Between 1665 and 1670, seven Iroquois settlements on the north shore of
Lake Ontario
Lake Ontario is one of the five Great Lakes of North America. It is bounded on the north, west, and southwest by the Canadian province of Ontario, and on the south and east by the U.S. state of New York. The Canada–United States border sp ...
in present-day
Ontario
Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...
, collectively known as the "Iroquois du Nord" villages, were established by
Senecas
The Seneca () ( see, Onödowáʼga:, "Great Hill People") are a group of Indigenous Iroquoian-speaking people who historically lived south of Lake Ontario, one of the five Great Lakes in North America. Their nation was the farthest to the west w ...
,
Cayugas, and
Oneidas
The Oneida people (autonym: Onʌyoteˀa·ká·, Onyota'a:ka, ''the People of the Upright Stone, or standing stone'', ''Thwahrù·nęʼ'' in Tuscarora) are a Native American tribe and First Nations band. They are one of the five founding nat ...
. The villages consisted of
GanneiousKente Kentsio, Ganaraske,
Ganatsekwyagon
Bead Hill is an archaeological site comprising the only known remaining and intact 17th-century Seneca site in Canada. It is located on the banks of the Rouge River in Rouge Park, a city park in Toronto, Ontario. Because of its sensitive archaeo ...
,
Teiaiagon
Teiaiagon was an Iroquoian village on the east bank of the Humber River in what is now the York district of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It was located along the Toronto Carrying-Place Trail. The site is near the current intersection of Jane Stree ...
, and
Quinaouatoua. The villages were all abandoned by 1701.
Arrival
The northern shores of
Lake Ontario
Lake Ontario is one of the five Great Lakes of North America. It is bounded on the north, west, and southwest by the Canadian province of Ontario, and on the south and east by the U.S. state of New York. The Canada–United States border sp ...
were first settled as early as eleven thousand years ago. While humans have lived along the northern shores of
Lake Ontario
Lake Ontario is one of the five Great Lakes of North America. It is bounded on the north, west, and southwest by the Canadian province of Ontario, and on the south and east by the U.S. state of New York. The Canada–United States border sp ...
for a long time, they have not been continuously settled. The
Huron-Wendat had developed a distinct homeland along the northern shores of Lake Ontario in the 15th century, but moved north toward
Georgian Bay
Georgian Bay (french: Baie Georgienne) is a large bay of Lake Huron, in the Laurentia bioregion. It is located entirely within the borders of Ontario, Canada. The main body of the bay lies east of the Bruce Peninsula and Manitoulin Island. To ...
by 1615, abandoning the northern shores of Lake Ontario. The Iroquois raided the Huron in Ontario during the first half of the 17th century and began to establish greater control over the hunting grounds that existed between Lake Ontario and
Lake Simcoe
Lake Simcoe is a lake in southern Ontario, Canada, the fourth-largest lake wholly in the province, after Lake Nipigon, Lac Seul, and Lake Nipissing. At the time of the first European contact in the 17th century the lake was called ''Ouentironk'' ...
. By the 1640s the Huron-Wendat population had been reduced considerably by
epidemic
An epidemic (from Ancient Greek, Greek ἐπί ''epi'' "upon or above" and δῆμος ''demos'' "people") is the rapid spread of disease to a large number of patients among a given population within an area in a short period of time.
Epidemics ...
s. In 1649, the Iroquois defeated the
Huron
Huron may refer to:
People
* Wyandot people (or Wendat), indigenous to North America
* Wyandot language, spoken by them
* Huron-Wendat Nation, a Huron-Wendat First Nation with a community in Wendake, Quebec
* Nottawaseppi Huron Band of Potawatomi ...
,
Petun
The Petun (from french: pétun), also known as the Tobacco people or Tionontati ("People Among the Hills/Mountains"), were an indigenous Iroquoian people of the woodlands of eastern North America. Their last known traditional homeland was sout ...
, and then the
Neutral
Neutral or neutrality may refer to:
Mathematics and natural science Biology
* Neutral organisms, in ecology, those that obey the unified neutral theory of biodiversity
Chemistry and physics
* Neutralization (chemistry), a chemical reaction in ...
, effectively destroying their enemies in Ontario.
After the destruction of the Huron in southern Ontario the Iroquois began to make more frequent excursions on the northern shores of Lake Ontario. In the 1660s, the Iroquois began to expand their settlements north. A number of theories try to explain why the Iroquois began settling the northern shores of Lake Ontario. Economic reasons are considered the strongest motivation. By the 1640s the
beaver
Beavers are large, semiaquatic rodents in the genus ''Castor'' native to the temperate Northern Hemisphere. There are two extant species: the North American beaver (''Castor canadensis'') and the Eurasian beaver (''C. fiber''). Beavers ar ...
had disappeared through over hunting in the traditional Iroquois homeland in modern-day
New York
New York most commonly refers to:
* New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York
* New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States
New York may also refer to:
Film and television
* '' ...
state. The Iroquois were competing with both the Huron,
Ottawa
Ottawa (, ; Canadian French: ) is the capital city of Canada. It is located at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River in the southern portion of the province of Ontario. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the core ...
, and
Algonquin
Algonquin or Algonquian—and the variation Algonki(a)n—may refer to:
Languages and peoples
*Algonquian languages, a large subfamily of Native American languages in a wide swath of eastern North America from Canada to Virginia
**Algonquin la ...
s for the
fur trade
The fur trade is a worldwide industry dealing in the acquisition and sale of animal fur. Since the establishment of a world fur market in the early modern period, furs of boreal, polar and cold temperate mammalian animals have been the mos ...
. By establishing settlements on the northern shores of Lake Ontario the Iroquois were able to re-establish control on the flow of furs from the north and west towards
Albany and
Montreal
Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...
.
The Iroquois settlement into Ontario was part of a broader expansion of Iroquois groups in the mid 17th century. During this time the Iroquois also moved into what is today
Ohio
Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...
,
Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...
, and
Quebec
Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...
. Often these settlements were significantly closer to European settlements and have been characterized as Iroquois
Colonies
In modern parlance, a colony is a territory subject to a form of foreign rule. Though dominated by the foreign colonizers, colonies remain separate from the administration of the original country of the colonizers, the '' metropolitan state'' ...
.
Description
The seven villages that were settled on the northern shores of Lake Ontario from east to west are:
* Ganneious (likely misprint for the French Gannejout(s)—Oneida
)- on the site of present-day
Napanee
Greater Napanee is a town in Eastern Ontario, southeastern Ontario, Canada, approximately west of Kingston, Ontario, Kingston and the county seat of Lennox and Addington County. It is located on the eastern end of the Bay of Quinte. Greater Nap ...
* Kente ("prairie" or "meadow"
) - on the
Bay of Quinte
The Bay of Quinte () is a long, narrow bay shaped like the letter "Z" on the northern shore of Lake Ontario in the province of Ontario, Canada. It is just west of the head of the Saint Lawrence River that drains the Great Lakes into the Gulf of ...
* Kentsio ("abounding in fish"
) - on
Rice Lake
* Ganaraske ("at the spawning-place"
) - on the site of present-day
Port Hope
*
Ganatsekwyagon
Bead Hill is an archaeological site comprising the only known remaining and intact 17th-century Seneca site in Canada. It is located on the banks of the Rouge River in Rouge Park, a city park in Toronto, Ontario. Because of its sensitive archaeo ...
("among the birches"
) - at the mouth of the
Rouge River
*
Teiaiagon
Teiaiagon was an Iroquoian village on the east bank of the Humber River in what is now the York district of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It was located along the Toronto Carrying-Place Trail. The site is near the current intersection of Jane Stree ...
("It crosses the stream."
) - at the mouth of the
Humber River
* Quinaouatoua (or
Tinawatawa
Tinawatawa, also called Quinaouatoua, was a former Iroquois village of the Seneca people on the western end of the Niagara corridor, described as "a fertile flat belt of land stretching from western New York to the head waters of the Thames River ...
) - Near modern-day
Hamilton Hamilton may refer to:
People
* Hamilton (name), a common British surname and occasional given name, usually of Scottish origin, including a list of persons with the surname
** The Duke of Hamilton, the premier peer of Scotland
** Lord Hamilt ...
Little is known about the seven villages due to an absence of detailed archaeological evidence. The most comprehensive archaeological evidence gathered to date is from
Bead Hill
Bead Hill is an archaeological site comprising the only known remaining and intact 17th-century Seneca site in Canada. It is located on the banks of the Rouge River in Rouge Park, a city park in Toronto, Ontario. Because of its sensitive archaeo ...
, which is believed to be the site of Ganatsekwyagon along the
Rouge River.
The villages do share some common traits that are evident from the available sources. The northern villages were likely seasonal campsites prior to becoming larger settlements. They are located at strategic points controlling access to Lake Ontario and near seasonally abundant fish and games. Six of the seven villages are all located on the best agricultural land found along the northern shores of the lake, according to the
Canada Land Inventory
The Canada Land Inventory (CLI) is a multi-disciplinary land inventory of rural Canada.
Conceptualized in the early 1960s by the Department of Forestry and Rural Development (later the Department of Energy, Mines and Resources), the CLI was a fed ...
. The Iroquois likely grew
squash
Squash may refer to:
Sports
* Squash (sport), the high-speed racquet sport also known as squash racquets
* Squash (professional wrestling), an extremely one-sided match in professional wrestling
* Squash tennis, a game similar to squash but pla ...
,
corn
Maize ( ; ''Zea mays'' subsp. ''mays'', from es, maíz after tnq, mahiz), also known as corn (North American and Australian English), is a cereal grain first domesticated by indigenous peoples in southern Mexico about 10,000 years ago. Th ...
, and
beans
A bean is the seed of several plants in the family Fabaceae, which are used as vegetables for human or animal food. They can be cooked in many different ways, including boiling, frying, and baking, and are used in many traditional dishes th ...
.
The villages were also significant staging points for hunting parties moving north and for fur trading. The villages were the scene of extensive trade between both French, Dutch, English, and Ottawa traders and the Iroquois. The villages were also the site of violence due to the exchange of fur for liquor. There are number of incidents that record instances of maiming and death at Ganneious, Teiaiagon, and Ganatsekwyagon due to drinking.
As in other Iroquois settlements longhouses were in parallel to each other and surrounded by palisades. The estimated size of the villages varies from 500 to 800 persons. The villages would have had 20 to 30 structures. Quinaouatoua, was perhaps the smallest with a population of less than 100 in the fall of 1669.
The villages were settled by different tribes. The Seneca settled the westernmost villages of Quinaouatoua,
Teiaiagon
Teiaiagon was an Iroquoian village on the east bank of the Humber River in what is now the York district of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It was located along the Toronto Carrying-Place Trail. The site is near the current intersection of Jane Stree ...
, and
Ganatsekwyagon
Bead Hill is an archaeological site comprising the only known remaining and intact 17th-century Seneca site in Canada. It is located on the banks of the Rouge River in Rouge Park, a city park in Toronto, Ontario. Because of its sensitive archaeo ...
. The
Cayuga settled Ganaraske, Kente, and Kentsio, and the
Oneida
Oneida may refer to:
Native American/First Nations
* Oneida people, a Native American/First Nations people and one of the five founding nations of the Iroquois Confederacy
* Oneida language
* Oneida Indian Nation, based in New York
* Oneida Na ...
settled Ganneious along the eastern edge of the lake. The villages were connected to each other by a system of trail and water routes.
While each village is identified with one group, there is a strong likelihood that the villages continued a common Iroquois practice of incorporating and adopting large groups of outsiders into settlements. For example, a
Neutral
Neutral or neutrality may refer to:
Mathematics and natural science Biology
* Neutral organisms, in ecology, those that obey the unified neutral theory of biodiversity
Chemistry and physics
* Neutralization (chemistry), a chemical reaction in ...
style longhouse was found at
Bead Hill
Bead Hill is an archaeological site comprising the only known remaining and intact 17th-century Seneca site in Canada. It is located on the banks of the Rouge River in Rouge Park, a city park in Toronto, Ontario. Because of its sensitive archaeo ...
, which was initially settled by the
Seneca
Seneca may refer to:
People and language
* Seneca (name), a list of people with either the given name or surname
* Seneca people, one of the six Iroquois tribes of North America
** Seneca language, the language of the Seneca people
Places Extrat ...
. Existing texts also characterized populations in Iroquois communities distant from the homeland as being multinational and multilingual.
Relations with the French
In 1668, the French began to visit the Iroquois villages to convert the local population to
Christianity
Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. It is the world's largest and most widespread religion with roughly 2.38 billion followers representing one-third of the global pop ...
. Abbé Trouvé and
François de Salignac de la Mothe-Fénelon
François () is a French language, French masculine given name and surname, equivalent to the English name Francis (given name), Francis.
People with the given name
* Francis I of France, King of France (), known as "the Father and Restorer of ...
were sent by
François de Laval
Francis-Xavier de Montmorency-Laval, commonly referred to as François de Laval (30 April 1623 – 6 May 1708), was a French prelate of the Catholic Church. Consecrated a bishop in 1658, he led the Apostolic Vicariate of New France from 1658 to ...
from Montreal to establish a
Sulpician
The Society of Priests of Saint-Sulpice (french: Compagnie des Prêtres de Saint-Sulpice), abbreviated PSS also known as the Sulpicians is a society of apostolic life of Pontifical Right for men, named after the Church of Saint-Sulpice, Paris, ...
mission in the village of Kente. The mission was deserted in 1680 due to a lack of success and funding.
Abbé Fénelon then went on a tour of other villages and would spend the winter of 1669 in the village of Ganatsekwyagon. François-Saturnin Lascaris d'Urfé visited a number of the towns on the North shore of Lake Ontario. French explorer
Jean Peréan
Adrien Jollietalso passed through the village of
Ganatsekwyagon
Bead Hill is an archaeological site comprising the only known remaining and intact 17th-century Seneca site in Canada. It is located on the banks of the Rouge River in Rouge Park, a city park in Toronto, Ontario. Because of its sensitive archaeo ...
in 1669 on their way to
Lake Superior
Lake Superior in central North America is the largest freshwater lake in the world by surface areaThe Caspian Sea is the largest lake, but is saline, not freshwater. and the third-largest by volume, holding 10% of the world's surface fresh wa ...
.
Relations between the Iroquois du Nord and the French were tense due to the intermediate conflicts known as the
Beaver Wars
The Beaver Wars ( moh, Tsianì kayonkwere), also known as the Iroquois Wars or the French and Iroquois Wars (french: Guerres franco-iroquoises) were a series of conflicts fought intermittently during the 17th century in North America throughout t ...
. The villages were settled during a time of relative peace. In 1673 when the French established their first settlement along Lake Ontario,
Fort Frontenac
Fort Frontenac was a French trading post and military fort built in July 1673 at the mouth of the Cataraqui River where the St. Lawrence River leaves Lake Ontario (at what is now the western end of the La Salle Causeway), in a location tradition ...
, in present-day
Kingston, Ontario
Kingston is a city in Ontario, Canada. It is located on the north-eastern end of Lake Ontario, at the beginning of the St. Lawrence River and at the mouth of the Cataraqui River (south end of the Rideau Canal). The city is midway between Toro ...
, many Iroquois from the nearby village of Ganneious resettled closer to the Fort. Relations deteriorated as the political situation in present-day
New York
New York most commonly refers to:
* New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York
* New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States
New York may also refer to:
Film and television
* '' ...
state changed, and in 1687 the French attacked the Iroquois, destroying villages in both New York state and along the northern shores of Lake Ontario.
The establishment of Fort Frontenac also appears to have shifted influence from Ganatsekwyagon to Teiaiagon. Most evidence indicates that Ganatsekwyagon was the more important settlement on the north shore due to its strategic position on the Rouge River arm of the
Toronto Carrying-Place Trail
The Toronto Carrying-Place Trail, also known as the Humber Portage and the Toronto Passage, was a major portage route in Ontario, Canada, linking Lake Ontario with Lake Simcoe and the northern Great Lakes. The name comes from the Mohawk term ''to ...
. Following the construction of Fort Frontenac, Teiaiagon became more travelled for two reasons. First, the construction of the fort shifted the Iroquois toward the western route around Lake Ontario and second the French anchored at Teiaiagon instead of Ganatsekwyagon due to the superior anchorage for French trade barques.
Abandonment
In
Anishinaabe
The Anishinaabeg (adjectival: Anishinaabe) are a group of culturally related Indigenous peoples present in the Great Lakes region of Canada and the United States. They include the Ojibwe (including Saulteaux and Oji-Cree), Odawa, Potawatomi, ...
oral tradition holds that the Iroquois abandoned their villages north of Lake Ontario following a number of decisive battles won by the Anishinaabe in south and central Ontario during the
Beaver Wars
The Beaver Wars ( moh, Tsianì kayonkwere), also known as the Iroquois Wars or the French and Iroquois Wars (french: Guerres franco-iroquoises) were a series of conflicts fought intermittently during the 17th century in North America throughout t ...
. In the
Great Peace of Montreal
The Great Peace of Montreal (french: La Grande paix de Montréal) was a peace treaty between New France and 39 First Nations of North America that ended the Beaver Wars. It was signed on August 4, 1701, by Louis-Hector de Callière, governor of ...
, signed in 1701, the Iroquois Confederacy agreed to remain on the south shore of Lake Ontario. By 1701 the Anishinaabe group called the
Mississauga
Mississauga ( ), historically known as Toronto Township, is a city in the Canadian province of Ontario. It is situated on the shores of Lake Ontario in the Regional Municipality of Peel, adjoining the western border of Toronto. With a popul ...
had moved into the area between
Lake Erie
Lake Erie ( "eerie") is the fourth largest lake by surface area of the five Great Lakes in North America and the eleventh-largest globally. It is the southernmost, shallowest, and smallest by volume of the Great Lakes and therefore also has t ...
and the
Rouge River.
The easternmost villages of Kente and Ganneious were reportedly destroyed in 1687 by
Jacques René de Brisay de Denonville. His troops took 200 prisoners from both villages, to fight in the Beaver Wars, before destroying them. There are no accounts on the fate or condition of either Ganatsekwyagon or
Teiaiagon
Teiaiagon was an Iroquoian village on the east bank of the Humber River in what is now the York district of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It was located along the Toronto Carrying-Place Trail. The site is near the current intersection of Jane Stree ...
after fighting broke out in 1687. It is assumed that, since both villages were no longer secure, they were abandoned some weeks earlier and the inhabitants fled to the south shore of
Lake Ontario
Lake Ontario is one of the five Great Lakes of North America. It is bounded on the north, west, and southwest by the Canadian province of Ontario, and on the south and east by the U.S. state of New York. The Canada–United States border sp ...
.
Following the abandonment of the north of Lake Ontario by Iroquois some French geographers incorrectly place the Iroqouis du Nord and their villages on maps of southern Ontario as late as 1755. This would cause confusion among historians in the future when the Mississauga took possession of the northern shore of Lake Ontario.
Historical maps showing Iroquois settlement on the north shore
![Upper Canada and the Iroquois Confederacy](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/8a/Upper_Canada_and_the_Iroquois_Confederacy.jpg)
The following maps show evidence of the Iroquois settlements on the north shore of Lake Ontario.
*Plans des forts faicts par le RegimentlCarignan salieres sur la Riviere de/Richelieu dicte autrement des Iroquois en/la Nouvelle France. Le Mercier. 1666. 1 printed map. France, Minis&e des Colonies, No. 493; Public Archives of Canada (hereafter PAC), National Map Collection (hereafter NMC), H3/901/1666
*"Carte du Lac Ontario . . .," Galinee. 1670. 1 ms. map. France, Archives des Cartes et Plans de la Marine imperiale; PAC, NMC, A/902/1670. In: Plans, Cartes, Vues et Dessins relatifs h 1’Histoire de la Nouvelle France. P. L. Morin. Paris, 1852–53, V. 1, No. 15; J. H. Coyne "Exploration of the Great Lakes, 1669-70 . . ." Ontario Historical Society Papers and Records, V. 4, Toronto,
903
__NOTOC__
Year 903 ( CMIII) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar.
Events
By place
Europe
* King Berengar I of Italy proceeds to issue concessions and privileges to the Lo ...
*"Carte de la decouverte du Sr Jolliet . . .,"
olliet 674
__NOTOC__
Year 674 (Roman numerals, DCLXXIV) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. The denomination 674 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domi ...
1 ms. map France, Bibliothèque Nationale (hereafter BN), Service hydrographique, Recueil 67, NO. 52; PAC, NMC, Ph/900
674-1701
*"Carte de la descouverte du Sr Jolliet . . .,"
olliet 1674–51. 1 ms. map. France, Service Historique de la Marine, Bibliothèque, (hereafter SHM, B), 4044B, No. 37; PAC, NMC, H2/903/
675
__NOTOC__
Year 675 (Roman numerals, DCLXXV) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. The denomination 675 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domin ...
*"Carte g
e
ale de la France septentrionnale, contenant la decouverte du Pays des Ilinois . . .,"
ranquelin 1678. 1 ms. map. France, SHM, B, Recueil66, No. 11; PAC, NMC, H3/900/
6781*"Carte/pour servir a l’Cclaircissement/du Papier Terrier/de la Nouvelle France", Franquelin. 1678. 1 section of a ms. map. France, BN, Cartes et plans, Service hydrographique, pf. 125, div. 1, p. 1; PAC, NMC, H2/900/1678
*"Cartes des Grands Lacs . . .," Franquelin. 1679. 1 ms. map. France, Depot des cartes et plans de la Marine, Service hydrographique, Bibliothèque (hereafter DMSH, B) Recueil 67, No. 43; PAC, NMC, H3/902/1679
*"Carte du tours du Saint-Laurent . . .," Belmont. 1680. 1 ms. map. France, BN, Geographic, Ge. DD. 2989, Ministere des affaires etrangeres, Depot geographique, Archives, No. 8662; PAC, NMC, H1/902/
680
*
arte des Grands Lacs"Lac Ontario/Ott/De Frontenac." Bernou. 1680. 1 of a series of 6 ms. maps. France, DMSH, B, Recueil 67, No. 47; PAC, NMC, H3/902/
680
See also
*
St. Lawrence Iroquoians
The St. Lawrence Iroquoians were an Iroquoian Indigenous people who existed from the 14th century to about 1580. They concentrated along the shores of the St. Lawrence River in present-day Quebec and Ontario, Canada, and in the American states o ...
Notes
References
*
*
*
*
*
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*
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Iroquois
Iroquois
Indigenous peoples of the Northeastern Woodlands
History of Ontario by location
Seneca tribe
First Nations history in Ontario
Iroquois populated places
Former populated places in Ontario
History of indigenous peoples of North America
Historical migrations
Great Lakes tribes