Beaver Wars

The bloody war fought in the 17^th century between the French and Iroquois in eastern North America is popularly known as the Iroquois War or the French and Iroquois War. The Iroquois Confederation, led by the Mohawk tribes of the western Great Lakes was supported by the Dutch and the English traders against the Algonquian speaking supported by the French. The Beaver Wars was a series of bloody war in the North American history among the tribal population. As an allies and trading partners of the English, the Iroquois were used in the conquests of old Northwest America. The main motive of the French was to gain the fur trade with the help of the local tribes, the Algonquin and Huron. However, the French were not very successful. With the Dutch establishing the trading post near the Iroquois territory, they were open to European fur trade with their help. They also got tools from the Dutch in exchange for fur and this led to large scale hunting of beavers for fur using firearms. This led to the disappearance of beavers altogether from the Hudson valley by 1640.This made the Iroquois expand their territories and they came into conflict with other tribes supported by the French. With the help of firearms the Iroquois completely destroyed the Huron territory and captured several villages. The Iroquois Confederation won the war and reigned control over other tribal confederations including the Huron, Neutral, Erie, and Susquehannock and pushed some eastern tribes west of the Mississippi River, or southward into the Carolinas. Even the Ohio Country and the Lower Peninsula of Michigan came under the control of the Iroquois tribes. Finally, the Great peace treaty was signed between the Indian tribes, the French and the English. The Iroquois realized their importance and started working on nation building, education and advanced technology.