Irokesenland
| Irokesenland | |
|---|---|
| Province of Iroksenland | |
| Irokesenlandt | |
 | |
 Location of Irokesenland | |
| Established | Irokesenland Protectorate (1816) Province of Irokesenland (1861) |
| Area | 514 932 km² |
| Languages |
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| Currency | Amerikaens Guilder (AMG) |
Iroksenland is a landlocked province of Tussenland, situated on the southeastern corner of the country, bordered by Virginia and New Netherland to the east, Florida, Opdamsland, and South Tussenland to the south, and the province of Meerenland to the west. During colonial years, it was a protectorate of the Netherlands from 1816-1861, until it was integrated as a province into the Federation of Tussenland, a federation of colonies under the Dutch crown. When the Federation of Tussenland became independent in 1905, Iroksenland kept its status as a province and held significant political and economic influence over the country.
History
The Hoodenoshieöné Confederation and the Beaver Wars (17th century)
The Hoodenoshieöné Confederation, whose homeland was located in present-day northern New Netherland, was often at war with the French to the north, and their various French-aligned Algonquin neighbours. The Hoodenoshieöné made friendly ties with the Dutch Republic, who traded arms with them in exchange for food, furs, and other trading goods.
Alliance with the Dutch West India Company (1656)
In 1658, the Dutch Republic signed the Treaty of Perpetual Alliance with the Hoodenoshieöné. This treaty stipulated the Dutch recognition of Iroquois sovereignty, a stronger trade partnership, and a 'perpetual' mutual defense treaty. This treaty also allowed the Dutch West India Company to build forts inside of Hoodenoshieöné territory. Additionally, the treaty forbade Dutch settlers from founding new settlements inside native land.
Southwest Expansion
In the late 17th century, the Hoodenoshieöné attacked and invaded the land southwest to them, which now forms the northern half of Irokesenland, driving the local tribes of the Ilinieuweck away to the northwest. They used the newly conquered territory as hunting grounds. With the Dutch Republic's support, the Hoodenoshieöné were able to stop the French from expanding down south during the Beaver Wars, and at one point came close to sacking the settlement of Montréal. In the 1690s, peace was made with the French, favoring the Hoodenoshieöné. With the French contained in the north, the Hoodenoshieöné continued to trade with the Dutch and allowed them to build forts inside their hunting ground territory. The Hoodenoshieöné victory during the war put the Dutch in a prime position to launch various explorations and expeditions down the Ohio and Mississippi rivers and claim a large portion of North America's interior.
The split of the Hoodenoshieöné Confederation and Southwest Migration
By the dawn of the 19th century, Hoodenoshieöné territory had spanned from the southern coast of Lake Ontario to the confluence point of the Ohio and Mississippi rivers. However, despite the treaty back in 1658 forbidding the Dutch from creating new settlements inside Iroquois territory, the Dutch settlers from New Netherland were still able to do so on the interior due to various tribes leasing their lands to the colonists.
By 1780, more than half of the Iroquois homeland territory had Dutch settlements. When New Netherland declared independence from the Dutch in 1796, New Netherland claimed territory as far west as 82 degrees west. This claim included parts of the Iroquoian homeland. The Iroquois initially remained neutral, hoping that the Dutch Republic would eventually regain control of New Netherland. However, with the French steamrolling the Dutch Republic during the French revolution, the Dutch Republic never regained control of New Netherland.
The Iroquois had to act. The Iroquois Grand Council was convened multiple times throughout the late 1790s and early 1800s over the matter. The Onatouwacka and Cajuckonoo nations saw it necessary to flee southwest to their hunting grounds, away from New Netherland's influence and land claims, as the only way to protect their sovereignty. Furthermore, they feared that if they become part of New Netherland, the New Netherland government would stop paying the land leases, especially now that New Netherland was no longer subject to Dutch laws protecting the Iroquois. However, the other Iroquois nations (the Mohawk, Onondaga and Oneida) wished to remain in their traditional homeland. There was increasing political tension between the Cajuckonoo and the Oneida, who, under the Iroquois' Grand Council system, had to reach a consensus before a final decision could be passed. The differing stances led to political deadlock, and the council had to dismiss and reconvene multiple times. Tensions between the Iroquois nations even became tenser as the Onondaga showed interest in the invitation to join New Netherland, offered by the New Netherland government led by Marÿn van Beeke. Eventually, it became clear that the grand council could not make a decision. In 1805, the Cayuga and Seneca migrated south and escaped into their southwest hunting grounds without the other Iroquois nations' approval. This effectively marked the end of the Hoodenoshieöné Confederation.
The Protectorate of Irokesenlandt (1816)
After the Kingdom of the Netherlands was created in 1814, the fledgling kingdom still recognized the Treaty of Perpetual Alliance with the Hoodenoshieöné. Together with the Dutch West India Company, the Netherlands offered the Cajuckonoo and Onatouwacka land within the Tussenland colony, which they could rule with autonomy. In 1816, the Irokesenlandt Land Grant Treaty was signed in Fort Hedel by the Dutch West India Company, the Kingdom of the Netherlands, and the three nations' sachems, giving the Iroquois the southern half of Iroksenlandt. The treaty officially recognized the Cajuckonoo and Onatouwacka ruling autonomously within the Tussenland colony.
This land grant put the Kingdom of the Netherlands in a strong position against the Iroquois. The Iroquois' status as a sovereign nation became moot. The Royal Tussenland Company manipulating Iroquois policy would be a common trend throughout the 19th century, including the controversial strong-arming and pressuring of the Dutch to sell the eastern part Irokesenlandt to Virginia in 1848 in an attempt to avoid war with the British. In the same year, the Cajuckonoo and Onatouwacka recognized Dutch suzerainty, creating the Protectorate of Irokesenlandt (known in English as the Iroquois Country).
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Wars against the Sioux, Sjouwanacki (Shawnee) and Tsjickasja (Chickasaw)
They enslaved people while also adopting some women and young children into their tribe to maintain the population.
Migration of the Appalachian Iroquois
The Appalachian Iroquois moved east.
Rise of the Pan-Irokees Ideology
Mention here that a significant part of Irokees people own slaves. Mention Irokees education, adoption of Christianity, gradual switch from a matrillineal to a patrillineal society. Distinct Creole identity.
