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The Beaver
Wars
The
Iroquois Indians gave beaver
and other animal hides to French traders in exchange for
muskets, iron tools, blankets, and colorful glass beads.
By A.D. 1650, the Iroquois hunters and trappers had killed
off most of the fur-bearing animals in their homeland. To
satisfy their desire for more European trade items, they
turned toward the rich hunting grounds of the Ohio country.
The Indians who lived here were weak. Diseases from Europe
had swept through the villages killing many. Armed with
guns the Iroquois killed or drove out the Indians they found
living here. Between A.D. 1650 and 1700 the Iroquois waged
a war of extermination. They claimed the land for the Iroquois
Confederacy, but Iroquois hunters and warriors did not live
here. They came only to hunt the deer and beaver.
The
only historic records of the Beaver Wars come from the
Jesuit Relation, a series of letters and accounts written
by Jesuit priests who came to America to teach the Indians
about the Catholic religion. These records include the
first written reference to the Indians who lived in
Ohio before the Beaver Wars:
"Our
Iroquois, have discovered beyond the Cat Nation other
and numerous Nations who speak the Algonquian language.
There are more than 30 villages whose inhabitants have
never had any knowledge of Europeans, they still use
only stone hatchets and knives... Our Iroquois carry
fire and war thither..."
The
Jesuit Relation 1656-1657
from
the Ohio
Historical Society Site
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