Lachine massacre
Encyclopedia
The Lachine massacre, part of the Beaver Wars
, occurred when 1,500 Mohawk
warriors attacked by surprise the small, 375 inhabitant, settlement of Lachine
, New France
at the upper end of Montreal Island on the morning of August 5, 1689. The attack was precipitated by growing Iroquois
dissatisfaction with the increased French incursions into their territory, and was encouraged by the settlers of New England
as a way to leverage power against New France. As a result of the attack, a substantial portion of the Lachine settlement was destroyed by fire and many of its inhabitants were captured or killed.
in 1689. Despite the 1669 Treaty of Whitehall
, in which European forces agreed that Continental conflicts would not disrupt colonial peace and neutrality, the war was fought primarily by proxy in New France and New England
, and the British of New York
prompted local Iroquois
warriors to attack New France's undefended settlements. While the British were preparing to engage in acts of warfare, the inhabitants of New France were ill prepared to defend against the Indian attacks because news of the formal declaration of conflict had not yet spread to New France.
Since the establishment of New France 80 years prior, the Iroquois had seen the colonists as a threat to their sovereignty and were eager to forge an alliance with the English
to subdue the French
threat. In an effort to disrupt colonial forces, the Iroquois made aggressive manoeuvres
against French-allied tribes such as the Huron and Illinois
, who were aiding France's fur trade, a significant economic commodity for the Europeans. In response, the French, first under the Alexandre de Prouville
in the 1660s, then under Jacques-René de Brisay de Denonville, Marquis de Denonville
in the 1680s, conducted punitive actions against the Iroquois to re-establish their dominance over the fur trade. Denonville, the Governor of New France, led 2,000 men deep into Seneca territory and destroyed their largest village. The Iroquois, angered by Denonville's incursion on their land and enraged by France's effort to use their people as galley slaves, needed little incentive to strike back at the French.
by boat, crossed Lake Saint-Louis
, and landed on the south shore of Montreal Island. While the colonists slept, the invaders surrounded their homes and waited for their leader to signal when the attack should commence. They then proceeded to attack the homes, breaking down doors and windows, and dragged the colonists outside to meet their demise. When some of the colonists barricaded themselves within the village's structures, the attackers set fire to the buildings and waited for them to flee the flames. Fifty-six of the settlement's seventy-seven structures were effectively destroyed by fire. Because the settlement was relatively sparse, any hope of counterattack was thwarted due to a lack of communication and an inability to organize.
Twenty-four colonists were killed in the initial raid, and more than 70 were taken prisoner. The remaining colonists were able to escape the attack. Of those taken prisoner, close to 50 were tortured to death (burned alive and cannibalized), while some managed to escape and 42 others were released in prisoner exchanges. A few young children were spared and actually adopted into Iroquois society.
Word of the attack spread when one of the Lachine survivors reached a local garrison, three miles (4.8 km) away, and notified the soldiers of the events that had transpired. In response to the attack, two hundred soldiers, under the command of Daniel d'Auger de Subercase
, along with 100 armed civilians and some soldiers from nearby Forts Rémy, Rolland and La Présentation, marched against the Iroquois. They were able to defend some of the fleeing colonists from their Mohawk pursuers, but just prior to reaching Lachine they were apprehensively recalled back within the walls of Fort Rolland by order of Governor Denonville, who was attempting to pacify the local Iroquois inhabitants. Governor Denonville had 700 soldiers at his disposal within the Montreal barracks
, and could have easily overrun the Iroquois forces, but diplomacy was his decided course of action and he did not utilize his troops to repel the Iroquois attackers.
In the days following the attack, a small group of soldiers left Fort Rémy to reach Fort Rolland, but they were intercepted by the Iroquois and the entire dispatch was killed. The Iroquois roamed Montreal Island, without European intervention, for three days before boating back up the Saint Lawrence River. French inaction cost other Montreal settlements dearly as well. One month following the raid at Lachine, the Iroquois also attacked the village of La Chesnaye, killing 42 more colonists.
missionaries
in the area:
Initial reports inflated the Lachine death toll significantly, and the final number of deceased, 24, was determined by examining Catholic parish registers following the attack. Catholic accounts of the attack itself also exist. François Vachon de Belmont
, the fifth superior of the Sulpicians of Montreal, wrote in his History of Canada:
Surviving prisoners of the Lachine massacre reported that 48 of their colleagues were tortured, burned and eaten shortly after being taken captive. Further, the survivors themselves possessed clear signs and tales of torture. Following the attack, the French colonists retrieved many English-made weapons that the Indians had left behind following their retreat from the island; this incited long-standing hatred of the English colonists of New York into demands for revenge. Unfortunately, Iroquois accounts of the attack are non-existent, but French sources reported that only three of the attackers lost their lives. Because all accounts of the attack are one-sided, reports of cannibalism and parents being forced to throw their children onto burning fires may be greatly exaggerated or apocryphal.
, and Louis de Buade de Frontenac
took over governorship of Montreal in October 1689. Frontenac launched raids of vengeance against the English colonists to the south "in Canadien style" by attacking during the winter months of 1690.
The Lachine massacre marked the start of three years of continuous warfare between the Iroquois and the French, and Frontenac led a party of 1,000 soldiers into Iroquois land in 1696 to avenge the attack on Lachine. They disembarked from Lachine, and despite traveling far into the Mohawk territory, found no resistance and returned to Montreal. Frontenac died shortly thereafter, and was replaced as Governor of Montreal by Philippe de Rigaud Vaudreuil
, who had acted on Denonville's behalf to recall Subercase following the attack on Lachine, and had assisted on Frontenac's unsuccessful excursion seven years later.
Beaver Wars
The Beaver Wars, also sometimes called the Iroquois Wars or the French and Iroquois Wars, commonly refers to a series of conflicts fought in the mid-17th century in eastern North America...
, occurred when 1,500 Mohawk
Mohawk nation
Mohawk are the most easterly tribe of the Iroquois confederation. They call themselves Kanien'gehaga, people of the place of the flint...
warriors attacked by surprise the small, 375 inhabitant, settlement of Lachine
Lachine, Quebec
Lachine was a city on the Island of Montreal in southwestern Quebec, Canada. It is now a borough within the city of Montreal.-History:...
, New France
New France
New France was the area colonized by France in North America during a period beginning with the exploration of the Saint Lawrence River by Jacques Cartier in 1534 and ending with the cession of New France to Spain and Great Britain in 1763...
at the upper end of Montreal Island on the morning of August 5, 1689. The attack was precipitated by growing Iroquois
Iroquois
The Iroquois , also known as the Haudenosaunee or the "People of the Longhouse", are an association of several tribes of indigenous people of North America...
dissatisfaction with the increased French incursions into their territory, and was encouraged by the settlers of New England
New England
New England is a region in the northeastern corner of the United States consisting of the six states of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut...
as a way to leverage power against New France. As a result of the attack, a substantial portion of the Lachine settlement was destroyed by fire and many of its inhabitants were captured or killed.
Diplomatic breakdown precedes attack
Following two decades of uneasy peace, Britain and France declared war against one anotherKing William's War
The first of the French and Indian Wars, King William's War was the name used in the English colonies in America to refer to the North American theater of the Nine Years' War...
in 1689. Despite the 1669 Treaty of Whitehall
Treaty of Whitehall
The Treaty of Whitehall was signed between Louis XIV of France and James II of England in November 1686 as an agreement that Continental conflict would not disrupt peace and neutrality in New France and New England...
, in which European forces agreed that Continental conflicts would not disrupt colonial peace and neutrality, the war was fought primarily by proxy in New France and New England
New England
New England is a region in the northeastern corner of the United States consisting of the six states of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut...
, and the British of New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
prompted local Iroquois
Iroquois
The Iroquois , also known as the Haudenosaunee or the "People of the Longhouse", are an association of several tribes of indigenous people of North America...
warriors to attack New France's undefended settlements. While the British were preparing to engage in acts of warfare, the inhabitants of New France were ill prepared to defend against the Indian attacks because news of the formal declaration of conflict had not yet spread to New France.
Since the establishment of New France 80 years prior, the Iroquois had seen the colonists as a threat to their sovereignty and were eager to forge an alliance with the English
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
to subdue the French
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
threat. In an effort to disrupt colonial forces, the Iroquois made aggressive manoeuvres
Iroquois Wars
-First Invasion:In January 1666, the French invaded the Iroquois homeland in present-day New York. The first invasion force was led by Daniel de Rémy de Courcelle. His men were greatly outnumbered by the Iroquois and were forced to withdraw before any significant action could take place...
against French-allied tribes such as the Huron and Illinois
Illiniwek
The Illinois Confederation, sometimes referred to as the Illiniwek or Illini, were a group of twelve to thirteen Native American tribes in the upper Mississippi River valley of North America...
, who were aiding France's fur trade, a significant economic commodity for the Europeans. In response, the French, first under the Alexandre de Prouville
Alexandre de Prouville
Marquis Alexandre de Prouville de Tracy was a French aristocrat, statesman, and military leader. He was the seigneur of Tracy-le-Val and Tracy-le-Mont...
in the 1660s, then under Jacques-René de Brisay de Denonville, Marquis de Denonville
Jacques-René de Brisay de Denonville, Marquis de Denonville
Jacques-Rene de Brisay de Denonville, Marquis de Denonville was Governor General of New France from 1685 to 1689 and was a key figure in the Beaver Wars....
in the 1680s, conducted punitive actions against the Iroquois to re-establish their dominance over the fur trade. Denonville, the Governor of New France, led 2,000 men deep into Seneca territory and destroyed their largest village. The Iroquois, angered by Denonville's incursion on their land and enraged by France's effort to use their people as galley slaves, needed little incentive to strike back at the French.
The Iroquois attack
On the rainy morning of August 5, 1689, Iroquois warriors used the element of surprise to launch their nighttime raid against the undefended settlement of Lachine. They traveled up the Saint Lawrence RiverSaint Lawrence River
The Saint Lawrence is a large river flowing approximately from southwest to northeast in the middle latitudes of North America, connecting the Great Lakes with the Atlantic Ocean. It is the primary drainage conveyor of the Great Lakes Basin...
by boat, crossed Lake Saint-Louis
Lake Saint-Louis
Lake Saint-Louis, or in French , is a lake in extreme southwestern Quebec, Canada, adjoining the Island of Montreal at the confluence of the Saint Lawrence and Ottawa Rivers.The lake is bounded to the north and east by the Island of Montreal...
, and landed on the south shore of Montreal Island. While the colonists slept, the invaders surrounded their homes and waited for their leader to signal when the attack should commence. They then proceeded to attack the homes, breaking down doors and windows, and dragged the colonists outside to meet their demise. When some of the colonists barricaded themselves within the village's structures, the attackers set fire to the buildings and waited for them to flee the flames. Fifty-six of the settlement's seventy-seven structures were effectively destroyed by fire. Because the settlement was relatively sparse, any hope of counterattack was thwarted due to a lack of communication and an inability to organize.
Twenty-four colonists were killed in the initial raid, and more than 70 were taken prisoner. The remaining colonists were able to escape the attack. Of those taken prisoner, close to 50 were tortured to death (burned alive and cannibalized), while some managed to escape and 42 others were released in prisoner exchanges. A few young children were spared and actually adopted into Iroquois society.
French inaction in the aftermath
Daniel d'Auger de Subercase
Daniel d'Auger de Subercase naval officer and French governor of Newfoundland, born Orthez, Béarn died Cannes-Ecluse, Île-de-France....
, along with 100 armed civilians and some soldiers from nearby Forts Rémy, Rolland and La Présentation, marched against the Iroquois. They were able to defend some of the fleeing colonists from their Mohawk pursuers, but just prior to reaching Lachine they were apprehensively recalled back within the walls of Fort Rolland by order of Governor Denonville, who was attempting to pacify the local Iroquois inhabitants. Governor Denonville had 700 soldiers at his disposal within the Montreal barracks
Barracks
Barracks are specialised buildings for permanent military accommodation; the word may apply to separate housing blocks or to complete complexes. Their main object is to separate soldiers from the civilian population and reinforce discipline, training and esprit de corps. They were sometimes called...
, and could have easily overrun the Iroquois forces, but diplomacy was his decided course of action and he did not utilize his troops to repel the Iroquois attackers.
In the days following the attack, a small group of soldiers left Fort Rémy to reach Fort Rolland, but they were intercepted by the Iroquois and the entire dispatch was killed. The Iroquois roamed Montreal Island, without European intervention, for three days before boating back up the Saint Lawrence River. French inaction cost other Montreal settlements dearly as well. One month following the raid at Lachine, the Iroquois also attacked the village of La Chesnaye, killing 42 more colonists.
Historical accounts
European accounts of the Lachine massacre come from two primary sources, survivors of the attack, and CatholicCatholic
The word catholic comes from the Greek phrase , meaning "on the whole," "according to the whole" or "in general", and is a combination of the Greek words meaning "about" and meaning "whole"...
missionaries
Missionary
A missionary is a member of a religious group sent into an area to do evangelism or ministries of service, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care and economic development. The word "mission" originates from 1598 when the Jesuits sent members abroad, derived from the Latin...
in the area:
Initial reports inflated the Lachine death toll significantly, and the final number of deceased, 24, was determined by examining Catholic parish registers following the attack. Catholic accounts of the attack itself also exist. François Vachon de Belmont
François Vachon de Belmont
François Vachon de Belmont was the fifth superior of the Montreal Sulpicians from 1700 to 1731. Vachon de Belmont was born in Burgundy, France to a wealthy family...
, the fifth superior of the Sulpicians of Montreal, wrote in his History of Canada:
Surviving prisoners of the Lachine massacre reported that 48 of their colleagues were tortured, burned and eaten shortly after being taken captive. Further, the survivors themselves possessed clear signs and tales of torture. Following the attack, the French colonists retrieved many English-made weapons that the Indians had left behind following their retreat from the island; this incited long-standing hatred of the English colonists of New York into demands for revenge. Unfortunately, Iroquois accounts of the attack are non-existent, but French sources reported that only three of the attackers lost their lives. Because all accounts of the attack are one-sided, reports of cannibalism and parents being forced to throw their children onto burning fires may be greatly exaggerated or apocryphal.
Effect on Franco-English affairs
Following the events at Lachine, Denonville was recalled to France for matters unrelated to the massacreMassacre
A massacre is an event with a heavy death toll.Massacre may also refer to:-Entertainment:*Massacre , a DC Comics villain*Massacre , a 1932 drama film starring Richard Barthelmess*Massacre, a 1956 Western starring Dane Clark...
, and Louis de Buade de Frontenac
Louis de Buade de Frontenac
Louis de Buade, Comte de Frontenac et de Palluau was a French soldier, courtier, and Governor General of New France from 1672 to 1682 and from 1689 to his death in 1698...
took over governorship of Montreal in October 1689. Frontenac launched raids of vengeance against the English colonists to the south "in Canadien style" by attacking during the winter months of 1690.
The Lachine massacre marked the start of three years of continuous warfare between the Iroquois and the French, and Frontenac led a party of 1,000 soldiers into Iroquois land in 1696 to avenge the attack on Lachine. They disembarked from Lachine, and despite traveling far into the Mohawk territory, found no resistance and returned to Montreal. Frontenac died shortly thereafter, and was replaced as Governor of Montreal by Philippe de Rigaud Vaudreuil
Philippe de Rigaud Vaudreuil
Philippe de Rigaud, Marquis de Vaudreuil was a French politician, who was Governor-general of New France from 1703 to 1725....
, who had acted on Denonville's behalf to recall Subercase following the attack on Lachine, and had assisted on Frontenac's unsuccessful excursion seven years later.