Post by North Star Republic Historian on Oct 21, 2012 2:12:00 GMT -6
Table of Contents
Part I, Chapter IV: The Fox Wars and Early Colonies
The History of the North Star Republic
1554 - 2013
Part I: Early Beginnings
Chapter V: The French and Indian War
Part I, Chapter IV: The Fox Wars and Early Colonies
The History of the North Star Republic
1554 - 2013
Part I: Early Beginnings
Chapter V: The French and Indian War
By the 1740's, the upper Louisiana Territory and the regions of Minnesota and Wisconsin had grown and expanded to an impressive size, even in spite of the regions' harsh winter conditions and relatively remote location. The European colonists residing in Fort de Lhut and the small but rapidly growing Green Bay colony had experienced unparalleled growth as a result of the end of the Fox Wars and the subsequent extermination of the Fox tribes, the promotion of unrestricted trade, and the benefits of friendly relations with the Sioux and Ojibwa Natives. The threat of overhunting due to increased demand for pelts and furs had also subsided and stabilized in both regions, in Minnesota due to the larger settlements of Fort de Lhut and Fort Le Sueur only being recently established and in Wisconsin due to the end of the Fox Wars and the respective end of the Fox Natives, which removed over 4,500 Natives in a matter of a decade. This, coupled with the displacement of other French-speaking European colonists from Acadia and Newfoundland to Minnesota and Wisconsin following the end of Queen Anne's War either through force or through voluntary means meant that the Upper Midwest enjoyed both stability and economic prosperity for the better part of three entire decades.
The Wisconsin and Upper Peninsula of Michigan areas, but more importantly the Minnesota region saw unparalleled growth throughout the 1720's, 30's and 40's.
Across the Atlantic, however, the far reaching effects of European war were once again poised to spill over onto the shores of the New World. As was demonstrated only 50 years prior during Queen Anne's War, international conflict certainly knew no bounds, and the instability of Europe was in sharp contrast and in a different field altogether when held in comparison to the tiny but peaceful European colonies of North America. Even so, British claims slowly began to spill over the 49th parallel into claimed French territory in the Upper Midwest, and since the defeat of France during Queen Anne's War, Britain had forced the nation to renounce their claims on the contested lands of York Factory and Manitoba. As such, little could be done to curb British territorial claims into the region of Minnesota, and by 1750 these claims laid only a few short 100 miles north of Fort de Lhut and Le Sueur, stopping abruptly south of the Lake of the Woods and International Falls and stretching well into eastern North Dakota, all of which had been claimed by France a century prior. As the nations across the Atlantic began to inch closer to war, the fate of the Upper Midwest was undoubtedly in question, and the colonists remained oblivious in light of this fact. The entirety of New France and as a result its Louisiana Territory ultimately would be unable to decide its own fate regardless.
The French and Indian War would change the demographics of the upper portions of the Louisiana Territory forever.
In 1754, the powder keg of war in North America had finally erupted, followed by war in Europe only 2 years later, and in spectacular fashion. The French and Indian War, as it was known in the Americas, or the Seven Years' War as it was known in Europe, was arguably the single most important event in the early history of the Upper Midwest. Although conflict and hostility was never seen on its lands, the cultural significance and the overarching effects that the war would instigate upon its final treaty would cause drastic shifts in every facet of life in the colonies of the Upper Midwest. Ultimately and most importantly, the upper portion of the Louisiana Territory and its European colonists of which were mostly French would see drastic changes to the general demographics of the region by 1800.
The Seven Years' War in Europe quickly became a global war, and by 1756 hostilities had taken form in every part of the globe, including North America.
By 1756, the first effects of the war began to be felt in the Upper Midwest. The French and their Native allies began to mobilize efforts to defend against the threat in the East, and as a result the construction of any future trading posts or forts in the Minnesota, Wisconsin and Upper Peninsular Michigan regions through either the French government or private enterprise (which had formerly been presented as a temporary solution during Queen Anne's War) came to an immediate halt. Fort Beauharnois and its Catholic chapel, built on the Minnesota side of the Mississippi in 1727, were left a shadow of its former self, saved only by a handful of permanent French settlers who had traveled to the Fort from de Lhut in the mid-1740's. The British settlers who had settled in de Lhut following their amnesty granted to them by the Fox Natives during the siege of Green Bay in the Fox War had immediately fled the settlement following the declaration of hostilities, in fear of reprisal from the much larger French majority residing there. In summary, the growth of the regions appeared to be poised to be stunted dramatically, if not forever. This dramatic loss, however, was offset by the forced displacements of thousands of French colonists from Acadia after the capture of the colony by the British in 1755, which was executed in a massive scale. The majority of the displaced Acadians would eventually settle in the region of Louisiana along the Gulf coast (and later become Cajuns), or return to France, but roughly two dozen settlers also came by way of overland travel to settle in Minnesota, eventually settling in or near Fort Beauharnois, which enabled the Fort to survive despite its abandonment from the majority of its settlers following the outbreak of hostilities. Economic effects of the war were not as widespread, except in the quantity of supplies given to the various Forts from the New French government across the Upper Midwestern frontiers in order to construct new settlements. By 1758 these provisions had been completely halted, but trading between the European colonists and the Natives continued, as they had perpetually traded in goods, not money. The absence of established currency on the frontier had arguably saved the Colonies from total financial ruin.
The forced displacement of Acadians following the colony's capture by the British in 1756 ultimately removed nearly 18,000 French speaking colonists from the region in as little as 2 years. Approximately two dozen of these colonists would eventually resettle in Minnesota around the Fort Beauharnois area.
Gratefully, and before effects could be dire, the end of 1760 brought the war in North America to a close. The majority of combat had ended in the North American theater, and the results of the imminent treaty to follow were all but certain. France had been completely removed from the North American continent with the exception of the Louisiana Territory, which held little strategic or economic value, and the consequences of this fact and how they would be reflected in the coming treaty had made the French settlers in the Upper Midwest regions understandably uneasy, especially for those who had witnessed or heard news of the deportation of thousands of French speaking colonists from Acadia following Britain's conquest of the region during the war. Nonetheless, following negotiations, the victor had been made very clear. Great Britain emerged as the most powerful nation on the planet and most importantly in North America, and had gained complete control over Canada, the entirety of the Hudson Bay and Manitoba, her Thirteen Colonies, and a vast amount of land westward of them blocked only to expansion by the formidable Appalachians (which by all accounts were passable regardless). The former entity of New France and its claims were no more, and was divided among both Spain and Great Britain. The Treaty of Paris in 1763 had effectively placed Minnesota, Wisconsin and the Upper Peninsula of Michigan in complete control of Great Britain, while Spain was given control of all former French lands west of the Mississippi, to include Fort Beauharnois, in the secret Treaty of Fontainebleau in 1762 (which was not revealed until 1764.) For the now remaining French settlers in the Upper Midwest, their future as a people was very uncertain.
The Treaty of Paris in 1763 and Treaty of Fontainebleau in 1762 had completely removed the entity known as New France from the North American continent. It also had placed Minnesota, Wisconsin and the Upper Peninsula of Michigan and its French settlers in complete control of Great Britain, while everything west of the Mississippi to include Fort Beauharnois had been given to the Spanish. Spain's new territory following the treaty is dictated in olive, Great Britain in red.