Old obligations between the Delawares and the Iroquois

The Old obligations between the Delawares and the Iroquois are an inherited political relationship that shapes the Delawares’ conduct during the war. Their former dependence on the Iroquois for military protection makes them reluctant to fight against their old masters, even while they accompany Montcalm’s forces into English territory and their own community is divided over the conflict.

The Treaty’s Political Force

The Delawares’ past relationship with the Six Nations is described as an ancient treaty of military dependence: the Six Nations had once protected them, and that history now restrains them from taking up arms against their former protectors. The obligation does not erase present rivalries or settle every Delaware choice; instead, it imposes a constraint within a shifting network of alliances.

The Delawares communicate their refusal to support the French expedition by saying that their hatchets are dull and need time to be sharpened. Montcalm judges it wiser to tolerate this passive ally than to use force and risk turning the Delawares into open enemies. Their restraint thus affects French military calculations as well as their own position.

Divided Alliances and French Pressure

The old treaty operates amid a broader disorder in which language, common origins, and political allegiance do not align neatly. Hawkeye observes that the Delawares are divided: some remain with the Sagamore near the English, while many others are with Montcalm. The narrative likewise notes that Delawares and members of the Six Nations can fight in the same ranks even as the latter pursue their own conflicts with the Hurons.

Magua exploits the Delawares’ failure to join the French campaign, reminding them that their neutrality has already attracted reproach from their allies. He also warns that their villages, hunting grounds, women, children, and part of their military strength lie within French territory. The implication is that an inherited obligation to the Iroquois carries consequences under the competing pressure of French alliance and territorial vulnerability.

Consequences in the Later Conflict

The Delawares’ earlier nonparticipation helps explain why their relationship with Montcalm’s side remains politically uneasy. Magua uses their apparent defection to question their loyalty, while the French captain’s decision to accept a passive ally shows the limits of imperial command over Indigenous partners with their own histories and interests.

The old obligation does not prevent the Delawares from later organizing a large force under Uncas. He appoints leaders, gives Hawkeye command of twenty men, offers Duncan a position of equal authority, and sets out with more than two hundred warriors. The episode distinguishes the treaty’s specific restraint against fighting former protectors from a general incapacity to act: Delaware military action remains possible, but it is shaped by inherited commitments, present alliances, and immediate circumstances.