| 1285-1300 (532-547 AD) (L'Uniona Homanus) | 1300-1324 (547-571 AD) (L'Uniona Homanus) | 1324-1361 (571-608 AD) (L'Uniona Homanus) |
The Susquehanna League[]
In between the Chesapeake and the Huritian League were a group of cities which refused involvement among these larger states. They had known of the Huritians for as long as all the other states around them but had refused to vindicate them. They chose independence over integration and this sentiment spread up and down the Susquehanna River and surrounding areas. The Chesapeake and the New Huritians were planning to take on the
In Gray, between the New Huritians and the Chesapeake grew the Susquehanna League.
independent cities of this area but their own people chose to take their own path and change the character of their cities. It was a difficult establishment but the Susquehanna were able to found a League of Cities between the Cheaspeake and the New Huritians and were able to gain trade relations with both of those states and eventually have enough money to create a reliable military and defend their independence. The capital of the Susquehanna League was the city of Awinita on the Susquehanna River and they were the center of trade from both the New Huritians and the Chesapeake. Relations from New Hurit to the Chesapeake Bay area.
The Wappinger[]
In the area controlled by the Wappinger tribe of OTL Massachusetts, a new form of government was being created. The Chief system of the other tribes was something that the Wappinger were not able to do. It was not due to a lack of leaders, but rather, to a surplus of them. Several people had been competing for the title of Chief of the Wappinger since they began to emerge from the influence of the Chesapeake State. The toll that this took on the people of the Wappinger area was by no means small. Several people became refugees to areas around what is now New York City as well as other
Here we see, in red, the Wappinger Chiefdom; North of Long Island.
surrounding areas. Some of these warring Chiefs left to try and create Chiefdoms elsewhere, which led to the growth of many new states throughout that area. This was called the ‘Wappinger effect’ by the other states and the entire region of what we call New England formed a patchwork of several small states.
For the Wappinger territory however three of the Chiefs were able to come to a conclusion to the hostilities and establish a respectably sized Chiefdom with three co-rulers. The Wappinger effect was taking its course throughout that region however. The three Chiefs tried to manage relations with as many of these States as possible while also providing for their own defense and reconstruction. The multiple leaders were able to handle this better than a single Chief probably could have and it was, according to the records of the Wappinger, designed that way.
The Wappinger Effect[]
So many new states grew during the years following the start of the Wappinger effect. By around the year 1320 (567 AD), several new states now populated the Northeast and were looking for opportunities to expand while others looking just to survive.
In Orange, with the dot, we see the location of the Mohawk Chiefdom.
Among these expansive states was the Mowhawk. The Mohawk were established on their self named and controlled river, which connects with the Mohegan (Hudson) around their capital. Their chief was one of the most cynical of those who left Wappinger and was the reason why he left to a tribe so far away. The Mohawk people controlled and depended on their river for the movement of resources they had. The Mohawk copied the naval system of the Huritians and received many acts of assistance from the New Huritians. The Mohawk were very much a client state of the New Huritians and their Chiefs were very close to each other.
The Qochata Kingdoms[]
The Qochata were very interested in the events taking place in the region above the Wappinger. The tribes which had been associating with the Qochata for some time were now being introduced to the leadership of Wappinger people to combine with the support of the Qochate. Most of these were the Northernmost tribes, such as the Laurentians, Mahicans, Aroosaguntacook, Wawenock. These four formed the northern border of the Wappinger Effect States and they all took on very similar qualities.
Though these states were made of different tribes each of them took on a similar government. The prospective chiefs from the Wappinger took on the name of King, as had been done by the Qochata. {C}
These four Kings came together with the Qochata to manage their collective resources against the biggest threat to any of them, The New Huritians. The New Huritians may have gotten around the Cheboygan and the Qochata came out of that war with some territorial gains but these gains were tenuous and the New Huritians still had the most cities and the greatest amount of resources.
The Mahicans were the only one of these Kingdoms which bordered the New Huritians. This made them of particular focus for the Qochata and the other Kingdoms. Of course this did put the others at a sort of disadvantage. Wawenock, being the farthest from Qochata, was the least noticed of the other Kingdoms. The Aroosaguntacook and Laurentians depended on each other and the Wawenock were on the periphery. Despite this King Kiene of Wawenock was bringing in more trade than the Wawenock had seen before; though it was less than was going to the other Kingdoms. Kiene and the other Kings, who knew each other before they became Kings, remained very close for the time being.
The Great Northeastern Divide[]
The Penacook League[]
In the North of the area affected by the Wappinger effect were the Penacook people. They centered around an agricultural society and after the arrival of the man who would become their chief, a former general in the Wappinger army, they became one of the most widespread of the Wappinger effect States. Several other rather large states bordered the Penacook and among these were the Nipmuc, Massachuset, and the Marimack. These formed the basis of the Penacook League, which was in a way a nation unto itself. The four chiefs formed a tetrarchy of power and under them were a new system beginning to grow especially in the Wappinger states.
Prior to the start of this event there were mostly agricultural workers or noblemen in the society of the Native Americans. After the start of the Huritian League there began to appear a new class of people, the military. However, once the wars stopped and once the governments began to focus on other projects there was an increase in trade among the interior of these countries. A merchant class began to form among the native peoples. They were, in many ways, looked down upon by the rest of their society. They were seen as predators who made the poor their victims with their overpriced goods. Whether this was true or not can not be verified but it is rather unlikely.
The Merchant class of Native Americans began to grow after the growth of many different states and the start of many new projects such as road building, the first of which connected Keme (Syracuse) to Hurit (Rochester). {C}
Some of these merchants were especially wealthy and some began to demand special rights for themselves. The chief prior to this event had been a relative dictator who could name who ever he wanted as his successor. When states were small they were elected but as they grew such an option quickly faded from possibility. The Chiefs also did not want to make any serious efforts to democracy, such an action threatens their control. The merchants, with their stores of wealth and connections to the vital and essential facets of life were able to negotiate for special rights, such as where they can build their houses and granting them special access to resources which restricted its use to others. The concept of property itself was not a full and solid part of life at this time but many merchants, now calling themselves ‘Sachem’, an old word which used to mean chief but which would now have the English connotation of Duke or Count. this as opposed to the newer word of ‘Hoyenah’ which means the chiefs in the context we have been using.
In New Hurit the Sachem had a deep hold on power but in the Wappinger states it was not just simply the demand for rights to control a state which caused many aspiring people to flee. Their first place of resort was to the North, closer to the other major states many of them envied. These people made many advances for their agenda and often played a pivotal role in the start of states and who would be their chief. This happened in all of the states of the Penacook League. In fact, it was more by the suggestion of these powerful Sachem that such a cooperative state was made. Also in the favor of the new ennobled merchant class was the fact that the four chiefs would not try to dominate the other states. Not only did this secure the ‘independence’ of these states but it also made sure that the holdings which the Sachem of the Penacook League had was not going to be threatened by the possibility of a war among these states. Collectively this League could be better described as façade for an aristocracy which held all the essential elements of life in their hands.
The Pequot League[]
{C}On the bottom of the Wappinger effect were the poorest of the generals and other leaders and talkers who left the fight for control of the Wappinger. These people did not have the backing of the wealthy as occurred in the Penacook League or the backing of a more established nation such as took place among the Qochata States, nor did they have already existing institutions such as existed among the Mohawk which could be exploited for the gain of a newcomer. The Pequot were the underdogs of the race for Wappinger which ended up leaving them out in the margins of the country. The Pequots held very few lands compared to the Penacook League. The Mohegan, Pequot, Wampangag, and Pocumtuk made up the Pequot League and the Pequot were the most populous of any of these groups, though they did not have much land. This clustering of people led to the growth of very large cities and these became the capitals of the Pequot League.
The Pequot were very hostile towards the Penacook despite their similar origins and proximity. The Penacook chiefdoms were built initially by the generals and men which were the enemies of those who created the chiefdoms of the Pequot League. The enmity which existed prior to the beginning of either of their groups of states would carry over into these new areas. The Mohegan, Pequot, Wampangag, and Pocumtuk began many new projects in each of their states not only to make change their poor status but also to compete with the Penacook. This rivalry fueled most of the innovations in the Pequot League.
The Pequot League was different from the other states around them. The Huritian League which was led by the Chiefs all having a claimed origin to Abukcheech was a combination of many tribes. However it was run as one chiefdom and the leaders of the constituent tribes had little power to effect the actions of the Chief. The Huritian League, though it was a combination of several tribes really was one state. Similar statements would be said about other Leagues such as the Chesapeake, the Chumani which also fell to the Huritians, the Zitkala and the Minwaking were led by and managed from a tribe in the largest city but who had a dominion over their neighbors. The Pequot League was different. Its states had much more autonomy though they did work together.
The Pequot Chief, named Catahecassa, was elected by the chiefs of the four Pequot members. He built a city separate from any of the tribes or chiefdoms and named in Narragansett. It was on the border of the Wapangag and the Mohegan and on the shores of Narragansett Bay. It corresponds to OTL Providence, Rhode Island. Narragansett was the first of the projects made once the Pequot league was established. It was named after the tribe which inhabited what would become that city as well as the name of the people that lived in the area around the city bearing their name. Narragansett would become an impressive port within 20 years of its founding and by 1324 (571 AD) which was twenty three years after its founding it was the largest port among any of the Wappinger States and Wappinger itself.
The Pequots and the Penacooks were approaching an equal footing between themselves in terms of economy and military. The reputation that the Pequots were building, being one of opportunity and wealth for all people, was bringing in more people than they could handle immediately. Those who couldn’t find employment made their own businesses or joined the military. This made both the economy and the armed forces of the Pequots explode in the time from 1300-1324 (547-571 AD) and the Penacooks did not let these developments move along unnoticed. In this same time the Penacooks and the Qochata states began to trade more and more but the Qochata chiefdoms refused the idea that the Penacooks presented. The Qochata began to trade with both the Penacooks and the Pequot Leagues but would not be given exclusive trade or privileges to the Qochate Chiefdoms of the Laurentians, Mahicans, Aroosaguntacook, Wawenock.
[]
| 1285-1300 (532-547 AD) (L'Uniona Homanus) | 1300-1324 (547-571 AD) (L'Uniona Homanus) | 1324-1361 (571-608 AD) (L'Uniona Homanus) |