E-Books →Empire by Collaboration Indians, Colonists, and Governments in Colonial Illinois Country

Robert Michael Morrissey, "Empire by Collaboration: Indians, Colonists, and Governments in Colonial Illinois Country "
English | ISBN: 0812246993 | 2015 | 352 pages | PDF | 4 MB
From the beginnings of colonial settlement in Illinois Country, the region was characterized by self-determination and collaboration that did not always align with imperial plans. The French in Quebec established a somewhat reluctant alliance with the Illinois Indians while Jesuits and fur traders planted defiant outposts in the Illinois River Valley beyond the Great Lakes. These autonomous early settlements were brought into the French empire only after the fact. As the colony grew, the authority that governed the region was often uncertain. Canada and Louisiana alternately claimed control over the Illinois throughout the eighteenth century. Later, British and Spanish authorities tried to divide the region along the Mississippi River. Yet Illinois settlers and Native people continued to welcome and partner with European governments, even if that meant playing the competing empires against one another in order to pursue local interests.