Schenectady massacre

The Schenectady Massacre was a Canadian attack against the village of Schenectady in the colony of New York on 8 February 1690. A party of more than 200 Canadians and allied Mohawk, Sault (Ojibwe), and Algonquin warriors attacked the unguarded community, destroying most of the homes, and killing or capturing most of its inhabitants. Sixty residents were killed, including 11 enslaved Africans. About 60 residents were spared, including 20 Mohawk.

Of the non-Mohawk survivors, 27 were taken captive, including 5 Africans. Three captives were later redeemed; another two men returned to the village after three and 11 years with the Mohawk, respectively. The remainder of the surviving captives were likely adopted by Mohawk families in Canada.

The French raid was in retaliation for the Lachine massacre, an attack by Iroquois forces on a village in Quebec. These skirmishes were related both to the Beaver Wars and the French struggle with the English for control of the fur trade in North America, as well as to King William's War between France and England. By this time, the French considered most of the Iroquois to be allied with the English in their New York colony, and hoped to detach them while reducing English colonial power.

In much of the late 17th century, the Iroquois and the colonists of New France engaged in a protracted struggle for control of the economically important fur trade in northern North America, known as the Beaver Wars. The Iroquois also fought other Native American nations to control the lucrative trade with the French. In August 1689, the Iroquois launched one of their most devastating raids against the French frontier community of Lachine. This attack occurred after France and England declared war on each other, but before the news reached North America.

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