November 5th, 2013 Last Updated on: November 5th, 2013
Research suggests the total solar eclipse of August, 1142 coincided with the birth of the Iroquois (Five Nations) Confederacy, near modern-day Victor, New York. The Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) Confederacy, is the oldest living democracy in North America and possibly on Earth. American democracy is said to have been modeled upon the democratic ideals of the Iroquois Confederacy, which originally consisted of five nations (Mohawk, Oneida, Onondaga, Cayuga and Seneca). The sixth nation – the Tuscarora – joined the Iroquois Confederacy in the early eighteenth century (1701-1800).
Could it have been an annular solar eclipse that convinced the Seneca to join the Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) Confederacy at Gonandaga (Victor, NY)? If so, the formation of Haudenosaunee (Five Nations) might go all the way back to the annular eclipse of August 18, 909.
For more details read the full article on EarthSky.
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