley littere! with bo!ies an! burne! -illages. Thousan!sof llinois ha! been massacre!. nly a few Tamora an! aroa sur-i-e!, an! the>spemin ia !isappeare! completely. The $eneca returne! in 16"1, but *enri Tonti built%ort $t. ouis on the upper llinois !uring 16"2, an! the new stronghol! brought the llinois

bac from west of the ississippi. eanwhile, the iami ha! allowe! $hawnee ( ro/uoisenemies) to settle in their mi!st. Threatene! by the ro/uois o-er this, they switche! si!esan! allowe! the %rench to arrange a peace with llinois allowing the iami to mo-e closerto the %rench fort.

7y 16"4 the nati-e population near %ort $t. ouis ha! grown to more than 20,000. Thero/uois returne! in force that year, but the +lgon/uin stoo! an! fought. The ro/uois siege

faile! to capture the fort, an! they were force! to retreat the turning point of the 7ea-erars. >late! by this -ictory, the %rench began to organi3e a formal alliance against thero/uois. The first offensi-e faile! so miserably, that Goseph a 7arre, the %rench go-ernor

of 'ana!a, panic e! an! signe! a treaty with the ro/uois ce!ing most of llinois. a 7arrewas replace! by Gac/ues ;ene ?enon-ille who renounce! the treaty, built new forts,strengthene! ol! ones, an! pro-i!e! guns to the Dreat a es +lgon/uin. The strengthene!alliance ( ibwe, ttawa, yan!ot, Aotawatomi, issisauga, %o , $au , iami,

innebago, enominee, 8ic apoo, llinois, an! ascouten) too the offensi-e in 16"B.%ollowing important alliance -ictories in massi-e battles fought between canoe fleets on

a e $t. 'lair an! >rie, the ro/uois were clearly on the !efensi-e by the 1690s an! falling bac across the Dreat a es towar!s &ew or . 7y 1696 the ro/uois ha! been force! toaban!on most of their southern ntario -illages to the issisauga ( ibwe) an!, e cept foreastern hio an! northern Aennsyl-ania, ha! retreate! to their homelan!.

The last part of the 7ea-er ars coinci!e! with 8ing illiam s ar (16"" 9B) between7ritain an! %rance. This meant warfare was not confine! ust to the Dreat a es, an! in16"B the %rench ha! struc the $eneca an! non!aga -illages in the ro/uois homelan!.

ore than 1,200 ro/uois warriors retaliate! in +ugust, 16"9 with a massi-e rai! againstachine ust outsi!e ontreal which ille! more than two hun!re! %rench settlers. The

following year the %rench an! an! their allies attac e! $chenecta!y. The ohaw attac e!the $o o i at $t. %rancois (the main %rench ally in the east) in 1690 an! 1692, but threeseparate campaigns launche! from =uebec by ouis %rontenac 169C 96 carrie! the war tothe ro/uois -illages. #n!er intense pressure from both the east an! west, smallpo bro eout among the ro/uois in 1690. The ro/uois ma!e o-ertures for a separate peace to the%rench in 1694, but these were ignore! because the offer !i! not inclu!e %rench allies.

The Treaty of ;yswic , which en!e! the war between 7ritain an! %rance in 169B, place!the eague un!er 7ritish protection (not something the ro/uois ha! re/ueste!). The %rench


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worrie! their continuing war with the ro/uois might bring another confrontation with the7ritish an! began to consi!er the ro/uois peace offers with greater interest. *owe-er, theirfirst attempts to urge a settlement on their allies create! suspicion that they woul! aban!ontheir allies an! ma e a separate peace. There was goo! reason for the +lgon/uin to feel thisway since the ro/uois ha! alrea!y attempte! to brea the alliance with offers of peace an!tra!e to the ttawa an! yan!ot. The main problem was the return of prisoners ta en an!

a!opte! by the ro/uois. $ensing the eague was about to collapse, the +lgon/uin wante!total -ictory, an! the fighting continue! until 1B01.

The peace signe! with the ro/uois that year inclu!e! both the %rench an! their allies. The%rench agree! to me!iate any !isputes which might arise between the eague an!+lgon/uin, while the ro/uois promise! to remain neutral in any future war between 7ritainan! %rance. That future war woul! start that -ery year =ueen +nne s ar (1B01 1C). ntheir hurry to insure ro/uois neutrality before the outbrea of hostilities, the %renchneglecte! to e tinguish ro/uois claims to the hio @alley in fa-or of their own, an! the7ritish woul! soon claim this area since the ro/uois were suppose!ly un!er their

protection. %or the most part, the ro/uois ha! been a 7ritish ally !uring the 8ing illiam sar, but only to the e tent they were engage! in a separate war with the %rench. %ighting

!uring the =ueen +nne s ar was mostly in &ew >nglan! an! 'ana!ian aritimes, an!eeping its wor!, the eague remaine! neutral an! waite! to see who won.

&ot e-erything was peaceful, howe-er. The powerful issisauga e pan!e! south along theshores of a e *uron into southern ntario an! sei3e! territory from the ro/uois.'oncerne! with other matters, the %rench ignore! the eague s protests about this, an! by1B1C the ro/uois were consi!ering an in-asion of 'ana!a. %ortunately, the =ueen +nne s

ar en!e! with the Treaty of #trecht that year, an! the %rench finally got aroun! tome!iating a settlement. This !ispute, howe-er, was one of the least of their problems.%rance ha! emerge! from the 8ing illiam s ar as the winner in &orth +merica. t then

procee!e! to !iscar! the fruits of its -ictory. + glut of bea-er fur in >urope ha! cause! a!rastic !rop in price, an! the %rench monarchy su!!enly Fgot religion.F %or years, theGesuits ha! been protesting the !estruction which the fur tra!e was causing among &ati-e+mericas, but no one listene! until a !rop in price ma!e fur unprofitable.

+ royal proclamation was issue! curtailing fur tra!e in the western Dreat a es. ;eali3ingthe !isaster this was for the +lgon/uin alliance, %rontenac, the go-ernor of 'ana!a, !elaye!implementation to such e tent he was remo-e!. *is successor obe!iently close! forts an!tra!ing posts, an! the %rench surren!ere! their main source of power an! influence tra!egoo!s an! presents. Their har! won alliance in the Dreat a es /uic ly began to unra-el.The ro/uois may ha-e been !own in 1B01, but certainly not out, an! they imme!iatelysense! the %rench !ilemma. $till controlling access to 7ritish an! ?utch tra!ers at +lbany,they procee!e!, after military force ha! faile! them, to attac the %rench with tra!e. >-en

before the peace was signe! in 1B01, the ro/uois ha! use! tra!e with the 7ritish as aweapon to brea the unity of the alliance. hen the %rench finally put the proclamationinto effect, ro/uois tra!ers went to wor .

The %rench respon!e! in 1B01 to this challenge from the FneutralF ro/uois with a new postat ?etroit, %ort Aontchartrain. Gust about e-ery tribe in the %rench alliance imme!iatelymo-e! nearby, an! the resulting frictions place! further strains on the alliance. The %renchlost control, an! the tense situation e plo!e! in 1B12 when the %o attac e! %ort


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8anesata e. 7y 1B20 the a e of the Two ountains mission was built for the ro/uois ofthe ountain who woul! become the mo!ern ohaw community of a. 'aughnawagawas mo-e! slightly in 1B16 to its present location after soil at the ol! site becamee hauste!. ther sites were a!!e! as the number of pro %rench ro/uois along the $t.

awrence continue! to grow: $ault ;ecollet in 1B21< swegatchie an! the a Aresentationmission ( g!ensburg, &ew or ) in 1B4" for the non!aga, nei!a, an! 'ayuga< an! $t.

;egis in 1BE6 to relie-e o-ercrow!e! con!itions among the ohaw at 'aughnawaga.7esi!es the !efection of most of the 'hristian ro/uois to the %rench along the $t.

awrence, the eague was further wea ene! when another portion of its population beganmo-ing to the hio @alley. The massi-e a!options of the 16E0s ha! actually ma!e theoriginal ro/uois a minority within the eague, but they ha! retaine! political power sincerepresentati-es to the eague s council were chosen from certain FroyalF families, all ofwhich were part of the original ro/uois. %or the most part, this e clu!e! a!optees from

positions of authority, an! this secon! class status cause! !issatisfaction. ;ather thanoutright re-olt, many chose to separate themsel-es from the eague. Droups of ro/uoishunters, mainly $eneca an! 'ayuga, but to a large !egree !escen!ents of a!opte! *uron$us/uehannoc , &eutrals, an! >rie, began to mo-e to hio an! western Aennsyl-ania!uring the 1B20s an! establish permanent -illages outsi!e the ro/uois homelan!. 7y the1BC0s their numbers ha! become significant, an! the 7ritish tra!ers ha! starte! callingthem by a corrupte! form of their ?elaware name ingo.

The ro/uois eague ma!e little ob ection to the ingo migration so long as they continue!to ac nowle!ge its authority. +ctually, it was to the eague s a!-antage to ha-e tribesmenli-ing there to eep the %rench an! their +lgon/uin allies from claiming the hio 'ountry.The ro/uois !i! not ob ect when part of the yan!ot left ?etroit an! settle! along the$an!us y ;i-er in northwest hio. nstea!, the ro/uois saw an opportunity to lure animportant member of the Dreat a es alliance from the %rench an! into the 'o-enant'hain. ithin a few years, yan!ot ambassa!ors routinely spo e in the eague s councils(a ma or change from the !ays of the FDreat AursuitF) an! were consi!ere! by other tribesin the area as the !e facto ro/uois -iceroy of hio. 7y 1B40 there were almost a thousan!

ingo li-ing in western Aennsyl-ania an! eastern hio. +lthough consi!ere! part of thero/uois, they ha! begun to thin an! act li e a separate tribe.

%rom its pea of 2E,000 in 1660, ro/uois population ha! gone into a stea!y !ecline fromwar an! epi!emic to about 14,000 by 1B40. The 1,E00 Tuscarora a!!e! in 1B22 !i! notcompensate for the !efection of 1,000 ingo to hio an! 2,000 'aughnawaga to 'ana!a.7oth the 7ritish an! %rench were aware of this !ecline, but on paper the ro/uois were stillformi!able because of the 'o-enant 'hain. +s mentione!, the eague often abuse! itsresponsibility to represent member tribes, an! there ne-er was a clearer e ample than itssupport of the 7ritish in the infamous al ing Aurchase in 1BCB. Aennsyl-aniaF!isco-ere!F an ol! treaty suppose!ly signe! by the ?elaware which ga-e it the right toclaim a large part of the remaining ?elaware homelan!. Through frau! an! tric ery, thecolonists enlarge! the claim to inclu!e almost all of the lan! the ?elaware ha! left. +smembers of the 'o-enant 'hain, the ?elaware turne! to the eague for help.

hat they got instea! was intimi!ation an! insult. %urious the ?elaware ha! !are! to selllan! without their permission, the ro/uois too the bribes offere! by Aennsyl-ania an!supporte! the 7ritish. The ?elaware continue! to protest, but at a 1B42 meeting with the


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Aennsyl-ania go-ernor, the ro/uois representati-e 'anasatego silence! the ?elawaresachem &utimus as he rose to complain about the al ing Aurchase, calle! the ?elawarewomen, an! or!ere! him to lea-e. This left the ?elaware an! some $hawnee lan!less. The

ro/uois or!ere! them to the upper $us/uehanna in north central Aennsyl-ania where theeague was running its own F n!ian reser-ationF for 'o-enant 'hain tribes !isplace! by

7ritish settlement. The ro/uois were generous to pro-i!e lan! for these tribes but self

ser-ing to the e tent it ga-e them a!!itional warriors in case of war with the %rench. n anycase, the $us/uehanna was crow!e! an! !ea!ly from malaria which ha! been intro!uce! tothe area after 1B00.

The $hawnee hunting parties were the first to lea-e for western Aennsyl-ania an! hio.hen the ingo li-ing there ma!e no ob ection an! e-en share! their -illages, the

$hawnee became permanent resi!ents an! in-ite! the ?elaware to oin them. 7etween 1B42an! 1B49, many ?elaware left the $us/uehanna an! mo-e! west to form mi e! -illageswith the $hawnee an! ingo. nce again, the eague !i! not oppose this migration

because the presence of 'o-enant 'hain tribes in western Aennsyl-ania only strengthene!their claim -ersus the %rench an! their allies. The yan!ot soon e ten!e! an in-itation forthe $hawnee an! ?elaware to settle in hio, an! the ingo, as part of the ro/uois, werealrea!y li-ing there. The Frepublics,F or mi e! ingo ?elaware $hawnee ( hio tribes)-illages which forme!, were outsi!e the %rench alliance, but what the ro/uois an! 7ritish!i! not reali3e at first was that they were also outsi!e their own control. 7y 1BE0 theFrepublicsF ha! a population of 10,000 with 2,000 warriors an! ha! become a power to berec one! with.

Tra!e competition in hio ha! been buil!ing with the 7ritish gaining on the %rench by-irtue of superior goo!s an! lower prices. Three powers claime! the area: the ro/uois byright of con/uest !uring the 16E0s an! 60s< the %rench by right of !isco-ery in the 16B0s!war! 7ra!!oc . The policy of the

ingo, $hawnee, an! ?elaware in hio was one of belligerent neutrality towar!s bothsi!es. +s 7ra!!oc s 2,200 man army began its march towar!s %ort ?u/uesne, the %renchwere force! to bring in 600 nati-e allies from 'ana!a an! the Dreat a es. This, howe-er,

pro-e! more than a!e/uate. 7ra!!oc !is!aine! using sa-ages as scouts, an! in Guly ustsouth of %ort ?u/uesne (present !ay Aittsburgh), he blun!ere! into an ambush in whichalmost half his comman! was ille!, inclu!ing himself.

&ews of the !efeat was met with stunne! !isbelief in the 7ritish colonies followe! byanger. The $hawnee an! ?elaware pic e! an incre!ibly ba! time to sen! a !elegation toAhila!elphia to protest the ro/uois sale of hio. Aennsyl-ania sei3e! an! hange! them, an!the $hawnee an! ?elaware retaliate! with rai!s on frontier settlements in Aennsyl-ania,

arylan!, an! @irginia. The ?elaware still un!er ro/uois control on the upper$us/uehanna !i! not participate at first but, by ?ecember, 1BEE ha! oine! the war in!efiance of the ro/uois council. The $us/uehanna ?elaware ma!e peace in +ugust, 1BE6,

but the ?elaware, $hawnee an! unsee continue! fighting an! by the en! of the year morethan 2,E00 colonists ha! been ille!. +nother peace conference was hel! with the eastern?elaware at >aston, Aennsyl-ania in ctober, 1BE". The Treaty of >aston pai! for?elaware lan!s ta en by &ew Gersey, an! Aennsyl-ania unilaterally renounce! all claim tolan! west of the +ppalachians that ha! been ce!e! by the ro/uois at the +lbany in 1BE4.The news soon reache! hio, an! when Deneral Gohn %orbes capture! %ort ?u/uesne in

&o-ember, the ?elaware an! $hawnee offere! no resistance.

n the hysteria following 7ra!!oc s !efeat in 1BEE, a $eneca war party enroute to attac'atawba in the 'arolina ha! been treacherously ille! by @irginia militia. 'ouple! withanger o-er the frau!ulent lan! cessions e acte! at the +lbany, many of the $eneca, 'ayuga,an! non!aga oine! the %rench, an! for the first time in almost two centuries, ro/uoisfoun! themsel-es on opposite si!es of a war. nly the ohaw of *en!ric ($oiengarahta)an! the nei!a staye! loyal to the 7ritish. This was mainly !ue to illiam Gohnson, an

rishman who ha! immigrate! to &ew or in 1BC4 an! establishe! himself as a planteran! fur tra!er in the ohaw @alley. +fter ta ing a ohaw wife ( olly 7rant), Gohnson

became nown to the ro/uois for honesty. *e not only learne! their language but mastere!


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the ritual courtesies of their councils. The ohaw calle! him araghiyaghey, meaningF7ig 7usiness.F

The ohaw were no less angry by the !run en cession of the yoming @alley than otherro/uois, but because they truste! Gohnson, they answere! his call in 1BEE to help &ewor an! &ew >nglan! militia ta e the %rench fort at 'rown Aoint on a e 'hamplain.

ea!ing 200 of his ohaw warriors, *en!ric was ille! in this battle. The 'aughnawagawere also there with the %rench, but when they saw ohaw fighting for the >nglish, theysu!!enly retire! an! sat out the fight. ?espite the loss of their sachem, the ohaw !i!li ewise lea-ing the %rench an! 7ritish to fight each other. There was be no -iolation of theDreat aw of Aeace that !ay. The ohaw also accompanie! Gohnson in the capture of %ort

&iagara in Guly, 1BE9. =uebec fell that $eptember, an! ontreal surren!ere! the followingyear. +fter these 7ritish -ictories, the war in &orth +merican was o-er.

7ritish sol!iers occupie! the remaining %rench forts in the hio @alley an! Dreat a es, but rather than lea-e after !efeating the %rench, they staye! as an occupying army. %ort?u/uesne was rebuilt as %ort Aitt an! garrisone! with 200 men. illiam Gohnson was

appointe! the 7ritish n!ian agent in the north an! wante! to continue the %rench system of!ealing with &ati-e +mericans through tra!e an! annual presents. #nfortunately, the7ritish comman!er in &orth +merica, or! Geffrey +mherst, !espise! n!ians frien! orfoe. gnoring Gohnson, +mherst en!e! annual gifts to treaty chiefs in 1B60, increase! priceson tra!e goo!s, an! restricte! the supply especially firearms, pow!er an! rum. 7y 1B61the $eneca were passing a war belt calling for an uprising against the 7ritish, but only the?elaware an! $hawnee respon!e!. Gohnson !isco-ere! the plot from the yan!ot !uring ameeting at ?etroit with tribes of the ol! %rench alliance. ther belts were circulate! by'aughnawaga an! llinois, but it too the religious mo-ement of &eolin, the ?elawareArophet, to pro-i!e the unity for a general re-olt.

&eolin taught re ection of the white man s tra!e goo!s (especially whis ey) an! a return totra!itional nati-e ways. Aontiac, chief of one the most important tribes of the ol! %renchalliance, the ttawa at ?etroit, sei3e! on this an! began to secretly organi3e an uprising.

hen it hit in 1B6C, the Aontiac ;ebellion caught the 7ritish entirely by surprise, an! si ofnine forts west of the +ppalachians were capture! !uring ay. *owe-er, the failure to ta ethe other three ultimately cause! the re-olt to fail. The ro/uois were still healing theirrecent !i-isions an! trie! to remain neutral, but the $eneca oine! the uprising an! besiege!%ort &iagara. + 7ritish column trying to reach the fort was ambushe! followe! by amassacre of prisoners an! woun!e!, but &iagara hel!. The ingo an! yan!ot capture!%ort @enango in northwest Aennsyl-ania, but the siege of %ort Aitt by ?elaware, $hawnee,an! ingo !ragge! on, an! the 7ritish !efen!e! it by intro!ucing a smallpo epi!emicwith gifts of infecte! blan ets an! han! erchiefs to their besiegers.

hile continuing the siege, the ?elaware, $hawnee, an! ingo also attac e! theAennsyl-ania frontier illing 600 colonists. Aontiac ha! reser-e! for himself theresponsibility of ta ing %ort ?etroit but faile! to achie-e surprise when an informer warne!the garrison. +s the forts continue! to hol! an! the 7ritish reco-ere! from their initialsurprise, the rebellion began to unra-el. +fter a three !ay battle at 7ushy ;un, 'olonel*enry 7ou/uet bro e the siege of %ort Aitt. +llies began to !esert, an! Aontiac was force!to en! his siege of ?etroit an! retreat west to n!iana where he still ha! a consi!erablefollowing among the 8ic apoo an! llinois. hile reorgani3ing, he as e! the %rench at %ort


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!e 'hartes on the ississippi for help, but the comman!ant refuse! an! urge! him to stop.n &o-ember +mherst was replace! by Thomas Dage who listene! to illiam Gohnson.

Dage restore! tra!e goo!s to pre-ious le-els an! lowere! prices.

7a!ly sha en, the 7ritish issue! the Aroclamation of 1B6C halting all new settlement westof the +ppalachian ountains. The $eneca en!e! their siege of %ort &iagara an! were

force! to sign a humiliating surren!er. Aontiac signe! a peace in 1B6E but was !isgrace! asa result. *e ne-er returne! to ?etroit an! mo-e! to northern llinois in 1B66. Three yearslater he was mur!ere! by a Aeoria ( llinois) !uring a -isit to 'aho ia. illiam Gohnsonemerge! from the Aontiac #prising in control of 7ritish n!ian policy in &orth +merica.*is influenc

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