#62 Mohawk Down! Champlain invades New York
The History of the Americans
Jack Henneman
4.9 • 632 Ratings
🗓️ 3 March 2022
⏱️ 39 minutes
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Summary
It is the summer of 1609. Samuel de Champlain has founded Quebec and spent the winter there. During that very difficult time, with its Jamestown-like death rate, he had built strong alliances with the Montaignais, Huron, and other local tribes. The Mohawks, coming up from today’s New York State, have been attacking Champlain’s allies for many years, long before the French arrived, but those attacks have intensified. The European fur trade has gotten more lucrative, and that makes the tribes along the St. Lawrence a more attractive target for Mohawk attacks. Champlain develops a plan to launch a preemptive raid on the Mohawk, deep in their own territory, to make them think twice about attacking to their north. Along the way, he and two companions become the first Europeans to see Lake Champlain or set foot in today’s Vermont.
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Selected references for this episode
David Hackett Fischer, Champlain’s Dream
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Welcome to the History of the Americans podcast, episode 62. |
| 0:11.0 | I'm your host, Jack Heneman, and I'm recording this on March 2nd, Texas Independence Day, 2022 and Austin, Texas. |
| 0:25.8 | Unfortunately, this episode takes place a long way from Texas. |
| 0:35.4 | If you are new to the podcast, we are telling the history of the lands now encompassed by the United States from the beginning without presentism. |
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| 1:13.1 | I remain very stressed out over Russia's war on Ukraine. |
| 1:17.8 | Regular listeners know that I have taught week-long courses at the business school |
| 1:22.5 | at Ukrainian Catholic University in Lviv. |
| 1:25.9 | It would be too much to say that I have close friends there, |
| 1:29.4 | but I can picture our students. And remember the beers and the laughter we shared, and I'm actually |
| 1:35.7 | very worried for them. They are victims of resurgent fascism in Europe. And make no mistake, |
| 1:42.1 | that is what Vladimir Putin's Neo-Soviet project is. |
| 1:47.1 | Don't worry, I'm not going to dwell on Ukraine at great length. We'll get to Samuel de Champlain's |
| 1:53.0 | minimalist invasion of New York and 609 in just a moment. Before I do that, though, I'm going to read |
| 2:00.3 | the American Historical Association's |
| 2:02.8 | statement on Ukraine, which talks about weaponizing history to justify war. Quote, |
| 2:09.1 | The American Historical Association condemns in the strongest possible terms Russia's recent |
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