Summary: Colonies Empire And Revolution

HIST2020: Colonies, Empire and Revolution: Shaun Gill: 2017727
British North America 1500 – 1800

Research Essay

‘What were the major experiences of Native Americans in the British American colonies (Focus on a specific tribe or band) in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries”

The Iroquois Tribe or The League of Five Iroquois Nations occupied the area of Ontario and up state New York for over 4,000 years. Up until the 1500’s the Iroquois were constantly engaged in small civil matters between tribes, fighting for land and dominance of power. This changed once the oral Iroquois Confederation was formed, merging the prominent tribes of Mohawk, Oneida, Onondaga, Cayuga, and Seneca into one tribe known as the Five Iroquois Nation. The

Because of this the Nation was split into two distinct groupings, each maintaining their own interest and land area. The Seneca, Cayuga, and Onondaga merged as the western branch of Iroquois, while the Mohawk and Oneida integrated as the east. Although the tribe was divided in a geographical sense their intricate political purpose and unison made them a strong and dominant force. This led to various wars within neighboring tribes over trading routes and land ownership such as the conflict of the Algonquin tribe and a subsequent fight with the Mahican people. During this time the French had established their colony of Quebec and moved west to Montreal in 1609, this prompted their first “dealings” with the Iroquois tribe. The French wished to trade fur with the Native Americans but their trading associates were in battle with the Mohawks of the Iroquois, this resulted in the French intervening and assisting the Native Americans in their dispute. In 1610 wielding the support of the French, a Huron, Montagnais, and Algonkin war party defeated the Mohawks, pushing them out of St. Lawrence, resulting in the Montagnais and Algonkin tribes obtaining the fur trade in the

The Iroquois held a deep dislike toward the French and this consequently prevented the French from using certain Routes. The Iroquois hindrance on the French was manageable, but the tribe itself found issues in obtaining weapons such as guns and melee items due to their enemies hold over the fur trading posts. This changed in 1610 when the Dutch arrived in New York’s Hudson Valley. The Iroquois used the Dutch as a means to obtain tradable goods needed in battle, leading to a war between the Mohawk and the Susquehannock tribe in 1615. The Dutch suspected that the French were associated with the Susquenhannock and went to war aligning with the Mohawks. This alliance also ended in conflict resulting in 1613 truce between the Dutch and the Mohawk. The Dutch’s enforcement of the fur trade created a higher need for tradable goods resulting in many conflicts amongst the Iroquois - Mohawk and their enemy tribes due to economic competition. In 1624 between the midst of various tribal wars the Dutch built a post at Fort Orange in the attempt to mend ties with the Mohawks. During this time the Dutch also attempted to steal some French business by using Mahican merchants to open trade into other neighboring villages. The Mohawk did not like the idea of trading with their enemies so they broke their tie to the Dutch, leading to 4-year war between the Iroquois and Mahican. In