The Economy of the Iroquois originally focused on communal production
and combined elements of both agricultural and hunter-gatherer
systems. The Iroquois peoples were predominately agricultural,
harvesting the Three Sisters commonly grown by American Indian groups:
maize, beans, and squash. The Iroquois developed a system of economics
very different from the now dominant Western variety. This system
consisted of several unique components including communal land
ownership, division of labor by gender, and trade based on gift
giving. Contact with Europeans in the early 1600s had a profound
impact on the economy of the Iroquois. At first they became important
trading partners, but the expansion of European settlement upset the
balance of the Iroquois economy. By 1800 the Iroquois had been
confined to reservations, and they had to adapt their traditional
economic system. In the 20th century, some of the Iroquois groups took
advantage of their independent status on the reservation and started
Indian casinos. Other Iroquois have incorporated themselves directly
into the outside economies off of the reservation.
Read the rest of this article:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Economy_of_the_Iroquois
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Today's selected anniversaries:
304:
Thirteen-year-old Saint Agnes, the patron saint of young girls, was
executed for refusing a marriage proposal.
(
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_Agnes)
1525:
The first Anabaptists in Switzerland re-baptized each other.
(
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anabaptist)
1793:
French Revolution: After being found guilty of treason by the National
Convention, King Louis XVI was guillotined in front of a cheering
crowd.
(
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louis_XVI_of_France)
1915:
The first Kiwanis service club was founded in Detroit, Michigan.
(
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kiwanis)
1976:
The Concorde supersonic transports began commercial flights to London,
Paris, Bahrain, and Rio de Janeiro.
(
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Concorde)
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Wikiquote of the day:
"If we would acquire useful knowledge, we must first divest ourselves
of those impediments and sincerely endeavor to search out the truth:
and draw our conclusions from reason and just argument, which will
never conform to our inclination, interest or fancy but we must
conform to that if we would judge rightly." -- Ethan Allen
(
http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Ethan_Allen)