The Mohawk Valley was once the home of the Mohawks, one of the main tribes of the powerful six-nation Iroquois Confederacy, and as the main gateway between the Adirondack Mountains and the Allegheny Plateau it became a route used by French-Catholic missionaries, settlers moving west, foreign travellers, French and Indian raiders, and British tory and American troops. During the French and Indian War and the American Revolution, it was a vital center of action, serving as the main highway for east-west communication and a major point of contact between contending armies. Later, the Erie Canal and the New York Central Railroad followed the valley route and gave a new direction to its history, as internal improvements led to intensive settlement and industrial growth, even as the valley retained its incomparable beauty.