Detroit: The Early Years

The French Years:1701 - 1760

Detroit: 1701-1760• In the late 1600’s, fur was a hot commodity.

• High European fashion usually included fur trim on clothing and fur accessories.

• The furs themselves were being brought to Europe from North America.

• The French traded with the Native People and had control of the best lands.

• New France, included all of what is now Michigan.

Detroit: 1701-1760

Detroit: 1701-1760Fur Fashion

Detroit: 1701-1760• In 1701 Antoine Cadillac, along with fifty soldiers, fifty fur traders, and other men went up the Detroit River by canoe, looking for a spot to set up a fort.

• A fort was needed to control the fur trade in the area and to keep the British from taking the land.

• When Cadillac came to the part of the river that is straight, he chose that spot for the fort.

• He chose this spot for two reasons:

• The high river banks would be easy to defend.

• The fact that the river was straight would give the fort the ability to see an attack coming from the water

Detroit: 1701-1760

Detroit: 1701-1760

• Once they had arrived at their chosen spot, Cadillac and his men began working on a fort which would be named Fort Pontchartrain.

• After the fort’s walls were done, the first buildings completed included St. Anne’s church and small houses made of oak logs, solidified with mud and grass.

• At this point the entire fort was the size of about one city block.

Detroit: 1701-1760

• Once the city was settled, and the basic fort was built, Cadillac sent for his wife and the other men’s wives, to come to the city.

• In addition Cadillac’s men began farming the land.

• Both of these decisions were made to convince the Native Americans that the French planned on Making Detroit a permanent settlement.

• Native American tribes such as the Huron, the Ottawa, the Potawatomi and the Miami moved close to the city and Detroit the fur trade became the center of the Great Lakes Fur Trade.

• The French experienced predominantly good relations with the Native Americans, and the city continued to grow

Detroit: 1701-1760

• As more French arrived, the citizens moved outside the walls of the original fort.

• Those who wanted land outside the fort were granted land that may have been only 200-300 feet wide, but may have stretched as far back as two to three miles.

• The reasons these “Ribbon Farms” were designed this way was so that everyone would have access to the Detroit River for water.

Detroit: 1701-1760

Detroit: 1701-1760

• The city continued to grow under French control, although in 1760 the total population was still only about 2000 people and that included people living on the Canadian side of the River.

• French rule came to an end in 1760. Detroit was given to the British as part of the spoils of the French and Indian war.

Detroit: 1701-1760

• Lets Review:

• The French and Indian war was part of a larger war that was mainly being fought in Europe.

• Great Britain was fighting against the French, and one of the things that the British wanted was control of the land that now makes up Michigan, Ohio, northwest New York and western Pennsylvania.

• The French, who had good relationships with many of the Native American tribes, fought alongside the Natives. Here in America, that is why we call it “The French and Indian War.” Canadians and Europeans just consider it part of the “Seven Years War.”

Detroit: 1701-1760

• Lets Review:

• The French and Indian war lasted from 1754 – 1760.

• In the early days of the war, the French appeared that they would be victorious, but after the British Colonists became organized, they outnumbered the French and were able to topple the French colonial capital of Montreal in September of 1760.

• As part of the Treaty of Paris, officially signed in 1763, Detroit as well as almost all of the remaining French possessions were turned over to the British.

• English traders did not wait for the treaty to be signed and arrived in Detroit in the spring of 1761, ending the time when Detroit was controlled by the French.

Detroit: 1701-1760

Detroit: 1701-1760