| Canaqueese | |
|---|---|
| |
| Biographical information | |
| Born |
c.1630 |
| Died |
1694 (aged 63-64) |
| Political information | |
| Affiliations | |
| Real-world information | |
| Appears in | |
Canaqueese (c.1630 - 1694), also known by his Dutch name Smits Jan, was a Mohawk-Dutch war chief, intercultural mediator and a member of the New France Rite of the Templar Order. He was an important intermediary for the Templars, using his status and diplomacy among the French, Dutch, the Algonquian-speaking Mahican (Mohican), and the Iroquoian-speaking Mohawk peoples.
Canaqueese helped manipulate the concurrent Iroquois Wars as a front for raiding a multitide of indigenous villages to find the location of an Eden Engine, a Piece of Eden weapon capable of devastating destruction and recreation. Meanwhile Canaqueese actively took part in searching for the Piece of Eden, completely unaware of the war's origin.
Biography[]
Canaqueese was born to a Dutch father and Mohawk mother, near the site of the Dutch frontier village of Schenectady. Canaqueese was raised in the Mohawk culture, identifying as a member of the tribe. It is probable that Canaqueese was raised by his mother due to the matrilineal kinship system that the Mohawk culture employed, however, Canaqueese was also likely to have learned Dutch during his upbringing to familiarise himself with the culture.
In 1650, Canaqueese led a band of Mohawk warriors in an attack on the French settlement Trois Rivières during the First French-Iroquois War.
At some point between 1650 and 1667, Canaqueese joined the Templar Order. Believing in their mission to create peace in their new world.
During the Iroquois Wars, Canaqueese served as both military leader and mediator between the Mohawk and French during this conflict. In 1667, Canaqueese played a crucial part in the peace talks between the Mohawks and French which created a truce that lasted for more than ten years. During this peace, the Templars learned of the existence of the Eden Engines, believing it to be a device that would enable them to achieve their goal, they began a search for it.
Because of this search, Canaqueese was tasked with manipulating the peace between the Iroquois and French, resuming the conflict between the two as the English began to settle in the former Dutch territory. Once the Iroquois began to attack the French again, the Templars began their hunt, attacking and raiding native villages to find information on the Eden Engine.
During one of these raids in 1694 on a Seneca villaga, he was tracked down by the French Assassins Louis Chaput and Ramona Lucia, and the Mōsonī warrior Küpeyakwüskonam, with the latter being a survivor of one of the Templar initiated attacks on native villages. Canaqueese was killed by Küpeyakwüskonam during the attack.
Trivia[]
- Canaqueese is based on the real historial figure Chief Canaqueese.