Nicholas Orontony
Encyclopedia
Nicholas Orontony was an 18th century Wyandot leader who, in the years before the French and Indian War
, tried to escape the domination of New France
over Native people in the Detroit region by resettling in the Ohio country
and forming an anti-French tribal coalition. His efforts at trying to organize armed resistance to a European power, culminating in events in 1747 sometimes known as the "Conspiracy of Nicholas", made him a forerunner of more famous Native leaders in the region such as Pontiac
, Blue Jacket
, and Tecumseh
.
. The name "Orontony" (Huron: "Rontondi", rendered variously in French and English as "Rondoenie", "Wanduny", "Orontondi", etc.) was a title bestowed upon the leader of the Wyandot Turtle clan. This Orontony also received the name "Nicholas" after he was baptized
by a French Catholic missionary at Detroit, perhaps Father Armand de la Richardie
, sometime after 1728.
In the mid-17th century, the Wyandots had settled near Detroit, but soon fell into conflict with the neighbouring Ottawa
s. In 1739, the Wyandot fearing for their lives, Orontony and two other leaders requested resettlement nearer the centre of New France
and in 1740, Orontony pressed the request to Governor of New France
Charles de la Boische, Marquis de Beauharnois
in person. The authorities hesitated to act and some Wyandots made a unilateral relocation to "Little Lake" (now Rondeau Harbour
) near Sandusky
. There, they came under the influence of British
trader
s and of an established mixed ethnic population, including Iroquois
, settled on the Cuyahoga River
, near present Cleveland, Ohio
.
Increasing economic exploitation was bringing pressure and conflict to the region and the French sought to protect their assets against non-French traders, especially those from Pennsylvania
. The tensions were exacerbated by Orontony's mistrust of the French. The outbreak of King George's War
in 1744 sparked open conflict and, in the spring of 1747 five French traders returning to Detroit were killed near Cuyahoga
. Orontony's band were implicated, and the commander at Detroit, Paul-Joseph le Moyne de Longueuil, Chevalier de Longueuil, reacted in fear of an escallating situation.
The British intervened to encourage Orontony's band, George Croghan
calling upon Pennsylvania for support. In November ten Iroquois warriors from the Ohio, responded and the government of Pennsylvania voted them a present of GBP 150 and one of GBP 50 for the band at Cuyahoga. The Iroquois' declaration had fallen short of open war on the French but the garrison at Detroit was fearful. Orontony drew sympathy from Mikinak, and the Potawatomis and Ojibwas and relationships with the French became increasingly strained and disrupted. The British traders continued to court Orontony at Sandusky and he incited the Miamis to destroy a French trading post. Orontony then conducted a mission to Detroit exhorting peace. However, while there, a party of Indians killed three Frenchmen near the fort and then took refuge on Bois Blanc Island
.
Detroit was strengthened by a convoy of reinforcements in September 1747 but to no avail. Orontony destroyed the fort and resettled his band at Coshocton, Ohio
. The remainder went farther east to build a new town at Kuskusky, near modern New Castle, Pennsylvania
. Orontony and his peers were further courted, among others by Pennsylvanian agent Conrad Weiser
in 1748. However, the agents failed to realise when Anglo-French hostilities ceased or when Orontony himself died, probably around 1750 as the victim of a smallpox epidemic.
French and Indian War
The French and Indian War is the common American name for the war between Great Britain and France in North America from 1754 to 1763. In 1756, the war erupted into the world-wide conflict known as the Seven Years' War and thus came to be regarded as the North American theater of that war...
, tried to escape the domination of New France
New France
New France was the area colonized by France in North America during a period beginning with the exploration of the Saint Lawrence River by Jacques Cartier in 1534 and ending with the cession of New France to Spain and Great Britain in 1763...
over Native people in the Detroit region by resettling in the Ohio country
Ohio Country
The Ohio Country was the name used in the 18th century for the regions of North America west of the Appalachian Mountains and in the region of the upper Ohio River south of Lake Erie...
and forming an anti-French tribal coalition. His efforts at trying to organize armed resistance to a European power, culminating in events in 1747 sometimes known as the "Conspiracy of Nicholas", made him a forerunner of more famous Native leaders in the region such as Pontiac
Chief Pontiac
Pontiac or Obwandiyag , was an Ottawa leader who became famous for his role in Pontiac's Rebellion , an American Indian struggle against the British military occupation of the Great Lakes region following the British victory in the French and Indian War. Historians disagree about Pontiac's...
, Blue Jacket
Blue Jacket
Blue Jacket or Weyapiersenwah was a war chief of the Shawnee people, known for his militant defense of Shawnee lands in the Ohio Country...
, and Tecumseh
Tecumseh
Tecumseh was a Native American leader of the Shawnee and a large tribal confederacy which opposed the United States during Tecumseh's War and the War of 1812...
.
Biography
Little is known of Orontony's early life. He was probably born at the Jesuit-established Huron village of St. Ignace, MichiganSt. Ignace, Michigan
Saint Ignace, usually written as St. Ignace, is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2000 census, the city population was 2,678. It is the county seat of Mackinac County. From the Lower Peninsula, St. Ignace is the gateway to the Upper Peninsula.St...
. The name "Orontony" (Huron: "Rontondi", rendered variously in French and English as "Rondoenie", "Wanduny", "Orontondi", etc.) was a title bestowed upon the leader of the Wyandot Turtle clan. This Orontony also received the name "Nicholas" after he was baptized
Baptism
In Christianity, baptism is for the majority the rite of admission , almost invariably with the use of water, into the Christian Church generally and also membership of a particular church tradition...
by a French Catholic missionary at Detroit, perhaps Father Armand de la Richardie
Armand de La Richardie
Armand de La Richardie was a French Roman Catholic missionary in Canada.Born at Périgueux, he entered the Society of Jesus at Bordeaux, 4 October 1703, and in 1725 was sent to the Canada mission. He spent the two following years helping Father Pierre Daniel Richer at Lorette, and studying the...
, sometime after 1728.
In the mid-17th century, the Wyandots had settled near Detroit, but soon fell into conflict with the neighbouring Ottawa
Ottawa (tribe)
The Odawa or Ottawa, said to mean "traders," are a Native American and First Nations people. They are one of the Anishinaabeg, related to but distinct from the Ojibwe nation. Their original homelands are located on Manitoulin Island, near the northern shores of Lake Huron, on the Bruce Peninsula in...
s. In 1739, the Wyandot fearing for their lives, Orontony and two other leaders requested resettlement nearer the centre of New France
New France
New France was the area colonized by France in North America during a period beginning with the exploration of the Saint Lawrence River by Jacques Cartier in 1534 and ending with the cession of New France to Spain and Great Britain in 1763...
and in 1740, Orontony pressed the request to Governor of New France
Governor of New France
The Governor of New France was the viceroy of the King of France in North America. A French noble, he was appointed to govern the colonies of New France, which included Canada, Acadia and Louisiana. The residence of the Governor was at the Château St-Louis in the capital of Quebec City...
Charles de la Boische, Marquis de Beauharnois
Charles de la Boische, Marquis de Beauharnois
Charles de la Boische, Marquis de Beauharnois was a French Naval officer who served as Governor of New France from 1726 to 1746.Charles had two brothers who also impacted the history of New France...
in person. The authorities hesitated to act and some Wyandots made a unilateral relocation to "Little Lake" (now Rondeau Harbour
Rondeau Provincial Park
Rondeau Provincial Park is a provincial park in southwestern Ontario, Canada, located on an 8 km long crescentic sand spit extending into Lake Erie. There are only two sand spits like this one in all of North America, one in Rondeau and one in Florida. Rondeau was established in 1894 as a response...
) near Sandusky
Sandusky
-Cities and towns:* Sandusky, Indiana* Sandusky, Michigan* Sandusky, Ohio* Sandusky, Wisconsin-Townships:* Sandusky Township, Crawford County, Ohio* Sandusky Township, Richland County, Ohio* Sandusky Township, Sandusky County, Ohio-People:...
. There, they came under the influence of British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
trader
Merchant
A merchant is a businessperson who trades in commodities that were produced by others, in order to earn a profit.Merchants can be one of two types:# A wholesale merchant operates in the chain between producer and retail merchant...
s and of an established mixed ethnic population, including Iroquois
Iroquois
The Iroquois , also known as the Haudenosaunee or the "People of the Longhouse", are an association of several tribes of indigenous people of North America...
, settled on the Cuyahoga River
Cuyahoga River
The Cuyahoga River is located in Northeast Ohio in the United States. Outside of Ohio, the river is most famous for being "the river that caught fire", helping to spur the environmental movement in the late 1960s...
, near present Cleveland, Ohio
Cleveland, Ohio
Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and is the county seat of Cuyahoga County, the most populous county in the state. The city is located in northeastern Ohio on the southern shore of Lake Erie, approximately west of the Pennsylvania border...
.
Increasing economic exploitation was bringing pressure and conflict to the region and the French sought to protect their assets against non-French traders, especially those from Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
. The tensions were exacerbated by Orontony's mistrust of the French. The outbreak of King George's War
King George's War
King George's War is the name given to the operations in North America that formed part of the War of the Austrian Succession . It was the third of the four French and Indian Wars. It took place primarily in the British provinces of New York, Massachusetts Bay, New Hampshire, and Nova Scotia...
in 1744 sparked open conflict and, in the spring of 1747 five French traders returning to Detroit were killed near Cuyahoga
Cuyahoga
Cuyahoga may mean:* Cuyahoga County, Ohio* Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio* Cuyahoga Heights, Ohio* Cuyahoga River* Cuyahoga Valley National Park, a U.S...
. Orontony's band were implicated, and the commander at Detroit, Paul-Joseph le Moyne de Longueuil, Chevalier de Longueuil, reacted in fear of an escallating situation.
The British intervened to encourage Orontony's band, George Croghan
George Croghan
George Croghan was an Irish-born Pennsylvania fur trader, Onondaga Council sachem, land speculator, British Indian agent in colonial America and, until accused of treason in 1777, Pittsburgh's president judge and Committee of Safety Chairman keeping the Ohio Indians neutral...
calling upon Pennsylvania for support. In November ten Iroquois warriors from the Ohio, responded and the government of Pennsylvania voted them a present of GBP 150 and one of GBP 50 for the band at Cuyahoga. The Iroquois' declaration had fallen short of open war on the French but the garrison at Detroit was fearful. Orontony drew sympathy from Mikinak, and the Potawatomis and Ojibwas and relationships with the French became increasingly strained and disrupted. The British traders continued to court Orontony at Sandusky and he incited the Miamis to destroy a French trading post. Orontony then conducted a mission to Detroit exhorting peace. However, while there, a party of Indians killed three Frenchmen near the fort and then took refuge on Bois Blanc Island
Bois Blanc Island
There are two islands known as Bois Blanc in North America:*Bois Blanc Island located near Mackinac Island*Bois Blanc Island commonly called Boblo Island and had an amusement park....
.
Detroit was strengthened by a convoy of reinforcements in September 1747 but to no avail. Orontony destroyed the fort and resettled his band at Coshocton, Ohio
Coshocton, Ohio
Coshocton is a city in and the county seat of Coshocton County, Ohio, United States. The population of the city was 11,682 at the 2000 census. The Walhonding River and the Tuscarawas River meet in Coshocton to form the Muskingum River....
. The remainder went farther east to build a new town at Kuskusky, near modern New Castle, Pennsylvania
New Castle, Pennsylvania
New Castle is a city in Lawrence County, Pennsylvania, United States, northwest of Pittsburgh and near the Pennsylvania-Ohio border just east of Youngstown, Ohio; in 1910, the total population was 36,280; in 1920, 44,938; and in 1940, 47,638. The population has fallen to 26,309 according to the...
. Orontony and his peers were further courted, among others by Pennsylvanian agent Conrad Weiser
Conrad Weiser
Weiser's colonial service began in 1731. The Iroquois sent Shikellamy, an Oneida chief, as an emissary to other tribes and the British. Shikellamy lived on the Susquehanna River at Shamokin village, near present-day Sunbury, Pennsylvania. An oral tradition holds that Weiser met Shikellamy while...
in 1748. However, the agents failed to realise when Anglo-French hostilities ceased or when Orontony himself died, probably around 1750 as the victim of a smallpox epidemic.