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The region never had clearly defined boundaries. Earlier descriptions tended to be more expansive. The largest scope described it as extending east to the Allegheny Mountains, west to the Rocky Mountains, north up to Peoria and south to the Arkansas Post where the Arkansas River flowed into the Mississippi River. By another description, it extended from lakes Michigan and Superior to the Ohio and Missouri rivers. A third, from after the British acquired the region, described it as bounded by the Mississippi River on the west, the Illinois River on the north, the Wabash RiverThe Wabash River is a 475 mi (765 km) long river in the eastern United States that flows southwest from northwest Ohio near St. Henry, Ohio across northern Indiana to Illinois where it forms the southern Illinois-Indiana border before draining into the Oh on the east, and the Ohio River on the south. The region now known as the American Bottom is very nearly at the center of all descriptions of the Illinois Country.
Initially, the principal white inhabitants were French traders and missionaries, both dealing with Native Americans, particularly the group known as the KaskaskiaThe Kaskasia were one of the several cognate tribes that made up the Illiniwek Confederation. Their first contact with Europeans reportedly occurred near present-day Green Bay, Wisconsin. The Illiniwek are reported to have asked the French to send a missi. The French were not very successful in encouraging settlement in the area, despite the importation of women to induce permanent settlement. Some number of French convicts were relocated there and became settlers. There were also some German and Spanish immigrants to the region, creating one of the earliest American melting potAlternate meaning: crucible (science The melting pot is a metaphor for the way in which heterogenous societies develop, in which the ingredients in the pot (iron, tin; people of different backgrounds and religions, etc. are processed until they lose their cultures.
It was originally governed from French CanadaBecause it has represented different realities at different points in time, the term French Canada can be interpreted in different ways. Chronologically they are: 1. The historical homeland of the French Canadian people, the St Lawrence river valley, whic, but by order of King Louis XV on September 27September 27 is the 270th day of the year (271st in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 95 days remaining. Events 489 Odoacer attacks Theoderic at the Battle of Verona, and is defeated again. 1540 Jesuit Order receives its charter from Pope Paul I, 1717Events January 4 — The Netherlands, Britain & France sign Triple Alliance March 2 — Dancer John Weaver performs in the first ballet in Britain shown in Drury Lane The Loves of Mars and Venus March 31 Bishop Benjamin Hoadly, acting on the advice of King Ge, the Illinois Country was annexed to the French province of LouisianaLouisiana is a southern state of the United States of America. It uses the U. postal abbreviation LA . The state is bordered to the west by the state of Texas, to the north by Arkansas, to the east by the state of Mississippi, and to the south by the Gulf, with the northern border being the Illinois River. In 1721, the seventh civil and military district of Louisiana was named Illinois, and it included more than half of the present state, as well as the land between the Arkansas River and the line of 43 degree north latitude, and the country between the Rocky Mountains and the Mississippi River. In 1723, the region around the Wabash River was made into a separate district. Around this time, the Illinois Country was sometimes referred to as Upper Louisiana, although this term was also used to describe the land west of the Mississippi River, with Illinois Country referring to land east of the Mississippi and north of the Ohio Rivers. The distinction became clearer after the Treaty of Paris in 1763, when Britain acquired the land east of the Mississippi and Spain acquired Louisiana and land west of the Mississippi.
On January 1, 1718, a trade monopoly was granted to John Law and his Company of the West (which was to become the Company of the Indies in 1719). Hoping to make a fortune mining precious metals, the company built a fort to protect its interests. Construction began on Fort de Chartres in 1718 and was completed in 1720. It was located near Prairie du Rocher, Illinois, close to the Mississippi River.
This fort was to be the seat of government for the Illinois Country and help to control the aggressive Fox Indians. The fort was named after Louis duc de Chartres , son of the regent of France. Because of frequent flooding, another fort was built further inland in 1725. By 1731, the Company of the Indies had gone defunct and turned Louisiana and its government back to the king. The garrison at the fort was removed to Kaskaskia, Illinois in 1747, about 18 miles to the south. A new stone fort was planned near the old fort and was described as "nearly complete" in 1754, although construction continued until 1760.
The new stone fort was headquarters for the French Illinois Country for less than 20 years, as it was turned over to the British in 1763 with the Treaty of Paris at the end of the French and Indian War. The British took control of the fort on October 10, 1765 and renamed it Fort Cavendish . The British offered the French inhabitants the same rights and privileges enjoyed under French rule. In September, 1768, the British established a Court of Justice, the first court of common law in the Mississippi valley.
After severe flooding in 1772, the British saw little value in maintaining the fort and abandoned it. They moved the military garrison to the fort at Kaskaskia and renamed it Fort Gage .