Fur Trade and Water Rights: The Fox Wars, 1712-1738

In Colonial North America, access to water was almost more important than hunting range or beaver pelts, but not in the way one might think.  Tribes and colonial powers battled for the right to use the Continent's intricate connection of lakes and rivers to pass through their respective territories.  Any interference with these rights of access was sure to meet with fierce opposition on both sides.  In the case of the two conflicts between France and the Fox Nation, it almost resulted in the decimation of an entire people.

The Fox tribe controlled the Fox River that was named after them, linking Green Bay on Lake Michigan to the Mississippi River.  The French coveted control of this River, since it was another vital link from the holdings in Quebec and around the Great Lakes, to the Mississippi and points further south, including New Orleans.  When the French first encountered the Fox tribe in 1670, they were living in what is now Wisconsin.  Their two traditional enemies were the Lakota and the Ojibwe.  The Beaver Wars, which we discussed in an earlier post, upset the intricate balance between enemies and allies in this region, and caused many of the tribes and bands to displace to new areas, creating further friction.  In an attempt to stop the violence, the French government had forbidden fur trading west of Montreal and closed any trading posts in this region, making this area an effective no man's land.  An edict in Paris caused havoc on the ground in North America, as the trading posts had also been vital links connecting France's sprawling empire.  The situation was further made worse by finances.  Costly wars in Europe had nearly bankrupted the royal treasury, which left little money to be spent on the defense of New France.  New France relied on the fur trade to keep its finances together and the fur trade depended on traders being able to work their sources among the Natives who collected and trade the beaver pelts which formed a type of currency.  What to do? 

The Governor of New France defied he royal edict and established Fort Pontchartrain, later Fort Detroit, in what is now Michigan, both to control the Great Lakes Region and keep access to the waterways leading to the Mississippi open, as well as establish an illicit base to maintain the fur trade.  He invited displaced tribes such as the Huron, Ojibwe, Miami and others to settle around the Fort, since they were needed to collect the beaver which were still very much a part of trade.  In doing so, he reckoned without the Fox, who felt that their traditional hunting ranges were being invaded.  The various tribes were fed up with the French policy of favoring some while trying to cut others out of the trading process, as it was this behavior that had led to the Beaver Wars in the first place.  The French tried to open contacts with the Sioux (Lakota), but the Fox weren't about to let that happen unless the French dealt through them, which the French weren't about to do. 

The Fox established two villages within sight of Fort Pontchartrain/Detroit.  Not to be outdone, the French called up reinforcements among the Ottawa and Potawatomi.  A fight ensued and, for several days, the Fox held their own against the French and their Native auxiliaries.  After two requests for a parley on the part of the Fox had been ignored, the Fox decided to flee their villages.  The French and their allies pursued, cornering the Fox on the Detroit River, where more bloody fighting took place.  In this fighting, over 1,000 Fox and Mascouten were killed.  Hundreds of others were enslaved and taken to Canada.  The fighting ceased for a time with an uneasy ceasefire in 1726.

The Fox demanded the return of these captives and were willing to seek an alliance under French terms if the captives were returned.  However, the French wanted to maintain their alliance with the Illinois, Ottawa, Ojibwe and others at the expense of the Fox.  The French, with the support of their allies, decided that the best way to keep the peace was to eliminate the Fox or drive them out of the area altogether and, in 1727, began a series of attacks and slave raids on Fox villages.  The Fox sought the help of the Sauk and other tribes and once again stood off the French.  The French granted a general pardon in 1738 and the fighting stopped once again, but the Fox captives were never returned.  Slave raids even after the peace continued to imperil the lives of Fox people, who were captured and sent to Canada to a life of servitude.  The Sauk and Fox would remember the French treatment of them and in later years would become firm allies of the British.