The Wabanaki Confederacy is a confederation, an alliance among the indigenous nations, Mi’kmaq, Maliseet, Passamaquoddy, Penobscot, and Abenaki. It was formed as a defense and diplomatic alliance to resist and safeguard their nations from non-friendly nations or empires, to fight over disputes related to territory, resources and trade.
All these nations within this confederacy were spreading across today’s New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, Quebec, and the northeastern United States (Maine, Vermont, New Hampshire and Massachusetts).
It was founded before the arrival of the Italian Navigator, John Cabot in 1457.
With the ongoing arrival of Europeans in the region of today’s North America, this confederacy was more formalized in the 1600s.
In 1534, the French Explorer, Jacques Cartier arrived and explored today’s Atlantic Canada establishing multiple settlements with time making it a part of French Empire but they didn’t last due to bad relations with the Wabanaki Confederacy, harsh weather conditions and lack of resources.
In 1604, The French Governor, Samuel de Champlain, established New France (a new territory under the French Empire). This was welcomed by the Wabanaki Confederacy.
Between 1628-1701, Beaver Wars took place which was a war majorly between Wabanaki Confederacy (backed by the French Empire) and Iroquois Confederacy (backed by the British Empire).
Between 1675-1676, King Philip’s War took place which was a war between Wabanaki Confederacy (backed by the French Empire) and Iroquois Confederacy (backed by the British Empire).
Between 1722-1725, Dummer’s War took place between Wabanaki Confederacy (backed by the French Empire) and Iroquois Confederacy (backed by the British Empire).
In 1763, ‘Treaty of Paris’ was signed between the British Empire and French Empire where French surrendered their territories (in today’s North America) to the British Empire. This left Wabanaki Confederacy in a difficult situation since their ally took back the support and they were not in the region anymore.
Between 1775-1783, American Revolution took place which was a political war to break away from the British Empire and gain independence. During this, Wabanaki Confederacy faced a mutiny among themselves because some were supporting and some were not supporting the revolution.
During 1800s, Wabanaki Confederacy was dissolved due to the mutiny and pressure from the British Empire.
In 1993, Wabanaki Confederacy was formally revived by the Canadian Government but not as a confederation between the nations which existed before, but as a representation of indigenous culture, identity, rights and so on.
