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VINCENNES AND FRENCH SETTLEMENT IN THE OLD NORTHWEST

1957; American Association of Geographers; Volume: 47; Issue: 3 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1111/j.1467-8306.1957.tb01543.x

1467-8306

R. Louis Gentilcore,

Archaeology and Natural History

THE most noteworthy achievement of the French colonial system in North America lay in the great distances it covered by efficient use of water routes from the St. Lawrence River westward to the Great Lakes and beyond and southward 'to the Gulf of Mexico. These same distances proved the main weakness of the colony. The field was too vast for settlement and despite measures frequently adopted by French colonial officials, the growth of population lagged. After nearly a century and a half of occupation, the total white population in the vast stretches of Canada and Louisiana was less than eighty thousand2 in contrast to the million and a quarter English colonists along the eastern seaboard. In the Old Northwest numerous posts were established to keep open communication between Canada and Louisiana and to tap the wealth of furs and skins along the routes. None of these proved adequate when seriously challenged as control points by the English in the Seven Years' War. By that time French communication lines were too long to be maintained with any strength. It is not surprising therefore that very few towns worthy of the name grew up under the French in the Northwest. Three may be considered-Detroit, Kaskaskia, and Vincennes (Fig. 1). Each of these shared certain developments common to French settlement in North America. Each was dependent upon trade. Thus a certain kind of location was chosen; a unique form of land occupation was followed and a characteristic type of agriculture developed. Although a good deal has been written about Detroit and the Illinois settlements, not much has been said about Vincennes. It will receive the major emphasis here.