In war and peace, Wabakinine, head chief of the Mississaugas who made their home on the north shore of Lake Ontario, was a strong friend and ally of the British in the late 18th century. Respected as a warrior, he’d assisted the British effort during the American Revolution by participating in raiding parties. And when the British desperately needed land on which Loyalist refugees from that conflict could settle, Wabakinine was among the Mississauga chiefs who negotiated conciliatory terms with the Crown, offering the newcomers a place to make a home in exchange for gifts of goods in a series of land agreements in the 1780s and 1790s.
But, as historian Donald B. Smith writes, “the most important event in Wabakinine’s life was his death.”
He was murdered in York in 1796 at the hands of a British soldier who was trying to assault the chief’s sister. The murder of such a widely respected leader shocked the First Nations of the colony, touching off a local crisis as the underlying tension between the Mississaugas and the settlers reached a boiling point. As the colonial government scrambled to respond appropriately, the Mississaugas considered an armed uprising against the minuscule British military force then present in the colony. The chief’s murder ultimately changed the once-trusting relationship between the Mississaugas and the Crown, affecting how the First Nations negotiated land surrenders in the years that followed.
more
Historicist: The Murder of Wabakinine | culture | Torontoist
But, as historian Donald B. Smith writes, “the most important event in Wabakinine’s life was his death.”
He was murdered in York in 1796 at the hands of a British soldier who was trying to assault the chief’s sister. The murder of such a widely respected leader shocked the First Nations of the colony, touching off a local crisis as the underlying tension between the Mississaugas and the settlers reached a boiling point. As the colonial government scrambled to respond appropriately, the Mississaugas considered an armed uprising against the minuscule British military force then present in the colony. The chief’s murder ultimately changed the once-trusting relationship between the Mississaugas and the Crown, affecting how the First Nations negotiated land surrenders in the years that followed.
more
Historicist: The Murder of Wabakinine | culture | Torontoist