jan 1, 1451 - The Iroquois Confederacy is formed

Description:

Established in either 1142 or 1451, the Five Nations Iroquois confederacy consisted of the Mohawks, the Oneidas, the Onondagas, the Cayugas, and the Senecas. When the Tuscaroras joined in 1712 the union adapted the name Haudenosaunee, which translates to mean “six separate Indian nations”. In treaties and other colonial documents they were known as the “Six Nations.” While each tribe controlled its own domestic affairs, the council at Onondaga controlled matters that referred to the nation as a whole. Similarly, despite the fact that all spoke the same language, each tribe had a distinct dialect of its own. Thus not only did the Iroquois provide a strong government and military base to protect their farmland, they also formed one of the nation’s earliest and strongest diplomacies.