How The Iroquois Banded Together To Resist The French Empire | Nations At War | Timeline

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of violence to emerge transformed along the south shores of lake ontario we're just such a people the people of the longhouse known to their enemies and allies alike as the iroquois this is a confederacy of five nations largely spread out between the mohawk river in the east and niagara in the west the iroquois worked the land growing staple crops known as the three sisters squash corn and beans their harvests fed large communities of long houses where the female clan leaders elected male chiefs these villages were protected by high walls and some of the fiercest warriors in eastern north america necessary measures to defend against their own kind though connected by culture faith and heritage the iroquois were split into five nations seneca cayuga onondaga oneida and mohawk locked in a cycle of violence stretching back generations each new outrage inspired fresh hatred peace was impossible so when a prophet named daganawida emerged preaching a message of peace many rallied to his call most notably hayawatha an onondaga who lost his entire family in the fighting with this powerful orator by his side daganawida brought the five nations together by the 1500s the five nations united under the great law of peace the first formal constitution in the americas though the nations remained independent justice war and disputes between them were governed by the peacemaker's law they were a burgeoning military power able to muster warriors in their thousands but unity didn't mean peace though no longer at each other's throats the five nations still had enemies to the east the algonquins the mohicans and the wabanaki confederacy competed for hunting grounds and territory [Music] while the erie guenro and chonanten threatened their western flank to the north lay the homeland of their greatest rival the wendack like the iroquois were a confederacy of farmers so the wendat also known as the huron are an iroquois speaking group so we say the iroquois but what we're talking about is a large language group of many different nations the wind that happened to be one of them raining revenge and mourning wars became a way of life in iroquois society the loss of even a single individual from a community was felt very keenly and one of the culturally sanctioned ways of responding to death was to seek a replacement and another human being who would fulfill that person's role in society not just their passion that person's capacity for physical labor but also the spiritual resources that that individual had and that the community had lost as a result of death for all those lost in fighting the iroquois would adopt captives after a ritual severing of ties with their old lives to take the place of their dead this practice allowed the iroquois to not only maintain their fighting strength but to expand it with every victory by 1609 the rivalry between the five nations and their neighbors became even more intense the algonquians and wendat had made powerful new friends an alliance which opened one of the bloodiest chapters in north american history the iroquois wars had begun summer 1609 near ticonderog new york an iroquois war party readies for battle [Music] opposing them are an unlikely alliance wendat algonquin and three strangers from another world samuel de champlain and two french soldiers have joined the wendy to cement a fledgling alliance in europe a fashion trend for beaver hats had swept high society furs were a luxury item in europe you had middle class and upper class families who were spending a lot of money on furs with pelts worth a fortune the vast number of animals in north america offered huge profits we're talking about security in the region if champlain can establish a military alliance with the groups he can guarantee the survival of his own group in the region in 1608 he founded quebec to serve as the headquarters for this enormous venture the first nations had already become involved and enmeshed in trading relationships with the french and the economic viability of any french settlement colony was going to depend upon those partnerships in an effort to secure their position the french allied with their wendat inu and algonquin neighbors as furs become so valuable economically various first nation groups jealously guard their position as the middlemen what they're going to do is say don't you worry we'll get the furs we'll let you know the price when we meet you simply put the first nations were very very savvy traders they understood exactly what they wanted to go after they understood exactly what they could get for the price of their furs and they were willing to play off all the different trading groups in order to ascertain what they wanted these nations shared a mutual enemy in the iroquois confederacy armed with the arc boosts a powerful match lock firearm the french offered a unique military advantage in the wars against them so when an animal or a person is shot by an arrow it's not instant death the musket ball is quite brutal and basically encourages a large wound for the french proving their worth to the first nations would mean the difference between success and failure the wars between the french and the iroquois frankly began the minute champlain fired his archivists at the europe european 1609 expedition it certainly sets the tone for the franco iroquois rivalry which basically lasts for almost 100 years in the region and this is in champlain's own accounts is that his one shot as he records it killed two people [Music] marching into mohawk territory they attacked and burned a fortified town near sorel tracy quebec killing men women and children in the chaos in wars against their aboriginal enemies the iroquois warriors traditional weapons have been highly effective the bow was a highly accurate weapon perfect for ambush warfare while in close combat iroquois warriors wielded weapons like the ball-headed club it could deal a sickening impact trauma or dethrone with lethal force over short distances but their weaponry represented an era of warfare the french had left behind within 30 years of the french arrival the flint lock replaced the match lock lighter and easier to reload and rugged it was far better suited for woodland warfare it's also fairly simple and easily loaded easily handled by the average soldier without a lot of technology the iroquois now faced a dire threat to not only their land but their share of the booming fur trade as the french and their allies actively suppress their involvement they actually what's interesting is europe actually approached the french and they say listen we we want to be the middlemen you know make us your main guys but the french have a very strong relationship with the wendat luckily for the iroquois by 1614 there were other europeans in north america the netherlands were a protestant republic eager to create their own fur trade they had built the trading outpost fort nassau in 1614 followed by fort orange 10 years later on the same spot situated along the mohawk river they were the iroquois best chance to level the odds they wanted furs just like every other european power did the iroquois were the closest group the middlemen that were getting in the furs and if they could give the iroquois weapons the iroquois could expand their control over territory because the dutch had a preferential trading relationship with the iroquois what was good for the iroquois was good for the dutch in 1624 the mohawks would turn these new weapons against their nearest rival for the dutch trade launching a war against the mohicans who controlled the land around fort orange within four years they were victorious driving the mohicans out now the iroquois would decide who traded with the dutch but heavy reliance on the fur trade had led to overhunting beaver stocks in iroquois territory began to decline sharply to save their new economy the five nations needed fresh hunting grounds this meant expansion and war with no immunity to common european illnesses like measles and smallpox disease cut a swath through the iroquois population this disaster left the iroquois fighting strength diminished and whole communities reeling from their losses the french alliances with the wendat had allowed them to dominate the fur trade but the presence of catholic missionaries among their communities made them hot zones of disease disease fundamentally shifted the power balance in first nation societies nations that in certain regions were once the most powerful thus become the weakest this opens the door for other groups to enter to fight to take over to expand their territorial control the priests had also prevented the sale of any guns to those who hadn't converted the iroquois partners had no such qualms by the 1630s the five nations had amassed a large arsenal one which they would soon turn against their neighbors starting with the windrow in 1638 the iroquois smashed their resistance and took their territory the destruction of the wenro marked the beginning of a campaign of widespread violence these raids were aimed at the vital economic relationship between the french and their allies villages were attacked to acquire furs and captives trade convoys moving along river networks were also attacked by iroquois warriors this loot could be traded to the dutch to keep their warriors well stalked and armed despite the rising tide of violence the french refused to commit to open war against the iroquois with less than a hundred troops to defend their small string of settlements the french were forced to be cautious the better option was to negotiate a peaceful arrangement in 1641 the governor of new france and an armed escort traveled by canoe to parlay with the iroquois near tual riviera the meeting was a disaster from start to finish to intimidate the french the iroquois greeted them on the shore waving algonquin scouts and firing warning shots of the approaching canoes the french would depart the conference in a cloud of gunfire turning their muskets and swivel guns onto gathered warriors any hopes of peace were gone the french had made the iroquois into a bitter enemy now they would pay for their arrogance with blood it's 1646 and new france is under siege for the french leaving the safety of their settlements meant risking ambush and death from iroquois warriors the year before they had tried to broker a piece it failed when french traders refused the iroquois the following summer meanwhile the five nations continued to fight their other enemies the wendat had formed an alliance with the susquehanna attempting to counterbalance the five nations power it didn't work although they had numerical superiority the iroquois had fire power the wendat then used diplomacy to splinter the confederacy attempting to negotiate a separate peace with each nation the messengers were caught the attempted treachery only served to bind the five nations tighter together by 1649 the wendat would face their reckoning over a thousand gun-toting seneca and mohawk warriors headed for the heart of wendad territory this was no raid but an invasion the iroquois warriors destroyed villages and french missions those wendat who weren't killed or captured scattered fleeing for the protection of quebec's guns in one fell swoop the five nations destroyed their ancient rival the same year the iroquois crushed the platoon and absorbed their people the next to fall were the chennai once one of the largest nations in the great lakes they had been diminished by smallpox now vulnerable they were smashed by the confederacy by 1651. their culture disappeared as survivors were assimilated two years after their victory a fresh war broke out between the iroquois and the eerie nation facing stiff resistance the iroquois brokered a temporary peace with the french allowing them to focus their strength on crushing the erie the strategy worked with their might refocused against the erie the five nations broke their enemy by 1657 which meant the war on france could continue despite numerous peace treaties and ceasefires the mohawk's hatred of the french had compelled them to continue raiding as had their fury at jesuit attempts to convert mohawks to catholicism and resettle them on french territory peace couldn't last in may 1660 open war between the iroquois and french resumed the war began with a bitter iroquois victory at the battle of long seoul over five days 60 french and wendat militia defended the ramshackle fort against 700 iroquois warriors using mantlets for cover from gunfire the iroquois reached the walls and hacked a breach into it once inside they wiped out the garrison in revenge for their heavy losses the same month iroquois raiders attacked quebec as part of their growing campaign to encircle and strangle the remaining french settlements with the survival of their colony in jeopardy the french government took decisive action you see for much of the 17th century the iroquois were winning all the way up until the 1660s the 1670s at certain times it looked as if new france was going to fall in 1664 hundred soldiers of the carignon saliere regiment arrived in new france disciplined and well-trained they gave the french defenders the manpower it needed to confront the five nations head on in 1666 the regiment moved against mohawk territory the iroquois wisely avoided a decisive battle so the french burned every village they could find a year later the iroquois and the french signed a treaty ending the violence just like every other ceasefire before it the peace did not hold violence between the french and the iroquois would drag on until 1698. many treaties were made and broken with betrayals and outrages committed by both sides the iroquois victories against their first nations enemies continued the susquehanna who had fought alongside the now shattered wendat were defeated by 1677. after almost a century of bloodshed both sides had emerged transformed before the iroquois confederacy had been surrounded by enemies by 1700 they were a military powerhouse some historians even spoke as of an iroquois empire in this period but now the french have invested blood and treasure to defend their colonies a new colonial army was created to guard it the french administration of louis xiv started to direct resources to defending the colony they started to take it a lot more seriously in the latter half of the 17th century the dutch who the five nations had relied on to arm their soldiers were no longer a force on the continent in their place came an empire which ruled the waves and shared their hatred for the french together great britain and the iroquois confederacy forged an alliance which would conquer north america [Music] 1749 the dawn land is burning as great britain tightens their grip on north america an ancient nation fights for their homeland in the woods of nova scotia the mikmaq would make their stand a 75-year resistance to humble an empire conquer surrender victory defeat these deadly battles shaped continents these are nations at war [Music] human history is a story dominated by one recurring theme civilizations of enormous ambition and power seek to expand their reach far beyond their own land using economic or military might crush anyone who stands in their way but for every legend of an all-conquering empire there is one for those who fought against it in 1676 just such an armed resistance began it would last for 75 years and decide the fate of three peoples the battlefield a small corner of what the first nations called the dawn land with fertile soil lush forests and seas teeming with fish this land was a prize home of the mcmack nation their forerunners had reached this land thousands of years before since that time they'd lived as seasonal nomads moving from place to place to harvest fresh resources wintering in family hunting camps then traveling to the coast in the summer where they lived in villages under an elected leader so when in 1605 a mcma band led by a chief called member two gathered on the fundy shore for the summer fishing season it was business as usual it wasn't long before they met strange new neighbors called port royal by its french builders the tiny fort was the first european community in canada had the mcmac opposed their presence with force the frenchman's lives would have been hard and short but membertou described as an impressive warrior even in his old age chose an open hand this peaceful contact began a loyal friendship between the french and the mikmak which would endure all the horrors to come [Music] from this meager beginning european farms and towns spread creating what the french called acadia this close contact led to intermarriage and widespread mikmak conversion to catholicism they were closer than allies they were family a kinship which would be tested in battle as france's rivals followed in their wake first came scotland in 1629 the earl of sterling took acadia in the name of king charles the first the scottish colony survived for only three years before france took it back but its name stuck nova scotia in 1676 the first seabourn raiders from new england came sharing a monarch but not a government with the scots these english colonists hungered to win the north for further expansion they struck at unsuspecting mcmac coastal villages in one raid they killed or captured 80 people the danger posed by the new englanders convinced the mikmaq to formally join the wabanaki confederacy an alliance of related algonquin speaking nations who dominated eastern north america so the first nations groups in that region formed this alliance known as the wabanaki alliance and allied themselves with the acadians and the french in the region and prepared to defend against british expansion into the maritimes in 1688 a war between france and britain in europe spilled over into north america first nations and colonists allied to both sides used the conflict to fight for their own ends when the war ended in 1696 with the treaty of risewood the french and first nations remained in firm control of their territories while the colonists of new england and new york had suffered heavy casualties the mcmack wouldn't have time to savor their victory in 1702 their enemies returned to avenge past failures a war over the vacant spanish throne gave ann stewart queen of both england and scotland pretext to conquer nova scotia with a population over 200 000 and american colonies mobilized for war one of their key objectives was the capture of port royal in 1707 300 french and mcmahon beat back an attempt by 1 000 militia from massachusetts to take it their victory was in vain three years later british militia and royal marines took port royal raising the flag of the newly created great britain over the burning heart of acadia by 1713 the treaty of utrecht brought the war to an end the french ceded sovereignty of mainland nova scotia to great britain the acadians had been abandoned by their king the mikmak were betrayed by their allies leaving the mcmac only two options surrender or fight it's 1722 in nova scotia british dreams of a new colony are under assault they had beaten the french and forced the acadians to recognize their authority but the mikmaq whose warriors and families had died at the hands of new england militias had no desire to surrender [Music] when britain remade port royal into their new capital annapolis royal the mikmaq and their wabanaki allies besieged it in 1718 the british planted an outpost near present-day shelburne the mcmack burned it to the ground two years later 100 micmac warriors launched a raid on kanso caught up in the fighting were the acadians though technically british subjects they had no reason to love their anglophone protestant overlords many took up hatchet and musket joining the mcmack in their struggle they were a ragtag gorilla resistance to an empire which claimed territory on multiple continents with the mightiest navy of the age the mcmac faced a long hard fight but there was still hope britain was never a land power so the amount of professional soldiers it could commit to any fight was limited to defend annapolis royal the british had been forced to scrape together an infantry regiment from scattered units in the region facing them were mcmack warriors hardened by experience and highly motivated to survive close ties with the acadians had given the mikmaq access to a steady source of guns and steel weaponry the hatchet or tomahawk was a simple but versatile weapon able to hack or be thrown so ubiquitous it became a symbol of war itself perhaps the greatest advantage the mikmak had was their homeland itself nature sustained their society the forest and the sea could keep their people alive indefinitely or cloak them from british attack it robbed their enemy of key tactical advantages and turned their strengths into weaknesses what we see is two very contrasting forms of warfare on one hand we have the europeans who would line up in a nice neat line it would fire in an orderly fashion and would expect their enemy to be the same of course their enemy in north america especially when they were fighting first nations did not do the same they found that silly why not fire from behind a tree or a rock why not take cover why would you face your enemy in an open field when you could shoot at him from the bush in the forest the europeans define this type of warfare as indian warfare the mikmaq could never hope to defeat the british empire but they could outlast them it would be a war of terror and attrition those americans and britons foolish enough to settle in mcmack lands would live in constant fear of raids any redcoat or militia brave enough to step foot in the forest better keep their eyes open in 1722 this mcmac resistance became part of yet another imperial war british american influence and settlement was creeping into abunaki territory near the kennebec river provoked by a rabble-rousing priest named sebastian rail rail influenced a growing faction among the wabanaki confederacy to push massachusetts governor samuel chute for recognition of their sovereignty responded by dispatching militia to seize rail at norridgewock they failed and shoot's actions drugged new england into a spontaneous war london and their fellow colonies had no interest in supporting by 1727 this avoidable war was over for their part in the fighting the mikmaq had won an important victory formal recognition from their enemies of their claim to the land but this olive branch was a false one the british had grand ambitions in north america and nova scotia was too rich a prize to pass up war was coming a tide of violence which threatened to destroy the mcmac nation [Music] june 1749 a small fleet of british ships sail for the coast of nova scotia on board are 2500 soldiers and settlers commanded by edward cornwallis the veteran english officer had been given a mission vital to the crown's interests to establish a new fortified town which could counter the power of the french fortress at lewisburg cornwallis had chosen the site well from the top of an easily fortified hill his fort could control the narrow entrance to a deep ice free harbor the british called their new citadel halifax this base would be the keystone of a full-scale british pacification of nova scotia halifax was created in 1749 and the fallout was war halifax's construction was a flagrant violation of a treaty they'd signed with the mikmaq over 20 years before a feeling they made clear in a letter addressed to cornwallis this land of which you want to make yourself the absolute master this land belongs to me i have come from it as certainly as the grass this letter would become a declaration of war mcmack warriors descended on the british in a campaign of bloody raiding caught up in this fresh fighting many acadians began to flee nova scotia in droves others took up the cause of the mikmaq and joined the fighting rather than beat the british in open battle they would wear them down until their enemy was willing to negotiate it had proven successful in the past but this time however the british commanders were better prepared for such a brutal conflict four years previous cornwallis had helped defeat jacobite rebels in scotland in the wake of the british victory at culladen cornwallis troops had used terror to keep the highlanders in line cornwallis adopted a similar approach in nova scotia if the mikmaq would not accept british rule they would be brutalized into submission what made edward cornwallis so controversial was that he didn't really seek any sort of negotiated settlement with the wabanaki or the acadians in the region he very much arrived with the intention to build halifax and then expand british influence in nova scotia at cornwallis disposal was a fighting force perfectly designed to carry out his bloody campaign called rangers they were units of light infantry raised largely from allied first nations and new englanders with experience in frontier warfare they targeted mikmak civilians and destroyed acadian farm stands further motivated by cornwallis promise of money for every aboriginal scalp it was a war of extermination the resistance soon suffered another setback early in december 1749 300 mcmac and malasite warriors attempted to dislodge the british from their fort at grand pray relying on siege tactics the warriors surrendered their vital advantage of mobility and surprise while at the same time their lack of heavy guns meant taking the enemy's stronghold would be costly at best the siege was abandoned in the face of advancing rangers this failure to take grand prix swung the momentum of the conflict in favor of the british whose position only grew stronger as the war drug on with rangers combing the countryside for mcmahon british regulars expanded road networks and fortifications to prevent their communities from being used to support the british war effort acadian rebels adopted scorched earth tactics burning crops and homes as the mikmaq and akkadian resistance grew more desperate edward cornwallis conceived a plan to deal a devastating blow to their war effort he would seize and fortify the border between french and british territory at the isthmus of shipnecto if his plans succeeded the resistance would be cut off forced to fight the british invasion by themselves on september 3rd 1750 700 rangers and british regulars launched their amphibious assault the british landed under a hail of gunfire but soon gained a toehold outnumbered with no reinforcements the allied militia withdrew burning crops and houses as they retreated to fort bosses the british followed their victory by building fort lawrence near the site of the battle but desperation breeds resolve facing an enemy which killed their families they fought on raids on halifax lawrence town dartmouth and lunenburg continued cornwallis dream of a prosperous and peaceful nova scotian colony quickly slipped away by 1752 he resigned and left halifax in scandal cornwall says departure did not mean peace on may 28 1754 a young george washington attacked a french patrol at jumanville glenn without provocation the battle at juvenville glen in 1754 was very much the first shot heard around the world this foolish action would plunge britain and france into a war which would rage across the planet the seven years war caught up in the crossfire were the acadians their loyalty already at question the british deported them at gunpoint nova scotia burned as rangers destroyed farms crops and villages the mcmack and remaining acadian resistance set ambushes and launched raids in response the mikmaq did all they could for the acadians sheltering refugees and helping them escape the war zone to french territory these safe havens disappeared as the british army took first lewisburg in 1758 then quebec in 1759 despite the crushing defeat of the french colonial forces the mikmaq valiantly fought on realizing their enemies could not be beaten the british began peace negotiations with the various mikmak communities on june 25th 1761 mcmac chiefs and british politicians met for a grand ceremony in halifax at the climax of negotiations the chiefs washed war paint from their bodies and buried a hatchet symbolizing their rejection of war once and for all the same british army which broke france's hold on north america had been fought to a standstill but now the british outnumbered both acadians and first nations the mcmack would have to learn to live alongside those they had spent so much time and blood fighting despite any lingering hatreds the peace held the mikmaq was the last enemy to attack halifax it would grow into the most important naval base in canada a citadel still occupying the heights above the town the constant reminder of the bloodiest chapter of atlantic canadian history [Music] you

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Keywords: History, Full Documentary, Documentaries, Full length Documentaries, Documentary, TV Shows - Topic, Documentary Movies - Topic, 2017 documentary, BBC documentary, Channel 4 documentary, history documentary, documentary history, nations at war, beaver wars, iroquois confederacy, iroquois, iroquois indians, canadian colonial history, history of canada, french empire in canada, native americans, united states, the six nations, french and indian war

Id: LEb2H6jL3LY

Length: 43min 9sec (2589 seconds)

Published: Sun Nov 28 2021