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Timeline of the Iroquois Wars (1533-1650)

Evolution Publishing is happy to provide the following chronology of the long sequence of conflicts commonly known as the Beaver Wars. Originally published in Iroquois Wars I, this timeline gives a summary of events from the earliest accounts of wars involving the Iroquois and related tribes through to the destruction of the Huron confederacy by the Iroquois in 1649. The citations included in parentheses after some of the entries refer to the brief bibliography that follows the timeline.

1533

“Toudamans” attack a Stadaconan fort and kill 200 inhabitants—as related to Jacques Cartier by Donnacona, captain of the Stadaconans, in 1535. (Hakluyt, 125)

1534

Cartier’s first voyage to the New World.

1535–36

Cartier visits Stadacona and Hochelaga, towns occupied by Iroquoian-speaking peoples.

1541–42

Cartier’s last voyage to the New World.

1542–43

Sieur de Roberval’s colonization attempt fails. Embroiled in European wars and politics, serious French exploration of the Saint Lawrence valley is interrupted for nearly 60 years.

1543–1600

Hochelaga and Stadacona are destroyed. The date of the destruction, identity of the attackers, and fate of the inhabitants of these villages is unknown.

1570(?)–1600(?)

The Iroquois Confederacy is established.

1580(?)–1600(?)

The Mohawks fight a draining war with the Susquehannocks and Algonquins. These Algonquins could be the Mahicans and/or the Adirondacks of Iroquois legend. (JR, 45:203)

1601

French colony of Tadoussac founded on the St. Lawrence River.

1603

March. Champlain lands at Tadoussac.

1605

French colony of Port Royal established in Nova Scotia.

1607

English found the Jamestown colony in Virginia.

1608

July 3. Champlain founds Quebec on the St. Lawrence near the original site of Stadacona.

1609

July. Champlain accompanies Huron and Algonquin war party, invades Iroquoia, and defeats a larger force of Iroquois. (Champlain, 2:199ff.)
September. Sailing for the Dutch, Henry Hudson ascends the river that now bears his name and conducts trade near present-day Albany.

1610

June. An Iroquois war party is defeated by a combined force of Hurons, Algonquins, and Montagnais, with French assistance. (Champlain, 2:232ff.)
King Henry IV of France is assassinated. Louis XIII becomes King of France.

1611

Jesuits arrive at Port Royal.

1613

Port Royal is ransacked by Samuel Argall and his raiders from Virginia.

1614

French are allied with the Montagnais, Souriquois, Etchemins, Algonquins, Hurons, and New England tribes. (JR, 2:207)
The Dutch found Fort Nassau near present-day Albany and initiate trade with the neighboring Mahicans and Mohawks.

1615

October. Champlain and the Hurons besiege an enemy village probably belonging to the Onondaga. The siege fails and Champlain, though injured, is brought back safely to Huronia. (Champlain [Slafter], 3:109ff.)
The Dutch accompany the Mohawks on a raid against the Susquehannocks.

1616

Huron Nation of the Bear and the Algonquin Yroquets are at war over the disposition of an Iroquois prisoner. (Champlain [Slafter], 3:149)

1617

The Dutch trading post at Fort Nassau is abandoned.
The Mohawks and the Mahicans are at war.

1618

Champlain rejects calls by his Huron and Algonquin allies for a new campaign against the Iroquois. (Champlain [Slafter], 3:205)
The Dutch broker a truce between the Mohawks and Mahicans.
The Thirty Years War begins in Europe.

1620

First Pilgrims arrive on Cape Cod.

1620 or 1621

Algonquins and Iroquois make peace (JR, 8:295, fn 29)

1621

English settlers at Plymouth ally with the Wampanoags.

1624

July. Peace is forged between the Mohawks and Champlain and the Indian allies of the French. (JR, 4:262, fn 26)
King Louis XIII of France reaches his majority and Cardinal Richelieu becomes his chief minister.
The Dutch establish Fort Orange on the Hudson River and begin trading with the Mahicans.
The Mohawks and the Mahicans are at war.

1626

A joint Dutch/Mahican war party is ambushed by the Mohawks. This defeat encourages the Dutch to remain neutral in the ongoing Mohawk-Mahican war.
The Dutch purchase Manhattan Island and begin settlement.
The Susquehannocks are at war with the Delawares.
The Jesuits arrive at Quebec.

1627

England and France at war.

1628

The Mohawks defeat the Mahicans and push them east of the Hudson River. This allows the Mohawks free and easy access to the Dutch trading post at Fort Orange.
English defeat the fleet of the Company of New France and take Port Royal. (JR, 10:43)

1629

English Admiral David Kirke captures Quebec and plunders the colony leaving it in ruins.
Mohawks destroy the Montagnais village at Three Rivers.

1630

Boston founded by English settlers.
The Susquehannocks force most of the Delawares east of the Delaware River and open trade with the Dutch in earnest.
Iroquois gain ascendancy over Algonquins thanks to Dutch firearms (JR, 5:289, fn. 52)

1632

Treaty of St-Germain-en-Laye cedes New France back to the French.
Iroquois raid as far as Quebec and Three Rivers. (Sagard, p. 261)

1633

Champlain returns as governor of New France. French reinhabit Quebec and renew their alliance with Algonquins and Hurons. (JR, 5:203ff.)
June. Thirty or forty Iroquois ambush and kill three Frenchmen.

1634

Spring. A Huron war party of 500 is ambushed by an Iroquois party of 1,500 and defeated. Of the Hurons, 200 are killed and another 100 are taken prisoner. (JR, 7:213)
July. French colony is founded at Three Rivers.
October. Peace is made among the Montagnais, Algonquins and Iroquois. (JR, 8:27)

1635

August. The tentative peace between the Iroquois and Algonquins fails. The Iroquois destroy seven canoes of the Petite Nation of the Algonquins. (JR, 8:57)
Peace is forged between the Hurons and the Seneca. (JR, 8:115)
December. Champlain dies.

1636

Spring. Iroquois massacre 23 of the Algonquin Nation de l’Isle. Ambassadors of this nation attempt to forge an alliance with the Hurons, Bissiriniens, and the other Algonquin tribes, but are rebuffed. (JR, 10:73)
June. The Iroquois ambush a sleeping Huron war party, killing twelve and putting the rest to flight. (JR, 10:83)
July. The Montagnais petition the French for assistance against the Iroquois. The French are unable to help due to a severe shortage of manpower. (JR, 9:227)
July. Intrigue causes fissures in the Algonquin/Montagnais/Huron alliance. Du Plessis offers gifts to heal the breach and an allied war party assembles and heads off. (JR, 9:249)
August. The allied war party returns from a successful raid, killing 28 Iroquois and taking five prisoners. (JR, 9:251)
Montmagny becomes Governor of New France. (JR, 8:217)
Disease strikes the Huron villages, taking a dreadful toll.

1637

Spring. A combined Montagnais and Algonquin war party attempts to raid Iroquoia and is defeated. (JR, 12:153)
Spring. The Montagnais seek a closer alliance with the French and build a protected village near the French fort at Three Rivers. (JR, 12:161ff.)
May. The English colonies of Connecticut and Massachusetts are at war with the Pequots.
June. Algonquins of the Iroquet nation do battle with a smaller force of Iroquois upon the water. They are victorious and return with 13 Iroquois prisoners. (JR, 12:181ff.)
August. About 500 Iroquois raid up to the St. Lawrence, ambushing Huron canoes and menacing the French settlements. (JR, 12:199ff.)
August. Ill fortune in war and losses to disease cause the Hurons to discuss killing the Jesuits or driving them from their villages. (JR, 15:37ff.)
The Jesuits establish a mission at Sillery.

1638

Birth of the future King Louis XIV.
Under the auspices of the Dutch, the Swedes set up a colony on the lower Delaware River. The Susquehannocks initiate trade with the Swedes.
The Wenros, one-time confederates of the Neutrals, decide to emigrate en masse to Huronia after the Neutrals withdraw their support over an unknown grievance. The Hurons accept them and escort them on their arduous journey. (JR, 17:27)

1639

Smallpox strikes the Hurons. (JR, 19:89)
Huron suspicions of the French are fed by English rumors claiming the Jesuits’ goal was to destroy the world. (JR, 17:199ff.)
December. A war party of 300 Algonquins and Hurons is victorious over a group of 100 Iroquois. They kill 17 or 18 and bring the remainder back as prisoners to be tortured. (JR, 17:71)

1640

March. Fr. Hierosme Lalemant requests more aid from France against the English and the Iroquois. (JR, 17:223)
June. Huron Charles Sondatsaa converts to Christianity and is given an arquebus by Montmagny, the French governor. (JR, 20:213ff.)
Autumn. Iroquois raiders capture two Frenchmen. They do not abuse them in hopes that they might use them to make a separate peace with the French. (JR, 21:21ff.)
Fr. Vimont becomes superior of the residence at Quebec.
Mission to the Arendaronons, the easternmost Hurons, is begun by the Jesuits.
Frs. Brebeuf and Chaumonot fail to establish a mission among the Neutrals.
The Neutrals attack the Fire Nation, returning with 100 prisoners. (JR, 21:195)
Huron convert Joseph Chihouatenhoua is killed in an Iroquois ambush. (JR, 20:77)

1641

April. An Iroquois war party of 500 sets out ostensibly to make peace with the French. Among their number are the two Frenchmen captured the previous autumn and 36 Mohawk arquebusiers. The two sides treat at Three Rivers, but the French are suspicious of the motives of the Iroquois who demand presents of arquebuses in exchange for peace. Fighting breaks out and the peace effort is scuttled. (JR, 21:43ff.)
Autumn. A war party of 200 Iroquois raids deep into Algonquin territory and surprises several bands engaged in hunting, killing many and taking many prisoners. (JR, 22:247ff.)
The Neutrals again attack the Fire Nation, carrying off more than 170 prisoners. (JR, 21:195)

1642

Cardinal Richelieu sends 30–40 soldiers to New France to help with defense.
Spring. The Iroquois raid successfully against the Algonquin Iroquet nation. (JR, 22:269)
May. Sieur de Maisonneuve begins the construction of a fortified village on the island of Montreal. (JR, 22:211)
Summer. The Neutrals attack the Fire Nation and destroy a fortified town, killing many and taking 800 captives. (JR, 27:25)
Summer. Iroquois destroy a Huron frontier village. (JR, 26:175)
Summer. A large Huron army is defeated by a much smaller Iroquois force. (JR, 25:175ff.)
August 2. Twelve Huron canoes are ambushed and defeated by the Mohawks. Several Hurons are taken prisoner along with Jesuit Fr. Isaac Jogues and Rene Goupil. (JR, 22:269)
August 13. The French begin to build Fort Richelieu on the Richelieu River (or River of the Iroquois) in an attempt to block Iroquois raids into New France. (JR, 22:275)
August 20. A 300 strong Iroquois war party attacks the unfinished Fort Richelieu. Despite their resolution and ferocity, they are repulsed by the French defenders. One Frenchman is killed and several are wounded. (JR, 22:277ff.)
September 29. Rene Goupil is killed while in Mohawk captivity.
A small Algonquin war party made up of Christian converts and pagans surprise and defeat an Iroquois war party of similar size. (JR, 22:51ff.)
The Susquehannocks are at war with the English colonists in Maryland.
December. Cardinal Richelieu dies and is succeeded by Cardinal Mazarin.

1643–1650

Civil war breaks out between rival French governors in Acadia.

1643

February. The Dutch are at war with the Delaware.
Spring. Algonquin war parties battle the Iroquois with mixed success. The captain Piescaret of the Algonquin Island Nation is given up as lost, but returns bearing an Iroquois head. (JR, 24:253ff.)
May. King Louis XIII dies and is succeeded by Louis XIV, then aged five.
May. Separating into small bands of 20 to 100, the Iroquois set ambushes along the length of the St. Lawrence, waylaying Huron canoes and ambushing Montagnais, Algonquins, and French indiscriminately. (JR, 24:271ff.)
June. A band of 40 well-armed Iroquois attack the settlement at Montreal capturing 13 canoes full of beaver skins, 23 Hurons and two Frenchmen, and killing several others.
August. A band of twelve Algonquins hunting in the vicinity of Fort Richelieu do battle with 20 Iroquois and are defeated. (JR, 24:291)

1643

Autumn. Father Jogues escapes from Iroquois captivity with the help of the Dutch. (JR, 25:43)

1644

March. A joint Dutch-English expedition destroys several Delaware villages in southern New York and on Long Island.
March. Iroquois raiding and ambushes severely disrupt life in Huronia. Women are killed in the field daily and Huron war parties raised to deal with the invaders are defeated. (JR, 27:63)
April. Father Bressani and several Huron converts are captured by the Iroquois. (JR, 25:191)
Summer. A Huron war party of more than 100 heads to Iroquoia to lay ambushes, is met by 7–800 Iroquois, and disastrously defeated. (JR, 28:43)
Summer. The Hurons and Algonquins skirmish with the Iroquois in the vicinity of Fort Richelieu with mixed results.
Two bands of Hurons are captured by the Iroquois near Quebec. (JR, 28:43)
Three fleets of Huron canoes are attacked and captured by the Iroquois on the St. Lawrence. (JR, 28:43)
Iroquois raiding effectively closes St. Lawrence River trade and communication between Huron country and Quebec
Twenty-two French soldiers are sent to Huronia to help deal with the Iroquois menace. (JR, 27:89)
Autumn. Iroquois raid in the vicinity of Fort Richelieu, killing, injuring, and capturing several French and Hurons. (JR, 27:221ff.)

1645

The Susquehannocks conclude a peace with the English in Maryland.
Summer. Peace is concluded between the Dutch and the Delaware.\
Summer. The Hurons trap an Iroquois war party in a fort in the woods, but Iroquois intrigue causes dissention in the Huron ranks and they are routed. (JR, 29:247)
September. After long negotiations, peace is forged between the Mohawks and the French, Algonquins, and Hurons. (JR, 27:79ff.)

1646

Spring. Fr. Jogues returns to the Mohawks as an ambassador of the French. (JR, 29:47)
August. The Oneidas attack the Island Nation Algonquins and defeat them but are then defeated in turn by the Iroquet or Hurons while returning home. (JR, 28:225; JR, 29:229)
October 18. Fr. Jogues is killed by the Mohawks. This breaks the peace, but the French do not hear of it for some time.
October. Louis d’Ailleboust becomes commandant of Montreal.

1647

March. Mohawks launch a surprise attack and capture 100 Algonquins, killing many others and breaking the peace. Among them is the Algonquin captain Simon Piescaret who is assassinated. (JR, 30:235; 5:289, fn 52)
Spring. The Onondagas appear on the Huron frontier but are defeated. One chief is killed, several others are captured, and the rest flee. (JR, 33:117)
Spring. The Hurons spare an important Onondaga chief and peace negotiations between the Hurons and Onondagas ensue. (JR, 33:119)
Spring. The Susquehannocks offer aid to the beleaguered Hurons. (JR, 30:253)
Spring. The French, Montagnais and Hurons skirmish with Iroquois raiders along the St. Lawrence. (JR, 31:171)
June. Fort Richelieu is abandoned. (JR, 30:181)

1647

July 21. An Algonquin war party of the Petite Nation returns from a raid in Iroquoia with six scalps. (JR, 30:187)
Summer. An Iroquois army ravages Huronia. (JR, 33:81)
Summer. A Seneca war party of 300 destroys a village of the Aondirronnons, a nation of the Neutral confederacy. (JR, 33:83)
October. Peace is concluded between the Onondaga and the Hurons and indications are given that the Cayuga and Oneida also wish to make peace with the Hurons. However, the Seneca and the Mohawks continue on the warpath against the Hurons.
The Eries are forced to move inland to escape their unknown enemy to the west. (JR, 33:63)
No Hurons descend to the French settlements this year. (JR, 30:195)

1648

Winter. Arendaenronnon Hurons from the frontier village of St. Ignace are harassed by the Seneca and Mohawks. A Seneca war party surprises an
Arendaenronnon hunting camp carrying off 24 and killing seven. A short time later, a Mohawk war party surprises about 300 Arendaenronnons who had returned to collect the dead, capturing 40. (JR, 33:83ff.)
Spring. The Huron Arendaenronnons of St. Ignace are forced to abandon their villages and move to more populous regions within Huronia due to their proximity to the Iroquois and numerous defeats. (JR, 33:89)
In desperate need of hatchets and other French trade goods, 250 Hurons force their way up the St. Lawrence to the French settlements.
July. Iroquois launch a sudden raid and destroy the Huron frontier town of Teanaustayé (St. Joseph), killing and capturing 700 Hurons. Father Antoine Daniel is martyred. Another unnamed town is also sacked. (JR, 34:87)
July 17. A combined French and Huron force destroys an Iroquois war party near Three Rivers. (JR, 32:173ff.)
August. Montmagny is replaced as governor of New France by d’Ailleboust. (JR, 32:131)
September. The Huron trading fleet returns successfully to Huronia carrying 20 Frenchmen. (JR, 34:101)
Iroquois raids and ambushes again menace the settlements and trade routes along the St. Lawrence. (JR, 32:143ff.)

1649

March 16. The Huron village of St. Ignace is attacked by 1,200 Iroquois while the defenders are asleep. Successfully destroying this village, they then proceed to attack the nearby village of St. Louis. Though more strongly defended, St. Louis is also captured and burned. Those who cannot be taken as prisoners are massacred, including Fathers Gabriel Lalemant and Jean de Brebeuf. (JR, 34:25ff.)
March 17. The Huron Nation of the Bear rallies 300 warriors and defeats a contingent of the Iroquois army in Huronia, taking 30 captives. The main body of the Iroquois army returns to the scene and defeats the Hurons, though not without the loss of some 100 of their best men. (JR, 34:133ff.)
March 19. The Iroquois army withdraws from Huronia taking large amounts of captives and spoils with them. They also suffer some 200 casualties of their own. (JR, 34:135)
May. The Jesuits abandon and burn their fort at St. Marie to follow the Hurons who are scattering to escape the Iroquois. (JR, 34:225)
Reeling from multiple calamities, the Hurons abandon 15 villages and disperse far and wide, seeking aid from various neighboring tribes. This signals the end of the Huron confederacy as a cohesive military or political force. (JR, 34:197)
June. The Iroquois capture 14 Algonquins near Three Rivers. At about the same time, the Algonquins of the Petite Nation kill seven Iroquois. (JR, 34:55)
June. D’Ailleboust belatedly sends about 60 Frenchmen and munitions to the Hurons to assist in their defense. (JR, 34:53)
August. The Jesuits follow the scattered remnants of the Huron nations to a refuge at St. Joseph Island. (JR, 34:213)
The Iroquois attack the Nipissings, destroying habitations along the banks of Lake Nipissing.
Autumn. The Hurons and Jesuits build fortified villages on St. Joseph Island. (JR, 35:25)
A terrible famine strikes the remnants of Huronia. (JR, 34:83)
December. The Iroquois attack the undefended Petun village of Etharita (St. Jean). Jesuit Fr. Charles Garnier is killed. (JR, 35:107ff.)
December. Jesuit Fr. Noël Chabanel is killed either by the Iroquois or an apostate Huron. (JR, 35:147ff.)

1650

Winter. The Hurons at St. Joseph Island suffer horribly from famine and disease. (JR, 35:75)
March. An Iroquois war party marches 200 leagues and massacres several hundred Hurons who are scattered about St. Joseph Island fishing. (JR, 35:183)
Spring–Summer. The Iroquois continue to stalk the refugee Hurons, attacking hunting parties, families, and anyone else caught outside the protection of the forts.
Spring. The Iroquois surprise and capture a party of Algonquins 200 leagues from Iroquoia. (JR, 35:179)
Spring. An Algonquin war party led by Christian convert Jean Outagwainou attempts to surprise some Iroquois villages while their men are off at war. They are betrayed by a Huron’s intrigue and routed by an Iroquois war party. (JR, 35:217)
Late Spring. The Jesuits and 300 Huron families retreat from St. Joseph Island back through the devastated Huron Country to Quebec, reaching the French settlements in July. A colony is established for the refugee Hurons near Quebec. (JR, 35:183ff.)
Summer. The Iroquois raid in the neighborhood of Quebec with practical impunity, killing several Frenchmen.
Summer. A band of 25 or 30 Iroquois engages a party of 60 French soldiers. The Iroquois effect a fighting retreat, and inflict heavy casualties on the French. (JR, 35:211ff.)

Continued through 1675 in Iroquois Wars II.

References

de Champlain, Samuel. 1878 [1613]. The Voyages of Samuel de Champlain, Vol. II. Edmund F. Slafter (ed.), Charles Pomeroy Otis, (trans.), Boston: The Prince Society.

de Champlain, Samuel. 1882 [1613, 1619]. The Voyages of Samuel de Champlain, Vol. III. Edmund F. Slafter (ed.), Charles Pomeroy Otis, (trans.), Boston: The Prince Society.

Hakluyt, Richard. 1600 [1889]. "A Short and Briefe Narration of the Navigation Made by Order of the King of France to the Islands of Canada, Hochelaga, Saguenay, and Divers Others Which are Now Called New France, with the Particular Customes and Maners of the Inhabitants Therein. The Second Voyage of Jacques Cartier," in The Principal Navigations, Voyages, Traffiques and Discoveries of the English Nation, E. Goldsmid (ed.), Edinburgh: E. & G. Goldsmid.

JR = Thwaites, Reuben Gold, ed., 1896–1901. The Jesuit Relations and Allied Documents: Travels and Explorations of the Jesuit Missionaries in New France, 1610–1791. The Original French, Latin and Italian Texts, with English Translations and Notes. 73 Vols. Cleveland: Burrows Brothers.

Sagard, Gabriel. 1939 [1632]. The Long Journey to the Country of the Hurons. George M. Wrong (ed.), H. H. Langton (trans.), Toronto: The Champlain Society.

Page last updated: 2/3/04

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