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Beaver Wars

Type Event Region North America Time 1640–1649

In the 1640s the Iroquois Confederacy launched military expeditions against the Huron, Algonquian peoples, and French allies to control beaver pelt t…

Timeline

  1. 1640–1644Iroquois territory · Iroquois territoryBeaver depletion forced the Iroquois to challenge Huron control of the trade intermediary role. Supplied with firearms by the Dutch (later English), they launched sustained raids against the Huron and their Algonquian allies, contesting dominance of the St. Lawrence and Great Lakes fur trade.
  2. 1647–1649Huron territory · Huron territoryIroquois coalitions destroyed major Huron villages in 1648–1649, killing or capturing many Huron and French Jesuit missionaries. The Huron Confederacy dissolved, survivors scattering west or to the French, while Iroquois power expanded north to the upper Great Lakes, pressuring New France's northern defenses.
  3. 1649–1650Great Lakes and Ohio Valley · Ohio ValleyThe Iroquois continued westward against the Erie, Neutral Nation, and Algonquian remnants, triggering large-scale population migrations. France hurried to arm allies and rebuild missionary networks, while English and Dutch colonists deepened trade with the Iroquois. The 1640s military victories made the Iroquois the dominant Indigenous power in northeastern North America.

Sources