The Merchant John Askin: Furs and Empire at British Michilimackinac by Justin M. Carroll (review)

The work of John Askin as deputy commissary and later as a fur trader offers visitors to Colonial Michilimackinac at the tip of Michigan's Lower Peninsula a view into a distant outpost within British North America. Justin Carroll's book notes that his continual presence in the accounts of the region is not new, and that his continual presence offers an opportunity to better examine the region of the eighteenth century. His work builds on a key argument from Richard White's The Middle Ground: Indians, Empires, and Republics in the Great Lakes Region, 1650–1815 (New York: Cambridge University Press, 1991) that within the Native American and French relationship, minor actors could have a tremendous role in shaping colonial policy.

Applying this to British colonial authority, Carroll argues that while Askin is a known figure, his ability to influence events has not been fully considered. By moving Askin from the background to a central role within Britain's struggle to assert authority on the region, the new position allows a greater view of how a relatively minor middleman could influence events beyond his essential position. (xviii–xix) The work's tight focus examines three key areas that Askin utilized to build is operation: a close relationship with the British military; the expansion of colonial infrastructure such as farms, ships, and depots; and the role of family both through marriage and relationships. Though these provided avenues for expansion, they were also perilous ones that mirrored larger colonial instability.

Carroll's book consists of five chapters, a prologue, and an epilogue covering the years from 1758 to 1781, the most active years of Askin's involvement at Michilimackinac. The gap between French and British authority from 1758 to 1764 as the British took control of the Great Lakes and the Ohio Valley had ramifications in the fur trade as Askin experienced bankruptcy from disruptions caused by colonial policy. This experience would lead him to his deputy commissary position in 1764. He formed relationships with the military and addressed the need for investments in farms to bolster British colonial administration. The third and fourth chapters address Askin's relationships, both within his business and personal life, as they extended his reach after departing the administrative role at Michilimackinac. The importance of his local knowledge and his multiethnic relationships expanded his reach, and as the years 1774 to 1779 demonstrated, the critical relationship Askin fostered with Michilimackinac's new commander, Arent DePeyster. The impact of the American Revolution would undo much of Askin's work, as would further changes within British diplomatic and colonial administrations––much as it did earlier in his career.

The Merchant John Askin, despite its situation within the expansive realm of British North America during a turbulent period, remains tightly focused on both a limited time frame and overall scope. Michilimackinac's importance within the Great Lakes region is indeed touched upon, but within such a short work it could do more to ground the reader in the larger context of the trading and political framework of the time. A further critique concerns Native Americans who are repeatedly described as being critical to Askin's operations and British authority yet remain largely out of sight as off-stage influencers. At the same time, Carroll's assertion of Askin's seemingly ever-present role in events of his era is more than borne out by historian Tiya Miles's The Dawn of Detroit: A Chronicle of Slavery and Freedom in the City of the Straits (New York: The New Press, 2017), which situates his role within the slave trade on both sides of the river.

Carroll's book offers valuable insight into the internal workings of the fur trade within the Great Lakes region during a critical period. Due to its length, this is an excellent work to engage students, particularly when...