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Fox Wars
The Fox Wars were two conflicts between the French and the Meskwaki (historically Fox) people who lived in the Great Lakes region (particularly near Fort Pontchartrain du Détroit) from 1712 to 1733. These territories are known today as the states of Michigan and Wisconsin in the United States. The Wars exemplified colonial warfare in the transitional space of New France, occurring within the complex system of alliances and enmities with native peoples and colonial plans for expansion.
The Meskwaki controlled the Fox River system in eastern Wisconsin. This river was vital for the fur trade between French Canada and the North American interior, because it allowed river travel from Green Bay in Lake Michigan to the Mississippi River. The French wanted the rights to use the river system to gain access to both the Mississippi and trade contacts with tribes to the west.
The wars claimed thousands of lives and initiated a slave trade whereby Meskwaki were captured by native allies of New France and then sold as slaves to the French colonial population. Indeed, alliances between the French and other native groups (such as the Odawa, Miami and Sioux) as well as those between the Meskwaki and other native groups (such as the Sauk, Mascouten and Kickapoo) were an important aspect of the Wars, influencing every stage of the conflicts, including the causes, the fighting and the conclusion.
The First Fox War (1712–1716) began with inter-alliance violence and ended with the surrender of a large group of Meskwaki and the subsequent peace deal. As was custom, peace offerings required the exchange of goods and of prisoners to account for those who died in the conflict, acknowledging the importance of this exchange for establishing peace. The Second Fox War (1728–1733) was far more destructive than the first, and ended with the near annihilation of the Meskwaki population.
The Meskwaki were living in eastern Wisconsin at the time of their first contacts with the French around 1670. The Meskwaki unsuccessfully sought to establish themselves as middlemen between the French and the Sioux, one of their two traditional enemies, the other being the Ojibwe in northern Wisconsin.
Not only were the Meskwaki unsuccessful, but prior to 1701, many wars between indigenous people, which also included the French, against the Iroquois were ravaging the indigenous lands under the Pays d'en Haut. The Beaver Wars brought fear and urgency for the French to attempt to save what was left of their trade alliances. Their alliances were in jeopardy, and also, in 1697 the western posts were closed as a result of the termination by Louis XIV of the fur trade west of Montreal. Historian Richard White illustrates central Wisconsin at the end of the seventeenth century as "a vast refugee center, its situation constantly changing, nations socializing, cooperating, feuding, fighting, constantly adjusting their strategies to shift in French trading policy, which was always the dominant reality." Thus, when the Peace Conference of 1701 finally took place in Montreal, the French were quick to establish a protectorate in the Great Lakes region. Nevertheless, the question still remained as to how they would facilitate trade with their southern partners, when their main trading posts had been closed. From this point on, the Great Lakes region was going to be even more unstable.
After the Peace Conference of 1701, Antoine de Lamothe Cadillac resolved the trade issue by establishing a new fort, Fort Pontchartrain du Détroit. This location was strategic, as it allowed access to the water trade routes, which were more accessible than Montreal, and the warpaths of the Great Lakes region. Despite enabling access to this region by establishing a fort, the French could not survive without the help of the indigenous people. Governor Cadillac invited numerous tribes to settle in the area. Odawa and Huron people established villages in the area, soon joined by the Potawatomi, Miami, and Ojibwe. The population may have reached 6,000 at times. This was positive for the French, but their presence and the presence of the Meskwaki would aggravate things in the region.
Indigenous groups that were enemies lived fairly far apart, but in Detroit, they lived side by side competing for a concrete and practical relationship with the French. As French colonizers sought to enlarge their influence in the West, they sought to ally themselves with the natives as commercial and military partners. At the time, French imperial policy had already privileged certain indigenous tribes, in particular the Ojibwe-Odawa-Potawatomi confederacy and the Illini in the south, and the Sioux were the next profitable alliance. The Wisconsin tribes (Meskwaki, Sauk, Mascouten, Kickapoo and Ho-Chunk), with the intention of dominating the post, prevented the French from having direct trade access to the Sioux. Concurrently, they would disrupt the lives of the Odawa and Miami near Detroit, as well as the French settlement.
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Fox Wars
The Fox Wars were two conflicts between the French and the Meskwaki (historically Fox) people who lived in the Great Lakes region (particularly near Fort Pontchartrain du Détroit) from 1712 to 1733. These territories are known today as the states of Michigan and Wisconsin in the United States. The Wars exemplified colonial warfare in the transitional space of New France, occurring within the complex system of alliances and enmities with native peoples and colonial plans for expansion.
The Meskwaki controlled the Fox River system in eastern Wisconsin. This river was vital for the fur trade between French Canada and the North American interior, because it allowed river travel from Green Bay in Lake Michigan to the Mississippi River. The French wanted the rights to use the river system to gain access to both the Mississippi and trade contacts with tribes to the west.
The wars claimed thousands of lives and initiated a slave trade whereby Meskwaki were captured by native allies of New France and then sold as slaves to the French colonial population. Indeed, alliances between the French and other native groups (such as the Odawa, Miami and Sioux) as well as those between the Meskwaki and other native groups (such as the Sauk, Mascouten and Kickapoo) were an important aspect of the Wars, influencing every stage of the conflicts, including the causes, the fighting and the conclusion.
The First Fox War (1712–1716) began with inter-alliance violence and ended with the surrender of a large group of Meskwaki and the subsequent peace deal. As was custom, peace offerings required the exchange of goods and of prisoners to account for those who died in the conflict, acknowledging the importance of this exchange for establishing peace. The Second Fox War (1728–1733) was far more destructive than the first, and ended with the near annihilation of the Meskwaki population.
The Meskwaki were living in eastern Wisconsin at the time of their first contacts with the French around 1670. The Meskwaki unsuccessfully sought to establish themselves as middlemen between the French and the Sioux, one of their two traditional enemies, the other being the Ojibwe in northern Wisconsin.
Not only were the Meskwaki unsuccessful, but prior to 1701, many wars between indigenous people, which also included the French, against the Iroquois were ravaging the indigenous lands under the Pays d'en Haut. The Beaver Wars brought fear and urgency for the French to attempt to save what was left of their trade alliances. Their alliances were in jeopardy, and also, in 1697 the western posts were closed as a result of the termination by Louis XIV of the fur trade west of Montreal. Historian Richard White illustrates central Wisconsin at the end of the seventeenth century as "a vast refugee center, its situation constantly changing, nations socializing, cooperating, feuding, fighting, constantly adjusting their strategies to shift in French trading policy, which was always the dominant reality." Thus, when the Peace Conference of 1701 finally took place in Montreal, the French were quick to establish a protectorate in the Great Lakes region. Nevertheless, the question still remained as to how they would facilitate trade with their southern partners, when their main trading posts had been closed. From this point on, the Great Lakes region was going to be even more unstable.
After the Peace Conference of 1701, Antoine de Lamothe Cadillac resolved the trade issue by establishing a new fort, Fort Pontchartrain du Détroit. This location was strategic, as it allowed access to the water trade routes, which were more accessible than Montreal, and the warpaths of the Great Lakes region. Despite enabling access to this region by establishing a fort, the French could not survive without the help of the indigenous people. Governor Cadillac invited numerous tribes to settle in the area. Odawa and Huron people established villages in the area, soon joined by the Potawatomi, Miami, and Ojibwe. The population may have reached 6,000 at times. This was positive for the French, but their presence and the presence of the Meskwaki would aggravate things in the region.
Indigenous groups that were enemies lived fairly far apart, but in Detroit, they lived side by side competing for a concrete and practical relationship with the French. As French colonizers sought to enlarge their influence in the West, they sought to ally themselves with the natives as commercial and military partners. At the time, French imperial policy had already privileged certain indigenous tribes, in particular the Ojibwe-Odawa-Potawatomi confederacy and the Illini in the south, and the Sioux were the next profitable alliance. The Wisconsin tribes (Meskwaki, Sauk, Mascouten, Kickapoo and Ho-Chunk), with the intention of dominating the post, prevented the French from having direct trade access to the Sioux. Concurrently, they would disrupt the lives of the Odawa and Miami near Detroit, as well as the French settlement.