Research Term Papers - History of Huron

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In the early seventeen-century Hurons (or Wyandots) and Iroquois dwelt between Lake Simcoe and Georgian Bay. The Hurons were divided into four tribes i.e. Attignaouantan or Bear, Attingueenongnahak or the Cord, Ahrendarrhonon or the Rock and Tahontaenrat or the Deer. All these four tribes and at least one community called Algonkian were united for protection against the Iroquois. This confederacy was known as Wendat or the Islanders. This is the reason that the descendants of the Hurons have adopted the name Wyandot in Oklahoma, Michigan and Kansas.

A powerful trade enterprise was built by the Hurons which covered Ontario, part of Quebec and U.S. Iroquois were not happy with the prosperity of Huron and they had plans to destroy the Hurons and by 1650 the Iroquois were finally became successful to destroy Hurons. Though the Wendat warriors showed their best efforts but the Iroquois raiders roamed at will and attacked the Wendat warriors whenever they got a chance.
 

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The continual incursions by the Iroquois made the frontiers of Huronia shrunk and villages like St. Ignace and St. Louis were alarmingly exposed to the attacks of Hurons. The Iroquois were better trained than the Hurons and by March 1649 the Hurons were desperately looking for the enemy and scouring the woods to find them but they did not have any success in finding in their enemies. In fact they outwitted the Hurons and 1200 strong and well-armed Iroqouis arrived in the vicinity of St. Ignace and they were completely un-detected. Early next morning on 16th March 1649, the Iroqouis warrior found a weak and unprotected spot to enter the village. The warriors swiftly attacked the village and within no time five hundred Hurons, mostly older people, women and children were captured. Some of them were killed but most of them were taken prisoners. This incident was like a deathblow to an already staggering Huronia.

As a result of this attack the old people, sick, women and children of St. Louis fled off to other villages of Huron. Only eighty Huron warriors remained in at St. Louis to protect and gain enough time for the people who fled from here. About an hour later St. Louis was attacked and surrounded by Iroquois warriors. The eighty Hurons fought desperately but could not resist their third assault and the village fell into the hands of Iroquois. It was a complete disaster and very few Hurons survived. Father Gabriel and his companion Brebeuf were also captured from St. Louis. Both of them were tortured and killed by the Iroquois.

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The Iroquois started to concentrate their attacks in the Arendarhonnon territory, which was located at the far east of Wendake. The horror of attacks by the enemy became so intense that by 1640 it was considered very dangerous to travel between villages or for the women to tend the fields. The area of panic reached as far as the unaffected Contarea. As a result of the fear the main village of Arendarhonnon was abandoned in 1647. With this most of the eastern territory was also abandoned.

The Iroquois changed their war strategy and switched to attack Tahontaenrat and Attigneenongnahacs. One of the largest and best protected Wendat villages; Teanaostaiae was attacked and destroyed with a tremendous loss of life. Due to these constant attacks the trade of Wendat with New France was in serious jeopardy. The Wendat women were unable to tend their crops and there was an acute shortage of manpower as a large number of refugees were forced to flee towards west. The Iroquois had one more advantage and that was the guns, which they managed to acquire from the Dutch. The French were more reluctant to provide guns to their allies i.e. to Hurons. However this is not a big reason to explain the defenselessness of Wendake.

The unique strategy of attacking various nations of the Wendat Confederacy one at a time destroyed the collective effort of the Wendat, as their strategy was still not clear. With all these attacks, the destruction caused by European disease weakened the will of the survivors. The year 1648 was a rather calm year for the Hurons, but the Iroquois warriors surprised the inhabitants of Taenhatentaron when they attacked on 16th March 1649. This attack was followed by another attack and this time it was St. Louis.

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The Huron warrior resisted but eventually they were defeated. The loss of two villages convinced the remaining Wendat that their homeland was not longer defensible. After the destruction of Huronia in 1649, the French felt powerless and they remained neutral. In the mean time the Iroquois swallowed one tribe after another. Thus without any hope the nation including the Wendat refugees fled west. First they settled at Michilimackinac but due to attacks from Iroquois they had to move further and they found a place to settle near the south shore of Lake Superior. Finally in 1710 they were settled in the environs of Fort Pontchartrain, present day Detroit.

The advantage in transport and trade of Huron aroused the interests of the Iroquois and the successful fur trade of that area further reinforced this interest. These causes including the political and cultural alliance became the turning points for the defeat and dispersal of the Huron by the Iroquois. In fact the fur trade of the Huron and their comparatively better economy attracted the Iroquois towards them. Since the Hurons were not amply trained in warfare, therefore they were not able to defend their villages and after incurring heavy losses they had to flee and look for another places to settle.

 

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