lecture 13: colonial wars & the treaty of halifax 1752

the Mourning Wars: (5)

• aka the Beaver Wars

• were the continuation if the Haudenosaunee/Wendat wars after 1649

• called mourning because the dead could not rest until theyd been avenged

• led to an ongoing cycle of war

• largely wrapped up in 1700

the Wabanaki Wars: (6)

• Wabanaki/English wars

• beginning 1605, the french settled in the maritimes at port royal: acadians

• this led to strong alliance between the french and Mi’kmaq in the Atlantic provinces

• to the south, in the 13 colonies, there was a whole series of conflicts between the Wabanaki confederacy (allies of the Mi’kmaq) and the english over land appropriation by the english

• english tried to resolve the conflict by the treaty of boston in 1725 - imposed the treaty on the Mi’kmaq to the north who wanted nothing to do with it

• roughly 1650-1725

Treaty of Utrecht, 1713: (4)

• the treaty to end Queen Anne’s war in Europe

• in the treaty the posts the french had captured around hudsons bay and in the Atlantic provinces (except cape breton) were turned over to england

• Indigenous peoples were not in any way included in the discussions nor in any way consulted as their lands were transferred from french to english

• this created ongoing problems because the english assumed that the french had dealt with Indigenous land rights and the english were conquering and taking those over - when no such thing existed

after the Treaty of Utrecht, 1713, what’re the Mi’kmaq doing? (3)

• they were involved in ongoing conflicts with the british, as they resisted the british takeover

• english refused to recognize it as a war but it was a rebellion (why not war? because it would have recognized the Mi’kmaq as a free and independent people)

• they continued their alliance with the french on Isle Royale and the fortress at Louisbourg - running arms/supplies from Louisbourg to the south

1744 war of austrian succession breaks out: what then happens in 1745 on turtle island?

1745, Governor Shirley puts a bounty on Mi’kmaq scalps and Gorhams Rangers (new england) come to take advantage of this…

under Governor Cornwallis… (4)

• english built the citadel at Halifax in 1749

• Mi’kmaq immediately object to the english using their land without permission

• Cornwallis’ reply is to renew the bounty on Mi’kmaq scalps at 10 guineas per scalp

• then Cornwallis’ was replaced by Hopson

Governor Hopson: (2)

• took over after Cornwallis’; found things in a mess with the english sending over immigrants, the citadel was in a mess, and the ongoing conflicts with the Mi’kmaq were obviously also messy

• he arranged for peace negotiations with Mi’kmaq chief named Jean Baptiste Cope

Jean Baptiste Cope (chief of Mi’kmaq) discussed what with who? (3)

discussed a peace treaty with Governor Hopson

• Cope first asked the english to pay for the land that they had appropriated for their settlements

• the english refused to discuss this

• they did however put it on record that the Mi’kmaq still upheld their right to the land and expected to be compensated

8 terms of the Treaty of Halifax:

1. peace treaty to bury the hatchet of war (what war?)

2. Mi’kmaq will attempt to bring other First Nations into the treaty

3. continued free liberty of hunting and fishing

4. establish truck houses to trade

5. every 6 months the government will provide food essentials such as flour/bread

6. every october the Mi’kmaq will gather with the english to renew the treaty and receive blankets, powder and shot

7. Mi’kmaq will rescue any people that are shipwrecked

8. any disputes to be resolved by english courts

Treaty of Halifax: explained (3)

• this is a peace and friendship treaty - there is no mention of land and no land is exchanged

• allows for the continued hunting, fishing, trapping over the territories (this was never upheld until 1985)

• the peace did not last long as the Mi’kmaq continue to fight for their lands - entering now into the 7 Years War