Registration is now open for Old Fort Niagara’s 300th anniversary history symposium: “Politics, Trade and Diplomacy on the New York Frontier.”
This conference explores politics diplomacy and trade on the New York frontier between the Treaty of Utrecht (1713) and the onset of King George’s War (1744). Five noted scholars will present lectures relating to the era when the French Castle was established in 1726.
Michael Laramie, a military history writer and the author of nine books on colonial America and the Civil War will speak on King George’s War on Lake Ontario (1744-48).
The Treaty of Utrecht in 1713, which brought an end to Queen Anne’s War in North America, presented New France with a number of problems. One of these was Article 15, which proclaimed the Iroquois Confederacy as British citizens.
Beyond the question of whether or not this invalidated the previous peace treaty between the Five Nations, the French, and the French allied nations, the real fear was that this would lead to the Iroquois granting the British access to the south shore of Lake Ontario.
With Ft. Frontenac at the eastern end of the lake, the French moved to secure their trade and communication lines to the west by erecting Ft. Niagara, while the British would respond with a post at Oswego.
With rumors of war, and both colonial powers looking to secure these waters, it appeared that news of King George’s War (1744-1748) would result in a clash for the lake. However, both sides had a problem; the Iroquois.
Jon Parmenter, Associate Professor of History at Cornell University and the author of The Edge of the Woods: Iroquoia, 1534-1701 will present “Reconsidering Fort Niagara in the Context of Haudenosaunee Territoriality, 1700-1765.”
Historians have long characterized the establishment of European forts (Niagara and Oswego) within Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) homelands (circa 1726-27) as a defining moment in the descent of the Haudenosaunee into the status of colonized peoples – their inability to contest the construction of these two outposts offers an alleged portent of their eventual dispossession and confinement on reservations.
By shifting our focus to the perspective of the Haudenosaunee people who lived in proximity to, conducted trade at, provisioned, and traveled past Fort Niagara to and from hunting grounds in present-day southern Ontario, a different understanding emerges.
Seneca retention of control over the Niagara Portage, a critical axis of trade and communication in the Great Lakes region, proved key to converting Fort Niagara from a colonial imposition to a site of economic and diplomatic opportunities for the Haudenosaunee for far longer than traditionally understood.
Maeve Kane, Associate Professor of History at the University at Albany and author of Shirts Powdered Red: Haudenosaunee Gender, Trade and Exchange Across Three Centuries will speak about gender, trade and diplomacy on the New York frontier.
How Haudenosaunee and European people understood one another at eighteenth century diplomatic and trade crossroads like Fort Niagara was deeply intertwined with how they understood gender and clothing.
Cloth and clothing were major parts of Haudenosaunee trade with Europeans and carried important cultural meaning for both groups, but how these meanings were understood were shaped by understanding of gender roles.
In the complicated cultural and diplomatic landscape of the eighteenth century, everyday items like shirts, blankets, hats, and coats carried important messages about sovereignty, gender, religion, and diplomatic alliances.
Haudenosaunee women’s work in buying, making, and remaking clothing is therefore especially important to understanding eighteenth century Haudenosaunee diplomatic relations, Haudenosaunee-European cross cultural trade, and how both groups understood their interactions
Richard Weyhing, Associate Professor and Department Chair of History at SUNY Oswego, will present “A Thing That Could Disturb the Union of Two Great Crowns: Niagara, Oswego and the Struggle for the Great Lakes in an Age of Empire.”
Looking closely at the geopolitics of the French and British colonial empires in North America at the beginning of the eighteenth century, Dr. Weyhing will discuss how the rival establishments of forts at Niagara (1726) and Oswego (1727) set in motion patterns of imperial confrontation between the two powers within the continental interior that would ultimately remake North America.
Kevin Gélinas, author, researcher, and scholar of French colonial material culture will provide an overview of the material culture of French troops stationed around the Great Lakes between 1683 and 1760.
This presentation draws on groundbreaking research that combines archaeological evidence, surviving artifacts, and newly discovered archival records.
It highlights regulation dress and standard-issued equipment used at forts and outposts, including Fort Niagara, situating them within the operational realities of frontier service.
The talk also explores wilderness campaign attire and arms adapted to North America’s climate, terrain, and distinctive modes of warfare.
The program will conclude with a panel discussion led by Dr. Joseph Stahlman, Director of the Seneca Nation’s Seneca-Iroquois National Museum-Onöhsagwë:de‘ Culture Center, about Indigenous perspectives on the era.
“Politics, Trade and Diplomacy on the New York Frontier” will be held on Saturday, April 25 at the Fort Niagara Officers Club adjacent to the Old Fort. Hours for the program are 9 am to 5 pm.
Advance registration is required and capacity is limited. Tickets to the event are $75.00 (plus Eventbrite service fee). Morning coffee and lunch are included.
More information and a registration link are available on Old Fort Niagara’s website.
Read more about the history of Fort Niagara.
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