Ganneious, also spelled Ganneous, is a former village, first settled by the

Oneida Oneida may refer to: Native American/First Nations * Oneida people, a Native American/First Nations people and one of the five founding nations of the Iroquois Confederacy * Oneida language * Oneida Indian Nation, based in New York * Oneida Na ...

, located on the North Shore of

Lake Ontario Lake Ontario is one of the five Great Lakes of North America. It is bounded on the north, west, and southwest by the Canadian province of Ontario, and on the south and east by the U.S. state of New York. The Canada–United States border sp ...

near the present site of Napanee,

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...

, Canada. Starting in 1696, it was occupied by the

Mississauga Mississauga ( ), historically known as Toronto Township, is a city in the Canadian province of Ontario. It is situated on the shores of Lake Ontario in the Regional Municipality of Peel, adjoining the western border of Toronto. With a popul ...

. The name is most likely a likely misprint for the French "Gannejout(s)", meaning Oneida.

History

Ganneious was settled temporarily as part of a mid 17th-century northward push by the

Iroquois confederacy The Iroquois ( or ), officially the Haudenosaunee ( meaning "people of the longhouse"), are an Iroquoian-speaking confederacy of First Nations peoples in northeast North America/ Turtle Island. They were known during the colonial years to ...

, from their traditional homeland in New York state. The village was one of seven northern bases for the Iroquois from which to hunt beaver and other fur-bearers and to control the flow of furs from the north and west to the markets at Albany. The village was located on or near the fertile and productive soils of the Hay Bay area, near Fredericksburg and Cataraqui. The exact location of the village has not been determined. In 1673, the French built

Fort Frontenac Fort Frontenac was a French trading post and military fort built in July 1673 at the mouth of the Cataraqui River where the St. Lawrence River leaves Lake Ontario (at what is now the western end of the La Salle Causeway), in a location tradition ...

, which is located in modern day

Kingston Kingston may refer to: Places * List of places called Kingston, including the five most populated: ** Kingston, Jamaica ** Kingston upon Hull, England ** City of Kingston, Victoria, Australia ** Kingston, Ontario, Canada ** Kingston upon Thames, ...

, Ontario and approximately 40 kilometres east of Ganneious. The establishment of the fort had a significant impact on Ganneious; French missionaries made several attempts to encourage the population in Ganneious to resettle closer to the Fort, in order to

Christianize Christianization ( or Christianisation) is to make Christian; to imbue with Christian principles; to become Christian. It can apply to the conversion of an individual, a practice, a place or a whole society. It began in the Roman Empire, conti ...

, Europeanize and encourage them to learn trades and farm. In 1675,

René-Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle René-Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle (; November 22, 1643 – March 19, 1687), was a 17th-century French explorer and fur trader in North America. He explored the Great Lakes region of the United States and Canada, the Mississippi River, ...

and Father Louis Hennepin undertook a journey to Ganneious to convince the Oneida settled there to relocate closer to Fort Frontenac. One of Hennepin's accounts suggests that he was successful and able to convince some people from Ganneious to move and settle around the fort: In June 1687, under pressure from King Louis XIV to capture 'prisoners of war for his galleys' the inhabitants of Ganneious were rounded up and held as captives by Jacques Rene de Brisay de Donneville. Donneville departed Montreal in June 1687 with 2,700 men. The troops took 200 prisoners from Kente and Ganneious and destroyed both villages. After 1687, all seven Iroquois Villages on the northern shore of Lake Ontario were abandoned. Starting from 1696, the village was the location of a

settlement, but was not occupied until 1721.

Iroquois villages

By the late 1660s various groups of

Iroquois The Iroquois ( or ), officially the Haudenosaunee ( meaning "people of the longhouse"), are an Iroquoian-speaking confederacy of First Nations peoples in northeast North America/ Turtle Island. They were known during the colonial years to ...

had established seven villages along the shores of Lake Ontario where trails led off into the interior. In addition to Ganneious, the following settlements have been identified by Historian Percy James Robinson: * Kente – on the Bay of Quinte * Kentsio – on Rice Lake * Ganaraske – on the site of present day Port Hope *

Ganatsekwyagon Bead Hill is an archaeological site comprising the only known remaining and intact 17th-century Seneca site in Canada. It is located on the banks of the Rouge River in Rouge Park, a city park in Toronto, Ontario. Because of its sensitive archaeol ...

– at the mouth of the Rouge River *

Teiaiagon Teiaiagon was an Iroquoian village on the east bank of the Humber River in what is now the York district of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It was located along the Toronto Carrying-Place Trail. The site is near the current intersection of Jane Street ...

– at the mouth of the Humber River * Quinaouatoua (or Tinawatawa) – Near modern day

Hamilton Hamilton may refer to: People * Hamilton (name), a common British surname and occasional given name, usually of Scottish origin, including a list of persons with the surname ** The Duke of Hamilton, the premier peer of Scotland ** Lord Hamilt ...

Fiction

Author Gerald Richardson Brown has written a work of historical fiction, ''Road to Ganneious'', which is set in Hay Bay during the 17th and 18th century.

References

{{authority control Iroquois populated places First Nations in Ontario