Nations at War - Episode 6

Good morning, we will continue tour exploration of the Nations at War series.  I have not given up on this series yet even though I have been discouraged by a lot of the episodes.
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The First Nations are caught between two powerful empires: the French and the British.  These empires had been fighting on and off since the Middle Ages.  These two nations were dividing up the world between them.  Neither nation could defeat each other.  The First Nations were caught between shifting alliances and took an interest in local importance.  The Hudson River Waterways became a strategic point in the battle between the nations.

The most valuable alliance was with the Mohawk people.  The French attacked the Mohawk and even convinced them to live in settlements.  The Dutch were eventually driven out of the New World and the English took over New York.  The British took over the Dutch alliance with the Mohawk.  There was a problem with the Wampanoag war against the English.  Instead of siding with the Wampanoag, the Mohawk attacked.  They proved their loyalty to the British.

The Mohawk adopted British customs.  The Tuscarora eventually joined up with the Iroquois Confederacy as well.  Even though the Iroquois Confederacy was powerful, they had suffered heavy losses.  So, they reached out to the British to obtain a powerful ally while they regained their strength.   Sir William Johnson stepped into that void and worked well with the Iroquois confederacy.  He became one of the most powerful men on the Continent.  By 1746, William Johnson became the representative of the Iroquois Confederacy.  He would recruit Mohawk soldiers to fight against the French.

Tensions were high, especially after the War of the Austrian Succession was started.  Then there were skirmishes in the Ohio River Valley against the French.  This triggered more fighting between the French and the British.  The Mohawk and Militia came together to fight against the French at the Battle of Lake George.  The Mohawk on the French side refused to fight against their brothers.  The French were frustrated with their allies and fought the battle anyway.  More battles followed and the French were defeated.  Canada was surrendered to the British, the destiny of North America would be English speaking.  Then the American Revolution started and the Mohawk had to choose sides again. This war would also divide the Iroquois Confederacy.  What sides would the Mohawk choose?

In the second half, the episode features British Columbia.  The iron spike is driven into the ground, completing a railroad.  This changed the history of Canada forever.  David Lyle discusses the history of the ship and the Vikings.  The longboat had an impact on exploration and then pushed west.  In Greenland, they could explore the North American continent.  When they arrived, the Vikings killed the members of the First Nations.  This ended colonial ambitions for another five centuries. 

The First Nations were transformed over the years.  A prophet known as Peacemaker united the Iroquois people.  Eventually, Europeans emerged from the Middle Ages and started exploring.  They wanted spices from Asia and they were blocked by the Ottomans.  So as a result, they looked west to find alternative routes.  The only problem was that North America was in the way.  It was here they met up with the First Nations and set to work out with them.  The Europeans found furs instead of spices and the First Nations became the middlemen in the fur trade.

With the way the second episode started, I thought there would have been a discussion in the Viking and their encounters with the First Nations.  Instead, they got a quick mention and the episode moved on.  This was more of a summary episode of the events between the First Nations, French and British.