The Great League was not a European-style nation-state. Unlike the kingdoms of France, England, and Spain, the Iroquois Great League possessed no central political authority to devise collective policies or to coerce its own people into obedience. Indeed, the various villages preserved their autonomy, all free to go their own way, provided they relied on the condolence ceremonies to keep the peace with their fellow confederates. The Great League was primarily a ceremonial and religious forum for promoting calm and peaceful thinking in a world where grief, rage, and war prevailed.
