IROQUOIS BURN LACHINE TO AVENGE DESTRUCTION OF SENECA LAND & CROPS
During the Beaver Wars, 1,500 Mohawk warriors launched a surprise nighttime attack against this New France settlement of 375 inhabitants on Montreal Island. The attack followed French incursions into Iroquois territory and was revenge for the French Marquis de Denonville’s 1687 invasion of the Seneca country which destroyed their corn and crippled the Iroquois economy. When England and France declared war in 1689, British in New York prompted the Iroquois to attack New France’s undefended settlements. Lachine, the main departure point for westward-traveling fur traders, was a reasonable revenge target. The Mohawk destroyed most of the settlement by fire, killed about 240 inhabitants & took over 100 prisoners. In February 1690, after several follow-on attacks from both sides, the French & Iroquois began peace negotiations and raids ended. The time of relative peace led to the Montreal Treaty of 1701 by which the Iroquois promised neutrality in case of war between the French & English.
Source: “The Lachine Massacre,” Le Canada: A People’s History. Retrieved 2/5/2022, The Lachine massacre (cbc.ca) Wikipedia Map: P.L. Morin, 1884. Plan of Montreal, 1687 to 1723. Public Domain. Source: Atherton, William Henry (1914) Montreal, 1535-1914, volume 1, S. J. Clarke, p. 286
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