Bruce G. Trigger

The Mohawk‐Mohican War (1624–28): The Establishment of a Pattern

THE YEAR 1624 MARKED THE OUTBREAK OF HOSTILITIES between the Mohawk and Mahican tribes, who both lived in the upper reaches of the Hudson Valley. These hostilities lasted for about four years and ended with the Mahican being driven east of the Hudson River, thus setting the stage for the close relationship between the Mohawk and the European inhabitants of the Albany area that was to last throughout the colonial period. There is very little documentation for this event which, as far as upper New York State is concerned, took place at the dawn of its recorded history. The resuk has been a considerable amount of unbridled speculation. For lack of better evidence, most Iroquoianists, myself included, have been inclined to accept G.T. Hunts explanation that the Mohawk went to war in order to eliminate the Mahican as middlemen in their trade with the Dutch x