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The Iroquois Confederacy

4 videos recommended on HN
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2 HN users recommended this explainer2 months2018–2025 score 2.5
Years with an HN recommendation, 2007–2026

HN recommends it for anyone interested in legal systems, governance, or history.

Historia Civilis explains the origins and governing system of the Iroquois (Haudenosaunee) Confederacy. It covers the Great Law and the league's surprisingly intricate legal and political structure.

“Highly recommend for anyone interested in legal systems or history in general” (HN, 2020)

1 strong recommendations · 1 recommendations · 1 citations · Explainers

3 Hacker News comments

From the HN archive; up to 20 kept per video, favoring different commenters. Recommendations first.

@bane Jul 2018 Recommends
on HN thread Legal Systems Very Different from Ours
Interesting, there's a great video on the governing system of the Iroquois Confederacy, which is surprisingly intricate. [this video]
Intricate governing system of the Iroquois Confederacy

Citations, criticism and jokes

@JumpCrisscross Mar 2025 Cites it
on HN thread Macron to open debate on extending French nuclear protection to European allies
Read more
> in the delusion of a united Europe, in which Germany is willing to subordinate itself to France The Haudenosaunee a/k/a Iroquois had a unique confederacy consisting of two dominant and a few lesser powers [1][2]. And the Roman Republic had two consuls, including on campaign. Maybe a nuclear command inspired by both is the answer: any launch requires codes from each of Paris, Berlin and the head of state of the country actually launching. (Practically, the Germans are sort of irrelevant given they not only have no nuclear weapons, they’re also dismantling their civil nuclear expertise. I’m assuming they grow up and reärm. Otherwise, centralising nuclear power in Paris doesn’t depend on Germany agreement.) [1] [link] [2] [this video]
Iroquois confederacy as governance model

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