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C . Historical Background to 1754
- Michigan State University Press
- Chapter
- Additional Information
12 On The Eve ifthe Conquest these three documents is now housed in the research library of Mackinac State Historic Parks in Lansing, Michigan. HISTORICAL BACKGROUND TO 1754 In 1713 the Treaty of Utrecht ended both the War of the Spanish Succession in Europe (1702-13) and its North American phase, Queen Anne's War, which had pitted France and England against each other. The treaty, which ushered in a 30-year period of peace between the two colonial rivals, required France to give up a substantial number of its European and North American territories. From New France, commonly called Canada by both the French and the English, Great Britain acquired "for ever . . . the Bay and Streights of Hudson, . . . all Nova Scotia or Accadie, with its ancient Boundaries, as also the City of Port Royal, now called Annapolis Royal, ... [and] The Island called Neufoundland, with the adjacent Islands." France, however, was allowed "to catch Fish, and to Dry them" on the north shore of Newfoundland, a concession of major importance to the French. Article XV of the treaty recognized the five Iroquois nations as subjects of Great Britain and further provided that the Indian allies ofboth European powers "shall enjoy full liberty of going and coming on account of Trade" from one colony to the other.14 The terms of the treaty signed by Louis XIV seemed to signal the forthcoming economic collapse of New France and ascendancy of the British in North America. New France's North Atlantic territories-with the exception of desolate Cape Breton Island and the islands of SaintPierre and Miquelon, which remained French-were gone. The French share of the rich northwest fur trade at Hudson Bay was eliminated; the powerful Iroquois, trading partners and military allies of the English, now had the right to send emissaries to Canada to entice freely the Frenchallied tribes with inexpensive and high-quality trade goods and cheap rum; and the French-allied tribes were allowed to go to English posts to trade. The French felt the English closing in on them from Hudson Bay, from Acadia,15 from Carolina (into Louisiana16), and from New England as the English colonies spread their trade networks into the continent's interior . France had to find a way to save its colony from being reduced to insignificance. The first step in New France's recovery was the establishment by the French of a settlement, port, and fortress at Louisbourg on Cape Breton Island, which the French renamed He Royale. This strategic stronghold View from a warship of the quayside of Fortress Louisbourg, 1744. Reproduced with permission of the artist, Lewis Parker; photograph courtesy of Parks Canada, Fortress of Louisbourg National Historic Site. if::1 ....;;: ~ o·;: ...... '" [44.200.196.114] Project MUSE (2024-03-28 22:46 GMT) 14 On The Eve ofthe Conquest preserved France's presence on the Atlantic seaboard, providing a number of major advantages: its port and supplies were of great value to French shipping engaged in trade between France, its Caribbean islands, and Canada; it protected and provisioned the fishing fleet; by means of a fleet based there, it could guard the mouth of the St. Lawrence River and its access to Quebec and the interior; and, in time of war, it could serve as a staging area for attacking the English colonies' coastal settlements and fortifications as well as attack their shippingY In the years following the Treaty of Utrecht, in order to retain its Indian allies and prevent the English from expanding into the interior, France reestablished and strengthened its chain of strategically located fortified posts. These posts bracketed all five of the Great Lakes, secured the Mississippi and other rivers, and strengthened the Louisiana colony. In the 1730s, the French established ten or more posts to the northwest of Lake Superior (a region they called "The Western Sea") and competed effectively with Hudson Bay for the high-quality fur trade in the north.18 In addition to strengthening their forts and trading posts, the French continued to send missionaries to the allied tribes of the pays d'en haut. The reasons for continuing state support of the missions were concisely expressed in the minutes of a 1718 meeting of the Council of Marine in Paris, in which Governor General Philippe de Rigaud de Vaudreuil's request for additional missionaries was approved: Of all the means that can be used to keep the Indians on our side, there is none more effective than giving them missionaries...