The great Indian wars are the armed conflicts that took place on the territory of North America in the 16th – 19th centuries between the Indians and the European conquerors. They were attended by the French, Spaniards, British and Dutch.
First conflicts
The first clashes between the natives of America and the invaders happened back in the 16th century:
- in 1528 - with the conquistadors under the command of Panfilo de Narvaez;
- in 1535 - with the French under the leadership of Jacques Cartier;
- in 1539-1541 - with the troops of the Governor of Cuba, conquistador Hernando de Soto;
- in 1540-1542 - with the Spaniards led by Francisco Vazquez de Coronado;
- in 1594 - with the Spanish detachment of Antonio Gutierrez;
- in 1598-1599 and in 1603 - with the formations of Juan de Oniante.
The large battles of the colonists with the Pohatan Indians continued on the territory of Virginia in 1622, and in 1637 in New England with the Pecot tribe. In the years 1675-1676, the British invaders began a new Indian war with the vampanoa, led by the leader Metacomet and his friendly tribes. As a result, the number of Indians in this region decreased from 15 to 4 thousand, most of the Indian settlements were completely destroyed.
Further events
Gradually, Europeans advanced from the east coast into the depths of North America, unleashing new Indian wars. So, in 1675, a conflict begins with the Suskekhanoks, are drawn into hostilities and the Iroquois. From 1711 to 1715, the Tuscaror war lasts, in which several Indian tribes participate.
Trying to get the support of the indigenous population of America in order to achieve dominance on the continent, both the British and the French enter into alliances with them. In the years 1689-1697, Britain and France were at war with each other, not only in Europe but also in North America. These events were called the King William War.
Indians also fight in colonial wars between the Spanish, French and English invaders. The so-called War of Queen Anne in 1702-1713 takes away a large number of lives of Indians of various tribes. 1744-1748 is the time of the War of King George, which took place despite the signing of the peace treaty of Utrecht.
Union of tribes
The Franco-Indian War of 1755-1763 was the last between the armies of England and France in North America.
The advance of the British colonists over the mountains of the Appalachian Indians in the early 1760s led to the fact that they were united against them: the Iroquois, Algonquins, Shauni, Ottawa, Miami, Ojibwe, Hurons, Delawars, etc. This association was headed by a leader named Pontiac.
The Indians managed to capture most of the English forts near the Ohio River and the Great Lakes, besiege Detroit and Fort Pitt. However, in 1766 they were forced to cease resistance and recognize the power of the British crown.
During the War of Independence in 1775-1783, the vast majority of the Chiroki Indians opposed the rebels, later these military operations were called the Chicamog War.
Indian defeat and allied agreement
In 1779, troops under the command of Generals John Sullivan and John Clinton looted and burned over 40 Iroquois settlements and a huge number of Shawnee villages. After 1787, the colonization of northwestern America served as a pretext for the resumption of hostilities. In 1790, the so-called Little Turtle War began, which ended in the defeat of the Algonquin Indians in 1795.
In the 19th century, the Shawnee Indians led by the leader Tecumseh tried to prevent the advance of foreign invaders in western America. In November 1811, near the Tippecanu River (the territory of the current state of Indiana) , the Tecumse forces battle with the troops of General Henry Harrison, as a result of which the Indians were defeated and retreated. Subsequently, the leader entered into an alliance agreement with the British and attracted many tribes to their side to participate in the Anglo-American war, which ran from 1812 to 1814.
Other Native American Wars in the USA (1813–1850)
In 1813, the Scream War begins and lasts one year, ending with the victory of General Andrew Jackson, who defeated the enemy forces near the Horshu Bend settlement. In 1817, General Jackson and his army invaded Florida and defeated the Seminole tribe and their allies, consisting of former slaves. In 1818, hostilities end, in history they are known as the First Seminole War.
The US Congress in 1830 passed the Law on the Movement of the Indians. It spoke of the resettlement of indigenous people from the Atlantic coast to territories located west of the Mississippi River. This leads to outbreaks of new armed clashes with the Fox and Sauk tribes in 1832 (The Black Hawk War). And also with the tribe of screams - in 1836 and the Seminole - from 1835 to 1842 (Second Seminole War).
In 1847-1850, the authorities began a war with the Kayyus tribe in the lands of the current states of Idaho, Washington and Oregon.
Events after 1850
The fighting continued from 1855 to 1856 on the Horn River with the Tututni and Takelma tribes. At the same time, the Yakim war was going on with the indigenous peoples of Yakim, Yumatilla and Walla Walla.
Indian wars led to the fact that all tribes were finally resettled on a reservation. Some of them (Mojave, Yuma, Hikarilla-Apache) in the south-west of the country, having encountered the regular US army in battles, began to look for a peaceful opportunity in resolving conflicts. But she was not given to them.
By order of the authorities, the soldiers continued a massive attack on the lands of the Indians and their total destruction. Despite the superiority of the enemy in strength and armament, the Navajos and Apaches, like other tribes, continued to fight stubbornly and selflessly against regular troops. Their struggle lasted from 1863 to 1866. The outcome of this war was the relocation of the Navajo on the reservation and the complete surrender of the Apaches in 1886.
The killing of women and children
Comanche Indians stubbornly fought with the European conquerors on the Great Plains - both with the Spaniards at the beginning of the XVIII century, and in 1874-1875 with the troops of General Philip Sheridan (War on the Red River).
The fighting against the Dakota tribe in 1862-1863, known as the Voronenok and Red Cloud War in 1866-1868, was distinguished by a large scale.
The wars of the Native American tribes of North America - the Arapaho and Cheyenne - ended in the Sand Creek massacre in November 1864, when soldiers of Colonel John Chivington attacked the peaceful Indians, killing women and children. In 1867, the Cheyenne and Dakota tribes united to destroy the forces of George Custer on the Little Bighorn River, but in 1877 the Indian troops were completely defeated in the War of the Black Hills.
Latest events
In 1871, based on a law passed by the US Congress, authorities began a massive forced relocation of Native Americans to 118 reservations. At the same time, determining their borders, US authorities deprived the Indians of more than 35 million hectares of land.
By that time, the number of Indians was catastrophically reduced: having no civil rights, they eked out a miserable existence. The final action of the Indian wars is considered the brutal reprisal of 1890 in Wounded-Ni, in which soldiers of the US Army destroyed the settlement of the Lakota, Hunkpap and Minnekonju tribes. Moreover, the fire was fought despite the fact that a white flag was hoisted, and women and children remained in the camp.
Some historians say that more than one million Indians died during the Indian wars of 1540-1890, while others say that this figure is underestimated at least three times. History itself shows that the European conquerors were ready to commit any crimes and did not stop at nothing to achieve their goals.