The Spanish invade the southeastern tribal nations from the south, through Florida and into Mexico and move into the American Southwest by 1540, colonizing Pueblos and establishing a regional capital at Santa Fe in 1609. The French invade from the north, moving through Canada along the St. Lawrence River down into the Mississippi River. The French settlement of Quebec is founded on an ancient Haudenosaunee village site in 1608 (Nies, 1996). During the 1600s, France sends French fur and pelt traders down the Mississippi River and establishes trading posts to claim all lands on either side of the river as Louisiana. On the Atlantic coast, the English invade Virginia and Massachusetts and the Dutch invade Manhattan (1626) and travel up the Hudson River, establishing the colony of Albany. Despite the onslaught of historical traumas during this era, tribes maintain their sovereignty and nationhood while navigating the onslaught of competing foreign interests. They maintain treaty-making powers and ally with foreign powers against other tribal nations to establish their own territorial dominance, managing their territories through treaty negotiations.