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The primary purpose of the fort was not military, but rather as a link in the French trading post system that stretched from the Mississippi River through the Illinois Country to the St. Lawrence River. The fort served as a supply for traders in the western Great Lakes.
The French had first established a presence in the Straits of Mackinac in 1671Events May 9 Thomas Blood, disguised as a clergyman, attempts to steal the Crown Jewels from the Tower of London. He is immediately caught because he is too drunk to run with the loot. He would later be condemned to death and then mysteriously pardoned an when Father Marquette established a Jesuit mission at present-day St. IgnaceIgnace is a city located in Mackinac County, Michigan. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 2,678. It is the county seat of Mackinac County 6. Ignace Township is located just to the north of the city. Ignace is the eastern terminus of. In 1683Events June 6 The Ashmolean Museum opens as the world's first university museum. June 12 The Rye House Plot to assassinate Charles II of England is discovered September 7 Polish-German troops arrive in Vienna to help the besieged November 1 The British cr, they augmented the mission with Fort de Baude . In 1701Events January 18 Frederick I becomes King of Prussia. May 23 After being convicted of murdering William Moore and for piracy, Captain William Kidd is hanged in London. July 24 Detroit, Michigan founded. September 16 Prince James Francis Edward Stuart bec, Sieur de CadillacAntoine Laumet dit de La Mothe, sieur de Cadillac ( March 5, 1658- October 15, 1730), a French explorer, was a colourful figure in the history of New France. He gave himself the name and title de La Mothe, sieur de Cadillac''. Born at Les Laumets, he arri moved the French garrison to Fort Detroit and closed the mission. By 1715, however, the French built Fort Michilimackinac to re-establish a presence along the Straits of Mackinac.
The French relinquished the fort, along with their territory in Canada, to the British in 1761 following their loss in the French and Indian War. Although British continued to operate the fort as a major trading post, the Ojibwe and Chippewa in the region resented British policies as harsh. On June 2, 1763, as part of the larger movement known as Pontiac's Rebellion, a group of Ojibwe staged a game of bag'gat'tway ( lacrosse) outside the fort as a ruse to gain entrance. After gaining entrance to the fort, they killed most of the British inhabitants and held the fort for a year before the British retook it.
The British eventually deemed the wooden fort on the mainland too vulnerable to attack, and in 1781 they built Fort Mackinac, a limestone fort on nearby Mackinac Island. Fort Michilimackinac was abandoned after the move.
The fort grounds were designated a National Historic Landmark in 1960. It is a popular tourist attraction as part of Fort Michilimackinac State Park in Mackinaw City. The site has numerous restored historical wooden structures and is considered the most extensively excavated early French archaeological site in the United States.