American (word) ("United States person"), which derives from ' ("United States of America"). The Spanish term ' ("North American") is frequently used to refer things and persons from the United States, but this term can also denote people and things from Canada and Mexico. Among Spanish-speakers, North America generally doesn't include Central America or the Caribbean. In other languages, however, there is no possibility for confusion. For example, the Chinese word for "U.S. national" is ' () is derived from a word for the United States, ', where ' is an abbreviation for "Yàměilìjiā" ("America") and ' is "country". The name for
Iroquois blood feuds and vendettas that were an essential aspect of Iroquois culture. As a way of expediting the mourning process, raids were conducted to take vengeance and seize captives. Captives were generally adopted directly by the grieving family to replace the member(s) who had been lost. This process not only allowed the Iroquois to maintain their own numbers, but also to disperse and assimilate their enemies. The adoption of conquered peoples, especially during the period of the Beaver Wars (1609-1701), meant that the Iroquois League was composed largely of naturalized members of other tribes. Cadwallader Colden wrote, "It has been