THE BALANCE OF THE AMERICAN CONTINENT»: THE POLITICS OF THE IROQUOIS LEAGUE IN THE CONTEXT OF THE ANGLO-FRENCH COLONIAL CONTROVERSY IN NORTH AMERICA, 1713-1744

The Iroquois League was a key factor in international relations in the North American Woodland region in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. As a result of the so-called Beaver Wars, the Iroquois gained a dominant position among other tribes and exerted serious influence on the policies of the colonial powers on the continent. Between 1713 and 1744, under conditions of formal peace, England and France sought to secure their supremacy in the region, using the Iroquois as their main tool. A complex system of mutual influences and contradictions in the control of fur-trade communications, dominance over various Indian peoples and alliances, and territorial and military expansion emerged, in which the interests of the colonial powers and the Iroquois League clashed. For both England and France, it was essential to get the Iroquois on their side in any way possible in their colonial confrontation to ensure supremacy in the region. As a result of European diplomatic efforts and complex ethno-political processes experienced by the Iroquois confederation, the League actually split at the turn of the 40-50s of the 18th century, and in the series of Anglo-French military conflicts that began, the Iroquois came out on the side of both opposing powers.