The Iroquois Confederacy and Trade The fur trade in North America started with the earliest interactions among the Iroquois and Europeans. The Five Nation Iroquois were, from east to west, the Mohawk, Oneida, Onondaga, Cayuga, and Seneca. The Iroquois were a powerful league of Indian people that populated the area south of Lake Ontario that is known today as New York. They were a fierce band of tribes that waged war upon one another. Young warriors were trained to be immune to the brutalities of war and taught that honor was acquired by bravery and aggression in warfare. Iroquoian tribes were merciless in their treatment of their captives who were tortured and sometimes roasted alive and their remains were consumed in cannibalistic feasts. During the sixteenth century, after many years of vicious battle, a prophet named Deganawida was concerned that their relentless warfare was weakening the Iroquois tribes. He persuaded the Five Nations to unify and form a Great League of Peace and Power (Taylor 103).…show more content… Waging war was an entirely different occurrence to the Five Nations whose beliefs involved communal killings and tribal torture. It was a never ending battle and death rates rose due to new disease contracted from Europeans and use of more violent warfare by means of metal weapons and guns. In 1633-35, an outbreak of smallpox and measles wiped out half of the Iroquois. The natives thought their bad luck was due to sorcery from the enemy so the Five Nations wanted revenge and began killing and capturing men, women and children from neighboring tribes. The neighboring Indians retaliated and attacked the Iroquois. The conflict intensified among the Indians as each pursued retribution and replacements for their completely desolate communities