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In 1639, French Jesuit missionaries established the fortified mission of Ste. Marie I at Midland, Ontario. Ten years later, following a series of Iroquoian war-party raids that were facilitated by Dutch and English trading interests, the mission was abandoned and destroyed. The missionaries and local Wendats (Hurons) debated new venues, finally settling on Christian Island in southwestern Georgian Bay as a temporary safe haven rather than their original first choice, the more distant and safer Manitoulin Island. In 1649, they began establishing the fortified mission of Ste. Marie 11. A Wendat settlement existed on the island, but unlike the fort whose walls are intact today, little evidence remains of the island`s single-year population of {approximately} 10000 Wendats, most of whom perished. There was extreme deprivation on the island during the winter of 1649-1650. People died of famine, disease, and ill-fated sorties to the mainland. In June of 1650, after a single year of occupation, the site of Ste. Marie 11 was abandoned when the missionaries were recalled to the relative safety of Quebec City. The remaining Wendats were either assimilated by other groups or killed by the Iroquois. An analysis was performed of the brass goods discarded in the areamore » of the island fort and nearby villages.« less
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