Haudenosaunee: a struggle
 

(Iroquois nation AAR.
I'm going to try to use the traditional names of the people and the long house metaphor/tradition, so you probably won't hear "Iroqouis" until the French come and pick up the name from the Huron slur Iroqu, black snake.

Leaders are named french names sometimes, which is causing difficulty, plus I got a lot of events that were difficult to place in a non-european society, but I'll try. Some liberties made with when the leaders die, but not really a problem with historical accuracy since the Iroqouis had many chiefs and not a highest chief. So the leaders the game gives me will be the most influential or well respected.)

Haudenosaunee:1419

"We, the five Iroquois Nations, compose but one cabin, we maintain but one fire; and we have, from time immemorial, dwelt under one and the same roof."

The Grand Council at Onandaga was concerned that the Great Peace they had formed might be shattered by outsiders. Onega, a chief of Onandaga argued for finding the way to peace with their neighbors. But the council decided both to raise warriors to defend the confederacy, and Onega was to speak with the Huron, Lenape and Shawnee.

Very soon after that, the Lenape tribes sent someone to sit with the Grand Council, and a new alliance of peace was born. But Onega was not yet satisfied, and continued his work of peace.

A Mohawk chief who was named after Haudenosaunee itself, had been given authority over the warriors recruited from that place. Haudenosaunee declared that the confederacy's warriors must be better than any others. He was a tough war leader, but under his command and example, the nations warriors would achieve a new pride and determination.

It would be safe to say that Haudenosaunee and Onega were very different. After several years spent away from home, Onega conviced the Lenape that the Grand Council and the people of his nation were desirous only of peace and honor. The Grand Council also learned that Onega had prevented an uprising among the Lenape people who wanted to gain the nations' assistance in this regard. Before he left Lenape, Onega promised his daughter to their Chief, as another gesture of unity.

But earlier, in 1421, the Grand Council debated a new and alarming trend. The Clan Mothers announced that some shamans were not teaching there ways to their successors, keeping their methods and knowledge a secret from all. There was little to be done, the methods would be lost anyway if these shamans were pressured.

Chief Haudenosaunee continued to push for warriors to be recruited from other parts of the confederacy. Finally he succeeded when Mingo of Cayuga promised to lead new warriors from his nation.

The surpluses of recent years came to a climax in 1426 when most of the Chiefs' realized that the Great Peace had lessen the crushing poverty of earlier times. The council was not sure what to do what the great surpluses of 1426, but there were some that favored odd new ways of economic activity. But Haudenosaunee argued that yet more effort should be shifted to defending the larger villages of the confederacy. He didn't get his wish, yet.

Onega's son, who was also called Onega was a disappointment for the elder. He saw that his son was following in the path of a war chief, not a chief of the Grand Council. Elder Onega had found his home with the Hurons for three years, and his peace and diplomacy once again lead a nation into the Haudenosaunee's long house.

Onega was getting old and well revered when his son was put in charge of new Onandagan warriors, forming the third arm of the confederacy military, that had grown considerable from only 10 years ago.

A young new chief of Cayuga, Ohdonyonh argued for looking towards the future not the past, at a meeting of the council in 1429. The council position, lead by now-returned Onega, was that while tradition was very important, the future, the grandchildren, indeed did need to be looked toward.

It was only a year later that Onega the elder passed on. He died as he lived, in peace, in his sleep. Much mourning was made of his passing, but he was honored as a diplomatic and peaceful Chief. Even Haudenosaunee agreed that Onega was a great Chief. After, The Clan Mother of the Onandaga placed the younger Onega as Chief. But having the title of his father would not, by itself, give him the respect his father had.

The Lenape later said that if the great Onega was dead, they could not be so sure of any joining with the confederacy. But the Huron people were still happy to join forces with them. And so the Huron took the place of the Lenape as allies of the great confederacy.

In 1431 the younger Onega assumed an extra responsibility, in addition to the council and his warriors. It was discovered that a group of Senecan men were discussing a bizarre heretical idea. Three shamans were leaders of this group and they spread the idea that there was not living spirit in all things, but instead there was only a single great spirit who commanded peoples as he wished. Onega was ordered to and successfully stopped the spread of this cursed idea. Onega tried to ensure that those who had followed the heretical ways would return to the proper ways. But neither the council nor the shamans themselves knew that their ideas had been prophetic as well as heretical.

Onega was tasked with continued vigilance against such evils. But his work in this area had not completely destroyed all of these followers. Those that remained kept the ways secret and outside of Onega's awareness.

People were very gradually learning that perhaps something could be done with the surplusses that already represented a new way. Perhaps goods could be exchanged for a greater good. But the ways of the Haudenosaunee were communal living and sharing, taxation was not neccesary, and trade was very informal and scarce. Still, the people were slowly learning about these more formal ways of taxation and exchange.

With the voices of both Onega and Haudenosaunee, the Grand Council approved a plan that would hinder any enemy advances. Although such construction would take a long time and great effort, both war chiefs were glad of the council's approval. However they soon were distraught, when at their moment of weakness and distraction on this endeavor, the Shawnee tribe declared war.

First Shawnee war
 

When the war began, the Grand Council met for many days. Haudenosaunee and Onega convinced the council to recruit as many warriors as possible.

The recruiting efforts began in earnest, while Onega and Haudenosaunee combined forces to stop the Shawnee immediately by capturing their villages and routing the enemy. At the beginning of the war, scouts indicated there were only a few thousand Shawnee warriors. Onega was confident the war would be over quickly, and the march to Shawnee territory began.

Other Chiefs of the council confirmed that Huron would join forces against the Shawnee. Spirits were very high among the warriors as they approached Erie. Then, some scouts returned breathless, reporting that somehow the Shawnee forces at Erie had increased to over twenty thousand warriors, far larger than expected. But with forces at best of spirits, Onega continued. The armies of Haudenosaunee and Shawnee met at Erie on September fifth of 1440.

At first, the battle was largely painless, both sides did little damage to the forces or spirits of the other side. This continued for quite a while, until Onega's forces started to overrun the enemy. But, the Shawnee fought back, and Onega's troops started to lose ground and morale. Finally, Onega forced the Shawnee warriors to flee but his own warriors were harried and ill fit for the defense of Erie. Unlike the confederacies' villages, however, Erie was well fortified. Despite the Shawnee's superior numbers, his forces had won the battle. But perhaps he was too confident.

Shawnee warriors regrouped attacking Onega again. They lost again, finding Onega's forces too much for them despite their small numbers.

Meanwhile, during the march, attack and siege on Erie, some rebels from Shenandoah had taken over the place. The Grand Council was raising warriors as quickly as possible, but things were getting worse more quickly. And the first force the council gathered took on the rebels, but unlike Onega's successes, the council's forces lost.

A bit later, reinforcements came for the Shawnee and they attacked Onega a third time. With nearly a three to one advantage in forces, Onega lost, and was forced to retreat.

But despite Chief Haudenosaunee's objections, Onega insisted that they could still defeat the Shawnee at Erie. So they went back to Erie. This time the Shawnee forces were even larger than before. They were getting reinforcements from somewhere, but where exactly? Onega's forces were pushed back again, and quickly this time.

Chief Onhdonyonh got the council to let him send a peace offering to the Shawnee, as things were turning bad quick. Although Onhdonyonh was a great diplomat of Onega the Elders' worth, the Shawnee refused to back down. The council was upset at Onega's reckless battles. Finally after losing another battle at Erie, Onega admitted that it could not be taken.

Soon after returning to confederate lands, the rebel controlled Shenandoah was captured by the Shawnee warriors. Onhdonyonh urged Onega to strike the Shawnee forces in Shenandoah before they recovered from the battle against the rebels.

So Onega, humbled by his losses, grudingly shifted his plans to holding onto the nations of the confederacy. Shenandoah was theirs again after another great battle against numerous Shawnee forces. Warriors continued moving to the war front, but all five nations were running out of warriors to send.

Then, Onega had an idea to shift the battle back to aggressive tactics. If he could push through the nomadic warrior bands to his west, then his forces would be able to attack the Shawnee provinces that were away from the war front.

But luck would have it that his forces were stopped by the nomads, and they had to return to Shenandoah. The Council informed Onega that all the lands of the confederacy were now fortified, except Shenandoah, where fortifications were interrupted by the rebellion. So Onega kept most of the warriors at Shenandoah, which could fall more quickly than the rest of the nations. More warriors were recruited, slowly. Chiefs and Clan Mothers were drawing from the youngest warriors ever brought to battle. Soon there would simply be no more fighting men.

Onega and the council wondered what the limit was at to the Shawnee's true military might. Through most of 1441, there was only reinforcment, not battles. But Onega couldn't keep up with the Shawnee. At the peak of their power, the Shawnee had over 38 thousand warriors at Erie alone, whereas Onega kept 18 thousand at Shenandoah, and Mingo controlled three thousand at other parts of the war front.

In early november 1441, the Shawnee juggernaut attacked Shenandoah. The Haudenosaunee warriors fought well, but ultimately they had to retreat, and control of Shenandoah went to the attackers. Despite his earlier mistakes, Onega played a defensive game against the superior forces of the enemy. Avoiding battles, Onega gathered all the warriors that were left and placed them in the path of any attempted capture of Onandaga, where the Grand Council is.

For almost a year, the Shawnee built up their forces while Onega did the same. The council felt a final battle was imminent. The Shawnee could destroy Onega's army and capture the remnants of the confederacy with ease, the council felt. But, no Chief would permit achieving peace at the cost of one of the five nations. The nations would be together or all destroyed.

But finally, after stretching five nations to the limits of their military capacity, Onega received an offer of peace from the Shawnee for only a small gift of resources. The council quickly deliberated, and decided that their existence depended on the peace, thus they accepted the offer.

Most warriors were relieved, as the tension of facing a vastly larger enemy had taken its toll. Now many of the warriors must return home leaving the war craft, to set the five nations towards recovering from the horror that was the First Shawnee War.

At a later council meeting, Chiefs noted that the Huron had not actually aided their war effort at all, and that with the aid of the Huron, the war could have gone the other way.

Second Shawnee War

After the First Shawnee War, the council and Clan Mothers decided to remove Onega from his war chief position, because of his poor judgement in the early parts of the war. For his part, Chief Haudenosaunee retired from the chiefdom, having learned that warriors don't always win. Chief Mingo was designated the new war chief in charge. Many warriors were decommissioned, but Mingo had a plan with those left.

In the first war, Onega's forces were stopped by nomads in Appalache. If Mingo could destroy those warriors in that land, and others they dwelt in, it would give him more manuevering ground against Shawnee. The Shawnee surely did not have such strength of forces in the more remote parts of their nation. If he could capture a provice of theirs early on, then the tide would turn, and there would be more than one front against the enemy.

Onhdonyonh went to the Shawnee nation, to try to keep them from declaring war again in the future. Meanwhile, the Clan Mothers were learning much about trade and taxation. Although untried in Haudenosaunee, the Clan Mothers were respected, and their plan to set up trading with the Huron and Lenape was honored if not understood by the council. Manhattan, a province of Lenape was an ideal place to trade.

But still, the Clan Mothers and the council were not quite up to the task yet. Mingo also contributed to the atmosphere of innovation in the confederacy by studying the waters and ways of transport and control of them. Since there were only rivers in the confederate territory, the usefulness of this was limited.

But it wasn't until 1454, after 4 years of Mingos plan to remove the natives in Appalache and other lands, and many years of relatively quiet peace, that the Clan Mothers and the council set up the first scheme of taxation. To soothe any anger about such things, Chiefs were sent to their nations with the explanation that the Shawnee were still a threat. More resources had to be gathered to combat them.

Chief Ottawa was the latest rising star of the council, and he helped place and support the tax collectors. There were many costs to collection, but over a couple of years, the collectors were in all the nations of the confederacy.

Mingo died in 1460, his main success being the ridding of the natives from Appalache. He was known as a clever warrior, a strategic thinker, and a war chief that really pushed things ahead. Ottawa petitioned the council to take Mingo's place, but instead they picked a Cayugan named Skarenjheh. They had decided that Mingo's plan to encircle the Shawnee and capture undefended provinces was the right one.

But before Mingo's death, the Clan Mothers finally had found a practical way to trade with the Manhattan region. After their plan was implemented, Haudenosaunee surpassed the greatest heights of prosperity achieved in the past.

In 1464 the Second Shawnee War began.

Shenandoah was fortified now, so it was not the weak point anymore. Skarenjheh placed all his forces in Irondekoit. Once again the call for warriors went out to the five nations. Shawnee had less forces than the previous war, while the Clan Mothers had performed an economic miracle that allowed Skarenjheh to make use of more warriors.

Skarenjheh noticed no movement by the Shawnee from the beginning of the war. He continued building up his forces, taking on all the warriors who arrived from the nations. It wasn't until over a year later, in late 1465 that the war really began. Skarenjheh made the first move, attacking Erie.

When his forces arrived in Erie, they realized that food was extremely scarce there. After a long battle, Skarenjheh's forces won the day. Unlike the previous war, Skarenjheh noted the heavy losses his forces were taking just from occupying Erie. So he retreated to regroup and gather additional forces. After a quick rest he returned to Erie, hoping to batter the enemy forces to submission. Once again he won a close battle against forces similar in size to his own. The Shawnee followed a similar strategy and retreated, only to return to Erie with a larger force.

Skarenjheh was forced to withdraw against this assault. Now he figured the Shawnee would take out Shenandoah and then the unprotected inner villages of the confederacy. But the Shawnee were inactive.

Like the last war, there is always a revolt somewhere, this time Irondekoit revolters tried to capture the village, but forces that held them off until Skarenjheh's returning forces squashed the rebellion. When survivers were questioned, they admitted to being heretics who believed the old heresy of no living spirit in all things and the existence of a singlular Spirit Being.

Noting the Shawnee's defensive tactics, Skarenjheh decided to try Mingo's plan. Splitting the force in half, he lead ten thousand troops through Appalache, past the enemy province of Kentucky, and to Miamis. Miamis had the advantage of being the most distant enemy province from Erie. Shawnee made no moves into Haudenosaunee territory, despite the fact that defenses there were weakened by the split forces. But every month they were getting stronger, while Skarenjheh's siege continued.

After a years' siege without many losses, Skarenjheh captured Miamis. Heading back towards Erie through Kentucky, scouts sent from Irondekoit informed him that the combined powers of both armies actually outnumbered the Erie defenders. So they attacked Erie once more, from two directions.

With the armies reunited, the problems of food in Erie remained, although the Shawnee army itself was no longer a problem. Skarenjheh routed Shawnee forces three times in Erie and Kentucky while deciding how to continue the war.

Finally, the Shawnee offered to pay a hefty bribe to Haudenosaunee to end the war in February of 1469.

Skarenjheh had worn down the Shawnee to the bone. With their newfound economic knowledge, the Mothers felt that the Shawnee would lose even more decisively if they declared war again later. They argued before the council that the Shawnee had lost because they ran out of money and could not recruit any more warriors. They argued it was economic warfare of a sort that led to the Haudenosaunee victory.

Skarenjheh was cheered from Seneca to Mohawk after the war. All the hard work of the victory was, perhaps wrongly, placed on Skarenjheh's shoulders.

Skarenjheh and Ottawa would become the influential pair of this latest generation of council Chiefs.

Rage of the Long House

February 1468
Grand Council

"Who among the Chiefs believes that the Shawnee will never rest from their persecution of us, and who believes that over time we can subdue this menace, and prevent future war? I, for one, believe that if we can survive the coming years, that the Shawnee can and will be tempered by good works of peace," spoke Chief Ottawa.

"The Shawnee have no peace in their spirits, they have no happinness in their people, they are willing to sacrifice everything for more warriors than we can ever find. And yet, they did not attack us in our own lands in the past war. The code of the Shawnee is indimidation not action. They declare war to send us scrambling unprepared," Skarenjheh felt that the council was oblivious to what he the best plan was.

"Prepare forces and attack the Shawnee as soon as possible. Take their cities and remove the chiefs, bringing new people into the enlightened ways of the Grand Council."

A lesser known Chief of Mohawk had something to say as well, "The Shawnee would prefer to repeat our first war with them. They wish for our efforts to become their gains. I say, as a compromise, Chiefs Ottawa and Skarenjheh, that we give only one last chance to the enemy. If they have hostile intent once more we will do exactly as the war chief says."

The chiefs of the confederacy agreed that the Mohawk compromise was the right choice, even Skarenjheh relented, as he believed the Shawnee would attack soon anyway.

"Next, Onhyondonh has a proposal to increase our coordination of efforts between the five nations. I would like to support it as well," Skarenjheh stated, which surprised the other Chiefs. The war leader rarely concerned himself with any matters outside of his warriors and the Shawnee.

"Yes, Skarenjheh believes that with more coordination we will be able to fight more effectively and more funding will be available for overall needs. I support it because my efforts are often hampered by local concerns. I am a Chief for the council ahead of the Cayuga nation, as much as that may shock you all."

"We should consider this longer before making a decision. Lets rest for now and debate this later."

The years of 1470 to 1479 passed by with only a few focusses from the council. The coordination faction of the chiefs convinced the council to support emphasizing the confederacy more and the individual nations less. This work caused some strife among localists, who protested but never openly rebelled.

In 1481, Ottawa was named a second war chief, with Skarenjheh in charge of attack operations and sieges and Ottawa in charge of defense at Irondekoit and a planned final attack at Erie. The past two wars had prepared them; they knew the Shawnee terrain very well at this point.

In 1484, twenty years after their previous declaration of war, the Third and Final Shawnee War began.

This time, the council and especially Ottawa ensured that the council would accept no peace offers. Only the total destruction of Shawnee army and leaders would satisfy the incensed war chiefs.

The warriors were well prepared for what lie ahead. The Clan Mothers knew that it was only numbers that gave the Shawnee an advantage. Time was the confederate's strength.

After a long call to war, Skarenjheh's forces set out through the tremendously useful appalachians, once again bypassing Erie. Ottawa continued to build his forces. In 1487, Kentucky fell to Skarenjheh, and just a year later, Miamis was once more under his control. The Shawnee chiefs sent many diplomats over the months and years, each one did not offer something for peace but demanded tribute for peace. The council was incensed enough to not let any of them return to Erie.

On July 30th 1488, the first phase of the Haudenosaunee plan ended. Only Erie remained in Shawnee command. Both war chiefs prepared their forces, with Skarenjheh attacking from Hindua and Ottawa from Irondekoit.

Erie forces were routed, but they recovered and returned to attack Erie. The Shawnee did push Ottawa back from Erie, but an unusual event, and a continous flow of newly recruited warriors allowed him to retake Erie.

The odd happening was the intense support from the everyday people of all five nations. Suddenly recruitment got a huge boost, five thousand new warriors volunteered soon after Ottawas retreat. With the additional forces, the Shawnee were pushed back to Kentucky, where finally they were weak enough that even they stopped the suicide charges on Erie.

But the Kentucky resistance forces held out for a bit longer, battling with great strength despite their small numbers. No less than a five thousand warrior command under a young Mohawk chief retreated before them. But finally the full (but much reduced by desertion and illness) might of Ottawa and Skarenjheh's forces fell upon the Kentuckians.

With their fury satiated, the Grand Council met many times in the month after March 29, 1491, when the last forces of the Shawnee were destroyed. They planned the break up of Shawnee territory into two new non-voting nations. Huron and Lenape diplomats expressed their concerns about the acquisition of so much land, while they still promised to continue the unions. Lenape did so through continuing marriages with council chief daughters and sons, and the Huron through the military alliance.

But the Cherokee, who were allies to the Shawnee for many years, represented a much larger threat. The war might not be over in the Cherokee view. Even if the war was over, the campaign might be just beginning.

I like it. One day Europeans will come and the big All America alliance of Iroquis, Aztecs, Mayas and Incas will return them where they belong to. Go on with this AAR

You wrote quite much for one installment. Not too bad, however ;)

I had trouble deciding how to split up the three wars and peace. It seems like just the peace isn't enough for a section. I suppose I can break it up more in the future, but I think things will go more quickly in game now without the Shawnee declaring war like clockwork.

An excellent AAR! When they come throw the Europeans back into the sea!

The English

After the Shawnee nation fell, Ottawa and Skarenjheh's armies turned to the Cherokee border. But they kept scouts available for any word of rebellion in the Shawnee provinces.

Ottawa left his forces behind and contacted the Cherokee. They acknowledged that the Shawnee surrender had ended the war. But they were unfriendly nonetheless and asked him to leave. Shawnee maps revealed the full extent of the Cherokee. It wasn't much but Ottawa had verified they guarded their lands heavily.

Before Ottawa returned. Skarenjheh got news of a revolt in Hindua. He moved immediately to surpress any shawnee independence forces. Unlike the last stand at Kentucky, these Shawnee warriors were no match for the Haudenosaunee, and were routed immediately.

Ottawa returned to Cayuga, in September of 1491. The war had taken its toll on him. Skarenjheh remained in command of half of the forces, but a new chief from Mohawk named Bear Paw was given command by the Grand Council in early 1492.

Meanwhile, the grandson of Onega the Wise, son of Onega the Foolish, had found his way into ordinary service under Skarenjheh's forces. When his father was removed from his chief's position, the Onega family as a whole was so removed. Grandson Onega proposed to Skarenjheh to once again scatter the nomads that lived on the boundries of Haudenosaunee territory. His argument was that since the appalachians proved so useful in the last war, the same might be true for other places.

Skarenjeh cleared out over seven thousand nomadic hunters and brigands who had cowered in the shadows of the Haudenosaunee confederacy. Unwittingly, the battle in the south against local nomads aided another nation that they had not even met.

It was spring of 1509, the council had not met in almost two years, as the Cherokee had kept quiet and there was no uprising anywhere. The Clan Mothers were meeting in Mohawk, for a few minor discussions.

There was a commotion outside among the villagers. Clan Mother Jonesegowah went out into the village to see what was the matter.

The villagers were looking at something southwest of the village. Suddenly Jonesegowah noticed it too. Something was coming toward them at a very fast pace.

Finally, the something approached them. It looked like a person, but this person was sitting on top of something. Some beast or abomination or something. The beast was large and the man felt completely comfortable sitting on top of it.

He managed to climb off the animal, and then approached them. The villagers backed away from him but the Clan Mother held fast. Everyone was silent now, observant but silent.

He spoke quickly, in some language unknown and different from any of the Haudenosaunee nations' languages. Then he swayed himself back onto the strange beast, riding off.

Jonesegowah recounted what had happened to the other Clan Mothers, and they sent a villager to run to the council to inform them. Clearly strange beings and strange men had arrived in the Haudenosaunee neighborhood.

But scouts under Onega's command had stayed south of confederate territory, and they had already seen the beasts as they kept watch over a new village being constructed. They had seen many more things as well, truly amazing things. It would be three days before a messenger of his would arrive at Onandaga.

Onega's report on the activity of the strangers shocked the council. In addition to the odd beasts they rode on, the strangers have giant water things. The strangers had odd ways of living as well, Onega said.

An English diplomat had found his way to Shenandoah, were he tried to learn the language. The efforts at centralizing control of the confederacy had lead to increased use of the Mohawk language and much less use of the nations' languages. But still the individual nations had their own language, which caused trouble for the diplomat.

In 1509, merely two years after first sight of the Strangers, the Lenape gave word that the odd men had attacked them.

Onega was appointed subchief under Bear Paw to lead the effort to help the Lenape. They would need the eyes and ears of his scouts in case the strangers had more surprises. As a first act, Onega marched up to Chesapeake colony, capturing it with no resistance.

The warriors of the enemy were apparently all away, while the villagers of Chesapeake seemed to fear Onega greatly. With no warriors here, and reports of them on Lenape land, he headed there next. But the few enemy warriors that had been sent against the Lenape had been routed. But his scouts that stayed around Chesapeake announced the arrival of more warriors, but they had no idea where they came from.

His forces returned to Chesapeake to face the strangers, and their riding beasts. Arriving at the scene of battle, the true speed of the beasts became apparent. It was only a few minutes that his forces scattered fleeing from the harsh assault. A few booms sounded strange amongst the din of the chase. The chase for each of Onega's warriors was fierce until some of them found hiding places in tall grass and forest. Finally the riding beasts and riders were called off.

When Onega gathered his warriors together just outside Chesapeake territory, he learned the horrible truth. Ten thousand warriors of the confederacy had been killed or captured, and his warriors had only stood as equals for a few minutes of battle.

Onega kept his forces close to Chesapeake as a first buffer against any counterattack, and more warriors arrived, although he knew they would be little help against the enemy. Two years later, in 1512, a diplomat of the enemy arrived at Onega's camp.

Speaking, in the confederacy's language now, he said, "We offer peace, in return for a gift from these lands."

"Accepted, provisionally. If you can wait here for some days, the council must make the final decision. What gift would you want?"

"We have seen growing fields of a plant we do not know off, many plants we do not know of. And we have heard that you are traders of many furs with the Lenape."

"The council will likely make peace, peace is the way of the long house. And although you think our ways are strange, we do not know of your riding beasts and water things. Scouts, return to the council and tell them what has happened. Hurry."

Onega and the English diplomat waited while days passed. Onega learned the strangers were called the English, and they had a highest chief called a King. The diplomat struggled with the name of the confederacy.

Finally a group of scouts returned with news, they accepted peace, and there were instructions to return to Mohawk to determine the final details.

A couple months later, the Lenape announced they had agreed to peace with the English after several months. The English warriors who first attacked Lenape in small numbers had still not managed to escape to Chesapeake, as they had been surrounded, and barely managed to survive.

The first war against the Europeans had resulted in a largely neutral result. While Onega lost a lot of soldiers, he also had captured English lands for a brief time, and the Lenape proved that against small numbers of the English warriors they could prove superior in battle. The English had surprise and shock tactics, but they ultimately had much fewer warriors in these lands, especially against the Lenape and Haudenosaunee combined.

That was a big bunch of text, but worth it. You have a very good AAR here, and I wish you luck against the English (and other colonial power's) forces. Maybe you should post a screenshot, so we can see England's (and yours) empire :). Also, what year are you in??

F11 doesn't seem to work in the mac version for screenshots. So I'll have to figure out something, but not sure yet. I guess digital camera pictures might work but I don't have one of those (yet). If someone knows that there is a way to do screenshots with the mac version than thats cool.

I'm up to 1560 now, which is two chapters after whats been posted.

(Back after Christmas vacation now)

1512 - 1545: "Peace in our time"

After the brief war with the English, Bear Paw and the council focussed on strengthening order in the confederacy. The distance from the furthest ends of it was many days by even the fastest runners. This inhibited central control by the council, especially during war. The tribal allegiances of ex-Shawnee territory exacerbated this.

Onega pleaded with the Clan Mothers and Chiefs to consider improving their weaponry for coming wars as another central goal. As all nations do, the council extrapolated the future from the past, predicting another war by at the latest 1530.

Some of the Englishmen, after living with the Haudensaunee for several months as diplomats and traders, decided to permanently join the confederacy. There were several diplomats of the Confederacy who learned the English tongue, but none who mastered the writing as of yet.

Shenandoah experienced a great period of growth as the closest province to the English colony Chesapeake. Most of the few English immigrants stayed there, although what attracted them to the confederacy was its relatively egalitarian leadership. While it could be said that hereditary castes existed in the confederacy, there was no highest ruler, and only a few levels of the caste structure.

But during war, the war chiefs and subchiefs had a higher status, although the council could preempt their actions, but travel time was too lengthy for this to happen often. Chief White Wolf was declared the new war chief in 1533.

Onega the fourth had served as subchief since his father, who some
called Onega the Watchful, became too old for the position.

After White Wolfs' appointment, very little changed. The English were reportedly exploring to the north of confederate territory, scouts said, but little else occurred of note to the war chief.

Some historians would later say the time of peace for the Haudenosaunee ended in 1545 when the English requested access to move their troops through all territories of the confederacy. The council was irate that such a request was made at all.

Nice update! The English jumped ship I see. Send a settler there and make it a Haudenosaunee culture colony.

I found a way to use the program Grab and took a screenshot, unfortunately, the timed grab didn't give me enough time to change to political view.

http://home.ripway.com/2003-12/49802/Haudeno.tiff

Just read this AAR of your. I am impressed. You have caught the spirit of the Indians well. I look forward to enjoying the rest of your tale!

:)

Your AAR is very nice and very readable. I wish you great success with the Iroquois, but you are likely to face some severe challenges. Essentially you are doomed if any European nation really wants to hit you hard. When I played an Indian nation (Navaho) I very meekly agreed to any military access request -- Spanish, English, or French -- that came my way. I figured it was best to take out insurance against attack, and not cause trouble. But evidently you're taking a different point of view. I wish you good luck!

First Cherokee War

After returning from quelling a Erie revolt in 1552, the first military action of his tenure, White Wolf returned to the council and was informed three Chiefs' were dead.

Four Cherokee diplomats had traveled to the council for the ostensible purpose of repairing relations between them, but it was a trap. The diplomats assaulted council members with bows. Three chiefs' died before a full complement of warriors arrived at the council.

After that day, the council set out to build barracks close to the council and established a guard position whenever it was in session.

White Wolf returned to orders to prepare for war against the Cherokee. They called for him to recruit as many warriors as needed.

Two years later, the war began. White Wolf charged on Alleghany, but the Cherokee defeated him there. After a series of back and forth battles, and intense recruiting efforts, White Wolf decided to change to sieging tactics.

This war had different lessons than the Shawnee wars however. When he began the siege of Alabama, White Wolf's forces were continually attacked. The Cherokee were aggressive in tactics, unlike their former allies, the Shawnee.

By 1558 Tennesee and Alabama were captured, Alleghany remained, defended and nearly impenitrable to White Wolfs' forces. But the Cherokee warriors were charging towards Alabama to attack. White Wolf made the gamble to flank Cherokee forces and sprint towards Alleghany, leaving both sides sieging instead of battling. Then, he reasoned, the aggressive tactics of the Cherokee would prevent them from sieging Alabama, they'd attack Alleghany instead, where defensive positions could give White Wolf some advantage in his enemies' land.

White Wolf did arrive in Alleghany, and the Cherokee did turn around heading right back towards where they left. New recruits suplemented the Haudenosaunee armies, while the Cherokee suddenly had no source of more warriors.

Luck and defense defeated the first defensive battle of Alleghany, while attrition took care of the Cherokee in successive battles. Famine and disease however, was also a huge problem in the siege of Alleghany. By the time Alleghany was under Confederate control, attacks had turned the mighty Cherokee army into a tiny one.

White Wolf turned on them in Alabama. With the end of the Cherokee army and leadership, once again new lands had come under the confederacy as non-voting chiefdoms. But the slow speed of communications kept White Wolf unaware of the many things that had happened in the meantime.

The council's history of 1552 to 1560 was much more bizarre.

Sorry about leaving this story behind. I stopped playing it for a bit, and then I was gettin irritated with too many saves and not being able to find the right ones so I deleted a lot of them (I had like 80 luxembourgh saves) and accidentally deleted my iroqouis ones as well.

After the last report I gave, I got involved with a war with England, in addition to holding there possessions, I won quite a few battles, and managed to gain Chesapeake.

Later I got in another war with them where they totally pummeled my forces, thats about where it ended. I made a huge mistake when I played this out. I messed up settings such that I had absolutely no colonists coming in. With the Iroqouis situation there are quite a few good places to colonize asap so I should have went naval through a colonized chesapeake which would also force England further north.

Probably going to try a new AAR for asia, once I try a few countries there first.