Mutual Transformative Influences: Changes in Native America Brought Upon by the Fur Trade

1600 - 1800

Andrew James Ground

Professor Liachan Sun

HIST 490T

1:00 p.m. Tu/Thurs, Fall 2021

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Section 1, Thesis:

The First Nations, the indigenous peoples of North America, became exposed to the

economies and peoples of the greater world. Christopher Columbus in his mission to seek a trade

route for the Spanish crown set forward events that would result in the permanent continental

exchange. The Columbian Exchange saw a movement of people, livestock, plants, goods, and

diseases between Europe, the Americas, and Africa. What occurred following this is a

transformation of ecology, agriculture, and ways of life. Columbus on his voyages brought with

him firearms and reintroduced horses to North America where they had previously gone extinct

some millenia before. While the precise numbers are unknown, smallpox and other epidemic

diseases would run rampant across native populations, killing 90 percent in some places.1 The

Americas became a battleground of European interests as they sought dominion and hegemony

over one another. The native population would be drawn into these long existing rivalries and

would be included in the established systems of the rest of the world. In turn, their own

pre-existing rivalries would become intermingled with a changing, shifting network of alliances.

Despite this, there was still a great barrier represented by the Atlantic. The ocean limited the

abilities of European powers to directly influence the affairs of their colonies and outposts. These

powers would still need to be able to assert their authority overseas by the use of native allies to

act in coordination with local colonial representatives of the state. To ensure cooperation,

Europeans would have to export the products of their industry to the different bands, tribes, and

nations of Native America. A product imported from overseas included gunpowder technology

which brought changes to the variety of native societies that inhabited North America. The

material exchange between Native America and Europe would become a transformative

influence on the aboriginal societies of Native America.

1
Hunt, Lynn, Thomas R. Martin, Barbara H. Rosenwein, and Bonnie G. Smith 446

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Section 2, Sources:

One of the main sources referred to within this include Richard White’s The Middle

Ground. The book focuses on the Great Lakes of North America and its aboriginal inhabitants,

their relationship with European empires as well as their colonies. establishes the existence of

two kinds of parties involved in North America, the pre-state and the empire. In this analysis,

White focuses on the point of argument that empires are at their weakest in their periphery

frontiers which can be witnessed around the Great Lakes. Even as nations are removed and only

people remain for White, the frontier is a place where agents are sent to try and coordinate events

in the favor of their side. The French, British, and eventually, the United States search try to

coordinate with the Alaqonquins, which is why The Middle Ground principally focuses on them,

even though that as a faction they are characterized as a pre-state or a collection of pre-states.2

Because they are not characterized as a single, cohesive group and often lacked an ability among

themselves to coordinate individual villages, the Middle Ground and the Upper River are chaotic

in nature as individuals point and decentralized villages act. From this work, chapters commonly

referred to include those on the fur trade as part of the alliances Natives forged with European

empires.

Supplementing Richard White’s narrative is The Making of the West, for the text’s

discussion in European matters from the 17th and 18th centuries. For a discussion of the French

and English traders, The Blackfeet, Raiders on the Northwestern Plains is often referred to.

When consulting information of the manufacture and origin of firearms imported to North

America, as well as created domestically are Firearms in American History as well as American

Military Shoulder Arms, Volume I : Colonial and Revolutionary War Arms. In reference to
2
White, Richard 317 & 366

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material relating to the actual impact of firearms on both military and society, Kenneth Chase’

Firearms: A Global History is brought up.

Section 3: The Impacts of Gunpowder

Military Impact:

Firearms in some recognizable form have existed since medieval China and gunpowder

remains one of the four principle inventions of Chinese civilization. The use of gunpowder

invention by the Song(960 - 1279) and Jin(1115 - 1234) dynasties and spread throughout

Mongol empire(Yuan, 1271 - 1368), as well as the successes of the Ming(1368 - 1644) as

gunpowder empire.3 It was not long until gunpowder came into the hands of Europeans for use

in sieges and eventually saw use as a weapon for infantry. The 15th, 16th, and 17th centuries

saw the increased production and utilization of firearms meant for infantry, as well as the

improvement of cannon meant for the battlefield or siege warfare.4

Before the introduction of firearms to them in 1640, the Mohawk and other Iriquoians

wore armor woven from the thin reeds and cord.5 Twined reed would cover the chest, arms, and

legs as well as a shield with a skin covering and cap of leather to wear beneath a wooden

helmet.6 Meant to resist the ballclub, or the arrow and axe heads which were fashioned from

stone, they were reported as having been an effective defense.7 Warriors would fight until one

eventually had the upper hand until one came out as dominant, and the victor would then cut off

the head of the defeated.8

3
Chase, Kenneth 31 & 35
4
Chase, Kenneth 62
5
Starna, William, ed. A Journey into Mohawk and Oneida Country, 1634-1635 : The Journal of Harmen Meyndertsz
Van Den Bogaert, Revised Edition 11
6
Starna, William 42
7
Starna, William 11. It is to note that van den Bogaert was a witness to training being done by fellow Mohawks in
practice for battle and that none died during this instance. He and his expedition were camped at a place referred to
as ‘Tenotoge’ which Bogaert refers to as a castle due to the three palisades that surrounded the settlement. These
observations were in 1635, 5 years before the formal introduction of the Haudenasaunee to firearms.
8
Starna, William 11

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Centuries before the arrival of Europeans, Naitve Americans north of Mexico did not

engage in large scale, protracted conflicts.9 Their warriors were typically armed with weapons of

stone or wood and warfare went through frequent, but short instances where war parties traveled

light with a focus on moving quickly and quietly.10 Europeans would identify this method and

style as being synonymous with ‘irregular' fighting style, whose advantages over conventional

soldiers included speed, and logistical flexibility.11

With this in mind, the Beaver Wars were some of the most brutal cases of fighting

between American Indians recorded. The flintlocks the Dutch introduced to them saw them

discard many of their armor and turn on their neighbors to the west wielding the gun and a light

axe with a head of European steel.12 Between 1649 and the mid 1660’s the Iriquois would go on

a warpath that would descend onto the Ohio valley and its impact would be felt all across the

Great Lakes and the lands that bordered them.The onslaught of the Iriquois on the western

Alaqonquin saw the groups such as the Miami, Fox, Hurons, Ottawas as well as many others

were pushed increasingly further away from their traditional homelands.13 The result was a

disruption of older notions of territory as the boundaries between refugees became increasingly

difficult to maintain, the effect of which will be covered under cultural impact of gunpowder

within this paper. Huddled together in refugee centers, numbers were the only hope for the

Algonquins to compensate for the Iriqouan advantage in firearms.14

The Beaver Wars were likely fought for two reasons; The desire for beavers hunting

grounds, as well as captives meant to replenish Iriquoain losses due to famine and disease.15 The

9
Confer, Clarissa W. 22
10
Confer, Clarissa W. 22
11
Black, Jeremy A Military Revolution? 45
12
van der Donck, Adriaen, and Goedhuys 126
13
White, Richard 3
14
Richard, White 11
15
Richard, White 1

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Iriquois had a decisive advantage with their supply of guns, something their fellow neighbors did

not have in ample amounts.16 Meanwhile, the Haudenosaunee were able to use the terrifying

effect the sound of gunshots have on those unaccustomed to their sound.17

The “People of the Longhouse”, an endonym because of their principle building and a

center of community. By 1390 the Haudenosaunee, otherwise known as the Iriquois, had

solidified into a league of mutual friendship.18 Living a means through hunting, gathering, and

agriculture they had maintained a political and cohesion noteworthy pre-European contact.19

Even post-contact, the Iroquois were some of the most well organized of the natives in North

America. Composed of settled farming communities and their ability to muster hundreds of

warriors made the confederacy ideal allies to colonial powers.20 The war chiefs were of the best

fighters the Iriquois had to offer and who could by their personality and ability alone get others

to join a war party.21 While outstanding warriors, they were responsible for the strategy and

tactics of an engagement.22

When it came to expansion, traditional, European style armies would have difficulties in

North America. The speed and logistical flexibility of Native American forces would offer

challenges to the European method of making war.23 The logic of linear warfare used by Western

armies was in fixed encounters and if the enemy could avoid pitched battles, then they would

persevere. With much of the terrain being dense forests, regulars who moved in formation were

at a distinct disadvantage as well.24 The two in combination with one another could often result

16
Richard, White 11
17
Carter, William 238
18
Confer, Clarissa W. Daily Life in Pre-Columbian Native America Westport 1
19
Confer, Clarissa W. 15
20
Bilharz, Joy Ann., and Patricia, Rae 81
21
Monkkonen, Eric H., Ronald L. Numbers, David M. Oshinsky, Emily S. Rosenberg, Paul S. Boyer, and Melvyn
Dubofsky. The Oxford Companion to United States History 372
22
Bilharz, Joy Ann., and Patricia, Rae 61
23
Black, Jeremy A Military Revolution? 45
24
Black, A Military Revolution? 60

5
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in a decisive defeat. A case of this can be seen in 1755, British regulars were defeated by the

French and their Algonquin allies at Fort Duquesne due to their use of tree cover that ebbed

away at British morale.25

Natives were accustomed to what Europeans would term ‘brush fighting’, but were often

unreliable in terms of discipline and were known to act on a whim. There are even reports of

joint scouting parties that have had to go without their native allies for a time because they had

stopped mid march to feast on two oxen from the drove of the army.26 Something of note is that

irregulars had a reputation of often committing atrocities or similar treatment being dispensed to

them.27 The Canadian, American, and British perspective make note of concerns whenever their

native auxiliaries composed too large of a force.28

Of course, the manner in which Natives fought had its own advantages, but it was hardly

invincible. Spain’s colony in modern Mexico had frequent problems dealing with this method of

warfare.29 The empire’s northern frontier against the tribes of the Great Plain would suffer from

frequent hit and run raids and following the introduction of the horse, it resulted in a threat that

required blockhouses and forts along strategic roads and near vulnerable settlements.30 An

alternative method was developed by a captain by the name of Bernardo de Vargas Machua in his

The Armed Forces and Description of the Indies.31 The book written from Machua’s experience

in fighting aboriginal groups in South America advocated for groups of commandos to carry out

search and destroy missions led by good leaders who knew about planting survival crops, curing

25
Parker, Geoffrey The Military Revolution Military Innovation and the Rise of the West, 1500-1800 120
26
Bilharz, Joy Ann., and Patricia, Rae 83
27
Black, Jeremy A Military Revolution? 45
28
Bilharz, Joy Ann., and Patricia, Rae 84 “....to prevent the barbarity and carnage which will ever obtain where
Indians make so superior a part of a detachment”
29
Parker, Geoffrey. The Military Revolution Military Innovation and the Rise of the West, 1500-1800-Cambridge
University Press 120
30
Parker, Geoffrey 120
31
Parker, Geoffrey 120

6
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tropical ulcers, ambush laying, and mounting surprise attacks. In this outline, the frontier would

be consolidated by a manhunt while settlers hunted resistant Indians with mastiffs and knives.32

Whether by coincidence or not, the latter approach would be favored by New England colonists

in King Philip's war.

The King Philip's War displayed a need to adopt guerilla tactics and colonists would be

instructed to fight in small units with hatchets, dogs, knives, and firearms in open formation as

opposed to in lines or columns.33 In fact, when Natives did attempt to set up strong defences such

as when the Narrangansetts in King Philip’s War constructed a timber fortress in the Great

Swamp34, it was doomed to fail.35

The two of the four remaining European powers in North America, the British and

French, competed with one another on a global scale and would tie as many allies to their

conflicts as they could.36 The Peace of Utrecht(1713 - 1714) saw the cessation of French

possessions in North America to Great Britain comprising Newfoundland, Hudson Bay, and

Nova Scotia.37 Despite this, the French cause was not lost.

At the beginning of European contact, aboriginal bands, tribes, and nations held a

military advantage of number over the colonists. Concerned by this, in the 1620’s, the English

government shipped their colonies arms and armor, even forms of light armor in the form of mail

and buff leather coats.38 During King Philip’s War, colonial settlements would be routinely

attacked by native forces utilizing hit and run tactics by the three tribes united under Chief

32
Parker - The Military Revolution Military Innovation and the Rise of the West, 1500-1800-Cambridge University
Press (1996) 120
33
Parker, Geoffrey The Military Revolution Military Innovation and the Rise of the West, 1500-1800 119
34
Note: Present day Kingston, Rhode Island
35
Parker, Geoffrey The Military Revolution Military Innovation and the Rise of the West, 1500-1800-Cambridge
University Press (1996) 119
36
Hunt, Lynn, Thomas R. Martin, Barbara H. Rosenwein, and Bonnie G. Smith 547. At the time of the 18th century,
the remaining European powers of North America were the British, French as well as the Spanish and Russians.
37
Hunt, Lynn, Thomas R. Martin, Barbara H. Rosenwein, and Bonnie G. Smith 512
38
Moller, George D.. American Military Shoulder Arms, Volume I : Colonial and Revolutionary War Arms 21

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Metacomet.39 The war displayed two things to the colonial settlers. The first was that they would

have to fight in a similar method in order to combat natives. The second would be that, in order

to conduct operations against Natives, they would also have to rely on the assistance of native

allies. It was only these developments that turned the tide of the war in the year of 1676 in favor

of the European settlers.40

While the musket was superior in the mass equipping of a formal army, the conditions of

the North American continent were hardly ideal for this kind of warfare in the 17th and 18th

centuries.41 In 1776, Benjamin Franklin petitioned Major-General Charles Lee in adopting bows

and arrows as well as pikes. Among the reasons included the lethality of the arrow, the rate of

fire, accuracy, and their easy make.42 Rifles would only come to match the bow in terms of range,

accuracy, and reliability in the 18th century, and not rate of fire until the 19th century43. Even the

Alaqonuin of the Great Lakes found their French powder supplies running out, they simply

resumed hunting with bows.44

However, in this discussion so far, it must be pointed out that the Iroquois had held a

position of power and influence in the Great Lakes region long before European arrival.45 In

which case, their success is the equivalent of a pre-established power successfully utilizing new

technology to their advantage. However, the edge firearms and equipment gave their wielders

were not limited to just the pre-established.

39
Hunt, Lynn, Thomas R. Martin, Barbara H. Rosenwein, and Bonnie G. Smith 525
40
Drake, James David. King Philip’s War : Civil War in New England 2
41
Drake, James David. King Philip’s War : Civil War in New England 3 “Yet some of the most celebrated victories
and infamous defeats in American military history prove that neither the size of an army nor its access to technology
and supplies necessarily determines its success. In the American Revolution, patriots faced the highly regarded
British army; they lost the vast majority of the battles but still won the war. Conversely, in Vietnam American forces
ostensibly had superior weapons and finances and won the majority of the battles, yet ultimately they suffered
defeat. Such examples raise doubts about the common perception that the English inevitably defeated the Indians
because of their military superiority.”
42
Black, A Military Revolution? 61
43
Chase, Kenneth. Firearms A Global History to 1700 27
44
White, Richard. The Middle Ground 135
45
Confer, Clarissa W. 22

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The Blackfoot had been a Plains people who had migrated out of the Eatern Woodlands

some time before European contact. In war, they traditionally fought wearing quilted moosehide

jackets.46 Before battle, opposing forces would form long lines and would hide behind large

shields within an arrows distance from one another.47 When it was time to fire their arrows, they

would expose themselves to fire at one another. This would be done until one side’s morale

broke and the victors could pursue.48 In the 1730’s, the Blackfoot were routinely under raid by

Shoshone utilizing horses.49 Cree and Assinibon friendly to the Piegan Blackfoot offered them

warriors as well as 10 guns and thirty rounds of ammunition for each.50 Concealed in long leather

cases before meeting the next Shoshone war party, the ten guns brought with them would let

loose and the morale of the Shoshone broke almost immediately.51

However, losing a war to European colonists would have a steep cost. The victory of the

English settlers over the Pequots resulted in those remaining natives becoming slaves, with some

of the men being shipped off to their fellows in Bermuda.52 Lifelong indentured servitude

became their fate, as a few other natives dotted around Rhode Island, Long Island, and

Massachusetts.53 However, outside of the Carribean, nowhere else on the shores of the Atlantic

were there more native americans slaves than in North Carolina.54 The result of raids on the

Spanish missions in Florida, as well trading goods for captives of war from natives from further

into the interior.55 Those tribes, bands, and federations had an advantage on those groups who

46
Ewers, John C. 19
47
Ewers, John C. 21
48
Ewers, John C. 22
49
Ewers, John C. 21
50
Ewers, John C. 19
51
Ewers, John C. 19
52
Furnas, J.C. 117
53
Furnas, J.C. 117
54
Furnas, J.C. 117
55
Furnas, J.C. 118

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possessed few to little firearms. A similar phenomenon occurred in West and Central Africa

along those groups adjacent to the coast benefited from the proximity of trade with Europeans.56

Native Americans were reliant on European commanding officers to equip them. 57

However, there would be issues with this arrangement. The bullet may not fit the musket,

alternatively, they would not be supplied with enough powder.58 Natives would often have to

improvise without guns or powder. As rebels retreated from the Battle of Oriskany,

Revolutionaries would skirmish from behind the treeline. In response to this, natives would

move in to tomahawk those who had to reload. Placing two men behind a tree was the response

to this development.59 However, battles would often result in hand to hand combat using cold

weapons. The Battle of Oriskany is regarded as being one of the bloodiest battles of the

American Revolution.60

Economic Impact

The Oikoumene, or the Inhabited Quarter, was composed of a technologically advanced,

interconnected world of Africa, Asia, and Europe. Following 1492, this would incorporate the

Americas into its systems of trade and economy from the late 15th century onwards.61 Before the

15th century, Europeans were still confined to the small corner of their world, containing a fairly

small proportion of the world’s population, and not much power or influence outside of their

geographical constraints. For some time, this would be the source for all the guns that would end

up in the Americas.

56
Hunt, Lynn, Thomas R. Martin, Barbara H. Rosenwein, and Bonnie G. Smith. 543 & 545
57
Bilharz, Joy Ann., and Patricia, Rae 39
58
Bilharz, Joy Ann., and Patricia, Rae 40
59
Bilharz, Joy Ann., and Patricia, Rae. Oriskany : a Place of Great Sadness : a Mohawk Valley Battlefield
Ethnography 57
60
Bilharz, Joy Ann., and Patricia, Rae 58
61
Chase, Kenneth. Firearms A Global History to 1700 6

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In the late 15th century, Columbus achieved a feat that earned his name in the annals of

history, the discovery of the Americas to the European world, and more importantly, the

permanent connection of those different worlds. It shifted the economic balance of Europe,

where southern European nations diminished while those in the northwest flourished. The Dutch,

English, and French emerged stronger in their competition against the Portuguese and Spanish

while the myriad of city-states in Italy lost much of their importance as merchant middlemen

between the Ottomans and the rest of Europe.62 As the 17th century passed and the 18th century

began, consumer societies became prevalent in Europe alongside population growth and an

increased demand for supplies of goods from coffee to calico.63

The 18th century saw the birth of the consumer society as population growth in Europe

saw increased demand for supplies of goods from coffee to calico.64The need for export and the

domestic need for pelts were also great. Much of colonial dress was composed of leather, this

included shirts, coats, shoes, breeches, and aprons. Beaver fur would be shaved off in order to

create fur felt for hats.65 This dependency resulted in the fashion of buckskins becoming a

mocking derivative for many of lower orders of colonial society. The closer to the frontier, the

more common leather clothing would become as it was the most common material of clothing

due to its availability.66

French traders from St. Lawrence and English traders from the east and Hudson Bay

came in search of the pelts in order to meet this demand of the European market.67 Bear, deer,

otter, but the most sought after pelts was beaver for their fur were commodities that fetched a

62
Hunt, Lynn, Thomas R. Martin, Barbara H. Rosenwein, and Bonnie G. Smith. The Making of the West : Peoples
and Cultures Fifth edition. 491
63
Hunt, Lynn, Thomas R. Martin, Barbara H. Rosenwein, and Bonnie G. Smith 548
64
Hunt, Lynn, Thomas R. Martin, Barbara H. Rosenwein, and Bonnie G. Smith 548
65
Furnas, J.C. 134
66
Furnas, J.C. 135
67
Ewers, John C. 19

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high price in the European market.68 The French traders and explorers came from Montreal

through the Great Lakes and into the Mississippi Valley all throughout the 17th century.69

For France, their first claim to territory in North America began under explorer Samuel

de Champlain in 1608, but would not be settled in any real way until later within that century.70 It

would only be under the policies of Jean-Baptise Colbert(1619-1683), royal minister of finances,

public works, and the navy for King Louis XIV that any real colonization would unfold.71

In his work for the French monarchy, Colbert shaped the makeup of French Canada. He

did so by forbidding colonial businesses from manufacturing anything already being produced

domestically in France, and in addition also had several thousands of peasants taken from France

to modern day Quebec, where de Chamlpain was supposed to have founded in 1608.72 Although

the European population throughout French Canada would hardly exceed 3000 people, their thin

numbers were able to move rapidly throughout the continental interior by its waterways.73 A fur

trader by the name of Louis Jolliet and a Jesuit missionary, Jacques Marquette had reached the

upper Mississippi in the 1672 and would be able to reach the modern state of Arkansas with

another explorer by the name of Sieur de La Salle had reached the Gulf of Mexico by 1684.74

In the 1730s, the French established trading posts on the Assiniboine River and in the

1740s, on the Saskatchewan River.75 Peoples such as Cree and Assiniboine became important

68
Furnas, J.C. 25 The Americans: A Social History of the United States 1587 - 1914
69
Ewers, John C. 19
70
Londré, Felicia Hardison, and Daniel J. Watermeier. The History of North American Theater : the United States,
Canada, and Mexico, from Pre-Columbian Times to the Present 77
71
Hunt, Lynn, Thomas R. Martin, Barbara H. Rosenwein, and Bonnie G. Smith 510
72
Hunt, Lynn, Thomas R. Martin, Barbara H. Rosenwein, and Bonnie G. Smith 511
73
Hunt, Lynn, Thomas R. Martin, Barbara H. Rosenwein, and Bonnie G. Smith 491
74
Hunt, Lynn, Thomas R. Martin, Barbara H. Rosenwein, and Bonnie G. Smith 511
75
Ewers, John C. 23. On the lower Saskatchewan the French established Fort a la Corne and Fort La Jonquiere. The
location of the latter fort is unknown and still in dispute as to its exact location

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intermediaries between the French and English for trade on the plains due to their proximity to

their northern settlements.76

In the early 17th century, the French in their dealings were likely to trade natives

“fowlers”, firearms meant for hunting and commonly used by their colonial militias.77 These

-fusils de chasse,- or hunting rifles, were supplied to the French colonies in Canada, New

Orleans, and the French islands in the Caribbean.78 From Canada, many Native Americans would

trade for their weapons. As time progressed two kinds of firearms were sent to Canada: the

hunting rifles and the more cheaply made “trade guns” to satisfy the needs of the fur trade.79 A

few high quality hunting rifles would be procured as gifts in the name of the king to native

chiefs.80 In the 18th century hunting guns were purchased from the gunmakers of Tulle, while

French trade guns might have been from areas such as Charlesville, Saint Etienne, Liege, and

other manufacturing centers based in France.81 The mercantilist policies where the government

must intervene to increase national wealth by any means possible as favored by King Louis

XIV's minister of finance.82

The Northwest Company and Hudson Bay Company sold trade guns at their various

outposts along the Saskatchewan river. In 1794 at Fort George, fourteen beaver pelts were the

equivalent of a trade gun.83 The smoothbore, muzzle loaded flintlocks and while not the modern

weapons of the late 18th century such as the Kentucky rifle, they were still deadly.84

76
Ewers, John C. 23
77
Moller, George D. 85
78
Moller, George D. 101
79
Moller, George D. 101
80
Moller, George D. 100
81
Moller, George D. 100
82
Hunt, Lynn, Thomas R. Martin, Barbara H. Rosenwein, and Bonnie G. Smith. 511
83
Ewers, John 33
84
Ewers, John 33

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In the 18th century, natives engaged in the fur trade, favoring the French blacksmiths to

repair their metal goods.85 The French would increasingly open the services of gunsmiths and

blacksmiths within their forts to their native allies in order to win over their favor.86 It would be a

move that the English would mirror with their blacksmith residents in Oneida and the Mohawk

valley.87 Despite this increased contact and trade, it appears powder and musket manufacturing

remained exclusively the trade of settlers or imported overseas. Though, it was not always this

way.

In Massachusetts, the first blacksmiths and gunsmiths settlers were forbidden to sell,

repair, or maintain firearms in the service of natives much to the complaint of their colonists.88

The accusation of aiding a native could result in a fine and prison sentence from the local

magistrate.89 A group of religious dissidents had been executed for the sale of firearms to

natives.90 The acquisition of pelts were a quick way the indentured could pay off their debts, and

so was something sought after for many of the English colonists around New England all

throughout the 17th century.91 It a testament to the demands in Europe that the need to acquire

pelts persisted long after the system of indentured servents replacement by slaves brought in

from Africa. 92

William Penn(1644 - 1788), the founder of the English colony of Pennsylvania, sought to

quickly formalize the boundaries of Pennsylvania in order to gain access to trade with the

85
White, Richard. The Middle Ground : Indians, Empires, and Republics in the Great Lakes Region, 1650-1815 139
86
White, Richard 122
87
Bilharz, Joy Ann., and Patricia, Rae 36
88
Whisker, James B, and Kevin Spiker. Arms Makers of Massachusetts: 1610-1900. 6
89
Whisker, James B, and Kevin Spiker 67
90
Furnas, J.C. 65. The Merrymounters were a group that had attempted to celebrate holidays deemed to be secular
with notes of Pagan that were deemed socially unacceptable by the Pilgrims. Governor Hawthorne had them
executed for the sales, but it’s worth noting their disregard of social taboos, in addition to the fact they were doing
well in the fur trade at the time.
91
Hunt, Lynn, Thomas R. Martin, Barbara H. Rosenwein, and Bonnie G. Smith 40
92
Hunt, Lynn, Thomas R. Martin, Barbara H. Rosenwein, and Bonnie G. Smith. 543 & 545

14
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Iriquois because of their access to the beaver hunting grounds around the Great Lakes.93 By 1720

an Iroquois caravan traveling throughout the English colonies was thought to be composed of a

dozen men with up to 100 loaded pack horses with a variety of goods ranging from axes and

gunpowder to brass kettles and rum.94 The Dutch and French were able to dominate the fur trade

with natives by offering guns and gunpowder throughout the 17th century.95

The flintlock was adopted in the late 1600s, an improvement over the wheelock whose

ignition of powder was reliant on a burning match.96 By striking flint against steel that ignited

priming powder and the main charge, it was more effective, as well as cheaper to

manufacture.97 From the Dutch, the Mohawk were some of the first to have bought flintlock

guns in great quantity and price,98 as well as interrupt French fur convoys.99

English settlers from Pennsylvania and South Carolina competed for pelts against the

courerus de bois of the French who were operating inland from the settlement of Mobile.100

Springfield, Massachusetts would be founded in 1636 and flourished due to the ideal nature of

the Connecticut river for the navigation of boats for upcountry commerce.101 French Canada as a

colony was distinguishable in its interest in the fur trade and missionary activity.102 In the 18th

century the Moravion missionaries, despite their small numbers, would have great success in

converting the natives, but it too would be undone by European encroachment and frontier

hatred.103 Before the Dutch were driven out by the English in 1664, they had held a prominent

93
Furnas, J.C. 40
94
Furnas, J.C. 40
95
Furnas, J.C. 37
96
Chase, Kenneth 201
97
Chase, Kenneth 201
98
van der Donck, Adriaen, and Goedhuys, D. W. 2008. Description of New Netherland. Lincoln: University of
Nebraska Press. 126
99
Hunt, Lynn, Thomas R. Martin, Barbara H. Rosenwein, and Bonnie G. Smith 511
100
Furnas, J.C. 40
101
Furnas, J.C. 40
102
Furnas, J.C. 41
103
Furnas, J.C. 96

15
 Ground

trade position on the east coast in settlements on the Hudson and Delaware rivers, as well as

modern day Albany and Manhattan Island. In 1645 there the Dutch were able to gain able trade

partners in the Iroquois through the Mohawk.104 In turn, the Iriqouois would become influential

middlemen between the Dutch and the natives further west.105 However the golden age of the

Dutch would last only for the duration of the 17th century.106

With steel and iron goods, there would be an improvement in the standard of living for

natives who were able to supply colonists with pelts.107 Yet despite this contact, to the English

colonies on the Atlantic seaboard, their common dislike for natives were one of the few things

the 13 Colonies mutually agreed on.108 As well as their hope that the Natives would become

reliant on them. Some colonists believed that by supplying tools, cloth, and weapons the Natives

would become their dependents, and by that way, become easily manageable.109 Despite this, a

stronger case for this may have been with alcohol.110

When trade commerce went awry, interactions between trader and customer became

dangerous. When deals went bad, misunderstandings occurred, and the threat of disease

interfered with trade. The first contact with Europeans for trade meant that they often had no

means of resistance to the diseases they carried. Commerce was increasingly violent as

misunderstandings were common with every death returned in retaliation.111 With the

104
van der Donck, Adriaen, and Goedhuys, D. W. Description of New Netherland. Lincoln: University of Nebraska
Press, 2008. 39 The Dutch note that the Mohawk or “Maquas” had become of thee most feared of native nations
before their dealings, and especially after
105
Furnas, J.C. 42
106
Hunt, Lynn, Thomas R. Martin, Barbara H. Rosenwein, and Bonnie G. Smith. 513
107
Furnas, J.C. 38
108
Furnas, J.C. 128
109
Furnas, J.C. 37
110
Furnas, J.C. 38
111
White, Richard 75

16
 Ground

introduction of alcohol the fur trade became increasingly hostile.112 Around the year 1618 the

Pilgrims noted that the natives had been wiped out by an unidentified disease.113

However, it does not appear that firearms would be produced locally for some time at

least until the late 17th century.114 In some cases, gunsmiths were reliant on the import of specific

parts of a firearm.115 Gunsmiths were an integral part for the equipment and maintenance of local

militias.116 In other cases, while attached to their companies they may serve as interpreters on

expeditions.117 Gunsmiths would be in charge of the duty regarding putting in orders for

acquisition, especially in a time where few guns were produced locally.118

By the late 18th century this policy seems to have changed. Guns became increasingly

common as cities grew along the Atlatnic seaboard and with them, the capacity to create

firearms.119 As settlers ventured further into the interior of North America, especially Kentucky

and Ohio, so too did their muskets.120 A year before the war, Great Britain had banned the export

of firearms to the colonies.121 For the Revolutionaries, certain smiths were given expressed

designation to serve in the arming capacities of natives sympathetic to their cause.122

Social Impact:

Social organization was based around the ‘band’. Typically composed of five or so

families related to one another.123 An emphasis was placed on the importance of the hunter. In

some areas of North America, the hunter’s importance resulted in a position of power and

112
White, Richard 75
113
Furnas, J.C. 55
114
Whisker, James B, and Kevin Spiker. 6
115
Sawyer, Charles Winthrop. 69
116
Whisker, James B, and Kevin Spiker. 285
117
Whisker, James B, and Kevin Spiker 282
118
Sawyer, Charles Winthrop. 45
119
Sawyer, Charles Winthrop. Firearms in American History 70
120
Sawyer, Charles Winthrop. Firearms in American History 71
121
Sawyer, Charles Winthrop. Firearms in American History 72
122
Whisker, James B, and Kevin Spiker. Arms Makers of Massachusetts: 1610-1900. 266
123
Daily Life in Pre-columbian xix

17
 Ground

political leadership.124 Seasonal hunting, camping, and migration was the long established

routine for many groups, while others were sedentary agriculturalists.

‘Pays d’en haut’ or ‘upper country’ is typically the French name given to the region

around the Great Lakes. Richard White uses the term to connatate a ‘middle ground’ between

Europeans and American Indians. Detailing the ‘pays d’en haut’ as being reliant on the

cooperation between different groups in order to accomplish goals where those present have

limited resources and influence.125

For the Alaqonuins of the American Northeast and Great Lakes, the leader of this

confederation was regarded as 'Ontario'.126 France, through the governor of Quebec, would serve

in this capacity. But this role, in the terms and culture of natives, was restricted in terms of

conduct and ability. Ontario was a position likened to a father to his children, one who was

supposed to treat his children with love and respect. In return, Ontario's children were supposed

to respect their father. This social contract frustrated the imperial aspirations of not only the

French, but also later, the British.127

Cultural:

The Middle Ground defined in the Great Lakes regions has been characterized by the

inability of parties to gain their ends through force.128 The act of interpretation and correlation

within respective cultures was only continued by separate social customs regarding sex and

marriage.129 The French and English, unlike the Spanish and Portuguese, in theory did not

124
Confer, Clarissa W. xix
125
White, Richard. The Middle Ground : Indians, Empires, and Republics in the Great Lakes Region, 1650-1815
xxxI Richard White’s book is part of what can be called ‘New Indian history’ due it’s focus on placing native
americans at the center of the narrative. The book itself is as much a focus on the different groups, as well as their
relationship with Europeans over the time period discussed.
126
Bilharz, Joy Ann., and Patricia, Rae 19
127
Bilharz, Joy Ann., and Patricia, Rae 19
128
White, Richard 51
129
White, Richard 61

18
 Ground

tolerate intermarriage with native populations.130 It would be something that the French trapper

communities.131 With some European ideas and definitions being rendered completely useless in

some groups, and in others, validated.132

With trade went religion and much like French fur trappers, the Jesuit priests from French

Canada navigated the interior of the continent with a distinct purpose despite their relatively few

numbers.133 The converts would come to Quebec when the settlement was counted only at 2

thousand.134 Representatives of Algonquin, Huron, and Nez Perce as they reenacted the war and

struggle endemic to the period with theater and play being supervised by Jesuits or Ursuline

religious orders.135

The Jesuits, despite their condemnation of native culture, engaged in witnessing and

recording them.136 The Iriquois performed ritual dances on religious festival days, social dances

done by circling musicians in imitation or parody of an event.137 These events included domestic

life, but also hunting and war with each man having an individual song.138 Gunpowder too would

be implemented into their rituals of war. Those who would discharge their weapons while their

leader sang their war song.139

The conduct of commerce between natives and Europeans were done so often with

frustration and misunderstanding on either side. While trade was understood by both sides, it was

understood differently by them. For natives, trade often had ritualistic and social implications.140
130
Hunt, Lynn, Thomas R. Martin, Barbara H. Rosenwein, and Bonnie G. Smith 547
131
Hunt, Lynn, Thomas R. Martin, Barbara H. Rosenwein, and Bonnie G. Smith 547
132
White, Richard 62
133
Hunt, Lynn, Thomas R. Martin, Barbara H. Rosenwein, and Bonnie G. Smith 491
134
Londré, Felicia Hardison, and Daniel J. Watermeier. 78
135
Londré, Felicia Hardison, and Daniel J. Watermeier. 78
136
Londré, Felicia Hardison, and Daniel J. Watermeier 35
137
Londré, Felicia Hardison, and Daniel J. Watermeier 35
138
Londré, Felicia Hardison, and Daniel J. Watermeier 35
139
Carter, William 307. “This meeting is concluded with a General dance in Antick postures, which continues the
best part of the night, and the next day the Warriours meet again Dress’d in their Best Apparel and after another
dance they march out discharging their pieces as they Leave the Town, their Leader Singing the War Song.”
140
White, Richard 136

19
 Ground

As part of a system of reciprocity, gift giving and gift exchange were of importance because it

was the underlying principle where obligations were met and bonds were forged. It was the

method where social, political, and economic networks and alliances were created.141 This is

contrasted with the profit motivated trader of European descent searching for a means to come

out of a transaction by the most efficient means possible. It was much to the frustration of Van

Der Bogaert and others like him where a transaction would be refused entirely without any

exchange of gifts beforehand.142

With the introduction of firearms, even the appearance of warriors and hunters would be

susceptible to transformations.143 With the presence of firearms, the wooden armors of Iroquoian

were proven to have been obsolete. Quivers made from the skins of wolf and dog, ball clubs

decorated with animal carvings would accompany powder horns, hatchets, and muskets.144 So

too was the case with the moosehide armor of the Blackfoot peoples.

Conclusion:

The Atlantic system was the web of trade routes that fed its way into Europe. 145 It hit its

peak in the 18th century as colonies across the Americas contributed raw goods to the economies

of their respective overlords.146 Native Americans evaluated Europeans and their materials

through their lens of understanding. Their cultural distinctiveness from one another often ensured

conflict. Their different views on land ownership would create misunderstandings where war was

often the conclusion.147 With that understanding, they attempted to live their lives as they had for

generations previously. The natives of the Great Lakes incorporated the fur trade into their own

141
Starna, William 46
142
Starna, William 15
143
Carter, William Howard. “Chains of Consumption: The Iroquois and Consumer Goods, 1550–1800 259
144
Carter, Willian 259
145
Hunt, Lynn, Thomas R. Martin, Barbara H. Rosenwein, and Bonnie G. Smith 541
146
Hunt, Lynn, Thomas R. Martin, Barbara H. Rosenwein, and Bonnie G. Smith 542
147
Hunt, Lynn, Thomas R. Martin, Barbara H. Rosenwein, and Bonnie G. Smith 524

20
 Ground

life habits and routines. Those trading outposts kept on the river would be visited seasonally by

hunters who would trade their pelts for a myriad of goods, but always attempting to secure

enough powder for the next hunt of the season. Despite this, the introduction of European

materials most certainly transformed the lives of those who had lived in North America long

before Eurpeans set foot. Gunpowder was used to turn the tides of battle as groups like the

Blackfoot and the Iroquois were able to assert themselves with the tactical edge they now

possessed.

21
 Ground

Bibliography:

Primary Sources

van der Donck, Adriaen, and Goedhuys, D. W. Description of New Netherland. Lincoln:

University of Nebraska Press, 2008. Accessed December 10, 2021. ProQuest Ebook Central.

- A journal of a Dutch observer born in Europe around 1618 and died in 1655. Van der

Donck was a graduate of Leiden and he wrote an account of the Dutch colony in North

America after 1641. In it is recorded a record of inhabitants, animals, minerals, as well as

matters of law in relevance to the period of turbulence for the time until he was finally

killed in a native attack provoked by the governor.

Starna, William, ed. A Journey into Mohawk and Oneida Country, 1634-1635 : The Journal of

Harmen Meyndertsz Van Den Bogaert, Revised Edition. Syracuse: Syracuse University Press,

2013. Accessed December 10, 2021. ProQuest Ebook Central.

- A journal detailing the travels of Harmen Meyndertz van den Bogaert, with notes and a

foreword done by historians in the field of Iroquoian studies. The record of travels

accounts for the observations of the man in question, noting people, and places. It was a

journey done with the intention of conducting and facilitating the fur trade, making

contacts, and profiteering.

Secondary Sources

Bilharz, Joy Ann., and Patricia. Rae. Oriskany : a Place of Great Sadness : a Mohawk Valley

Battlefield Ethnography Boston, MA: Northeast Region Ethnography Program, National Park

Service, 2009.

22
 Ground

- Ethnographic report that deconstructs the battle of Oriskany fought during the American

Revolutionary War. It is noted for tieing and connecting the battle with the descendents of

the native american participants, especially that of Iriqoisan peoples and the Seneca

nation

Black, Jeremy. A Military Revolution?: Military Change and European Society 1550 - 1800

1991, Macmillan Education UK, 1990.

- Detailing the military reforms of European powers before the industrial revolution as they

competed against one another for power and influence domestically and abroad. In this

analysis are matters of organizations, drill, and the development of the state.

Carter, William Howard. "Chains of Consumption: The Iroquois and Consumer Goods,

1550–1800." Order No. 3323175, Princeton University, 2008.

https://www.proquest.com/dissertations-theses/chains-consumption-iroquois-consumer-goods-15

50/docview/304507425/se-2?accountid=9840.

- A master thesis created that is oriented around the material change brought to the Atlantic

northeast during it’s exchange with Europe. Using an anthropological lens to examine the

intricacies of thought behind the Iriquois in a time of constant change Carter

Chase, Kenneth Warren. Firearms : A Global History to 1700 Cambridge, UK ;: Cambridge

University Press, 2003.

- Part of the works detailing the arguments and nuances of the New Military Revolution

detailing the history and usage of firearms, but also their adaption by different societies

and cultures. Chase traces their origin in China and traces their adoption and development

across the world. Among his arguments he distinguishes the firearm as being important,

but not a guarantee of victory in itself.

23
 Ground

Confer, Clarissa W. Daily Life in Pre-Columbian Native America Westport, Conn: Greenwood

Press, 2008.

- A text detailing the life, habits, and cultures that existed in pre-Columbian North

America. Identifying them in their existence, Confer details these and attempts to portray

life Native America.

Drake, James David. King Philip’s War : Civil War in New England, 1675-1676 Amherst:

University of Massachusetts Press, 1999.

- Drake in his book on King Philip's War examines the intricacies of life created between

Europeans settlers and Natives. In his description, the war takes the tones of a civil war as

opposed to a colonial conquest.

White, Richard. The Middle Ground : Indians, Empires, and Republics in the Great Lakes

Region, 1650-1815. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2011.

- White seeks to describe this world that only ceased to exist when the natives lost the

collective power to force the Europeans to meet them in accommodation. The Middle

Ground is a discussion of how a place of limited power created a need for constant

mediation and mutual understanding.

Furnas, J. C. The Americans : a Social History of the United States,1587-1914 New York:

Putnam, 1969.

- A social history of the United States that elaborately interweaves the checkerboard of

peoples, cultures, and religions that made up North America for the allocated time period.

24
 Ground

Hunt, Lynn, Thomas R. Martin, Barbara H. Rosenwein, and Bonnie G. Smith. The Making of

the West : Peoples and Cultures Fifth edition. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin’s, A Macmillan

Education Imprint, 2016.

- The European history book focused on the construction and makeup of the. Detailing the

components and parts of Western civilization. Included in this composition are politics,

economics, and the development of philosophy coinciding with the modern nation-state.

Whisker, James B, and Kevin Spiker. Arms Makers of Massachusetts: 1610-1900. Palo Alto:

Academica Press, 2013.

- The following book is a collection of gunsmiths residing in Massachusetts. Based on their

life, some have entries from a pair of sentences to pages based on receipts of purchase

and orders. The whole of the book gives context to the life and context of the profession

for the time that it discusses.

Londré, Felicia Hardison, and Daniel J. Watermeier. The History of North American Theater :

the United States, Canada, and Mexico, from Pre-Columbian Times to the Present New York:

Continuum, 1999.

- Beginning with the arts and culture of the aboriginal population of North and Central

America, Londre and Watermeier do not end their survey there. The long survey goes

throughout history, touching on the development of the arts in Mexico, the United States

and Canada.

25
 Ground

Moller, George D.. American Military Shoulder Arms, Volume I : Colonial and Revolutionary

War Arms. Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Press, 2011. Accessed December 12, 2021.

ProQuest Ebook Central.

- A detailed survey of the firearms and conflicts of 17th and 18th century America. Moller

details the origins of a wide variety of guns, their parts, and makeup. Interweaved in this

is some history of other arms and armaments in relation to the wars described in the

Colonial and Revolutionary period.

Monkkonen, Eric H., Ronald L. Numbers, David M. Oshinsky, Emily S. Rosenberg, Paul S.

Boyer, and Melvyn Dubofsky. The Oxford Companion to United States History First edition.

Oxford ;: Oxford University Press, 2001.

- An encyclopedia of information relating to the history of the United States. The period it

covers is from the arrival of Europeans to the Americas, all the way to the late 20th

century. The topics range from individuals and ideologies to court cases and cultures.

Parker, Geoffrey. The Military Revolution Military Innovation and the Rise of the West,

1500-1800. Cambridge University Press, 1996.

- Part of a discussion on the military revolution and the success of Europe. Parker

discusses the development of firearms and naval technology in Europe's advantage over

other parts of the world, as well as drivers for such innovation and change before the

industrial revolution.

26
 Ground

Sawyer, Charles Winthrop. Firearms in American History. Massachusetts: The author, 1910,

n.d.

- A catalogue antique guns and firearms providing detailed descriptions regarding makeup,

parts, date of manufacture as well as their origin.

27