in all thy sons command? What about the babes?

January 29, 2005 11:08 PM

Laura Secord ,Elizabeth Barnett and the Five Nations Mohawks, arguably, made Canada possible.
posted by arse_hat (7 comments total)

I think you meant to say "Kanata", as the cartographers on Jacques Cartier's expedition
were responsible for the misspelling that, arguably, made "Canada(h)" possible.
posted by Smart Dalek at 3:31 AM on January 30, 2005

Interesting--I never knew who Laura Secord was. I always thought she ran the candy shop in that mall in Thunder Bay.
posted by gimonca at 10:07 AM on January 30, 2005

Great links -- thanks. (And for anyone interested in early Canadian and American history, I highly recommend Fred Anderson's Crucible of War, a history of the Seven Years' War that treats the Iroquois Confederacy as an equal player with the French and English.)
posted by languagehat at 11:32 AM on January 30, 2005

Sorry to be pedantic, but afaik Mohawk is only one of the five nations. The others are Oneida, Onondaga, Cayuga, and Seneca. It's sort of like saying the EU French or something. The links are good though (and actually say this).
posted by advil at 1:53 PM on January 30, 2005

advil, I really should have used the Mohawks OF the five nations. languagehat, thanks for the suggestion. The five nations played pivotal roles for the French, Brits, Canada and the USA at various times. I have often thought that North America might have looked very different had the natives in this area made different choices at different junctures. It is sad so little of thier history seems to be taught today. Maybe I'll try to find material for a post about the nations themselves.
posted by arse_hat at 2:19 PM on January 30, 2005

Interesting links, arse_hat, thanks!
posted by madamjujujive at 4:01 PM on January 30, 2005

That's the first time I've heard someone thanking an asshat...
posted by anthill at 9:16 PM on January 30, 2005