Champlain-A Record Belt

French Invasion—This belt was made to keep in memory the expeditions of the French against the Five Nations. The Iroquois never forgave (and the French would never let them forget) the French of Canada for invading their territory and killing and torturing their people, as well as burning their villages. Champlain was the first offender and De Nonville the last to do serious injury. Up until twenty-four years after Champlain had killed three Mohawk men at Lake Champlain, the Iroquois had not tried to kill any Frenchmen, though many of their own people had been murdered by the French. They tried in vain to use reason with the invading whites but when pressed beyond endurance, they turned on the French and time after time defeated them and their allies. There is plenty of documentary evidence that it was the Iroquois, not the English, who defeated the French in the so called French and Indian Wars. One noted historian said that when the English colonies outnumbered the Iroquois five to one that they were still begging the Iroquois for protection and they were receiving it.