The Struggle for Empire in the Old Northwest Territory: The Fur Trade and Alliances on the Middle Ground

Authors

Richard W. Rowe Jr., Gettysburg CollegeFollow

Document Type

Student Research Paper

Date of Creation

Spring 2024

Department 1

GLI History

Abstract

The Old Northwest Territory is a uniquely underserved area of American history. It stood at the intersection of several empires, each of whom often viewed it as something desirable only when hoping to keep it from falling into the hands of their rivals. Indigenous and creole people lived and died in those spaces, using the fur trade as a means for survival while they navigated between Imperial overlords. This work endeavors to build on existing academic scholarship, fill some gaps therein regarding where this topic fits into the bigger picture, and hopefully inspire others’ interest in doing further research. This work engages with extant secondary scholarship to examine the role of alliances, kinship, and the economics of the fur trade in this remote region of the North American frontier during European colonization. We can hope to understand how the success or failure of Imperial policy hinged on the adaptation or resistance of existing alliances and kinship networks to it. This work hopes to explain why many interior Indian tribes remained loyal to the British for decades after the Revolutionary War and were willing to fight with them against the Americans during the War 1812. Primary sources such as Territorial Papers, State Collections, American State Papers, and firsthand accounts provide a window into events that occurred in the timeline of this dissertation. This work examines the American, British, and French government’s administrative policies towards its own colonies and towards Indigenous peoples, viewing the chronology of events to determine cause and effect. The best analysis is that relationships dictated the success or failure of administrative systems on the Middle Ground until one state actor gained the power to impose its will on a multicultural frontier. Alliances with the French, Spanish, and British failed to save the Indigenous population from American hegemony

Comments

Written for AMHI 699: Capstone in American History

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

Recommended Citation

Rowe, Richard W. Jr., "The Struggle for Empire in the Old Northwest Territory: The Fur Trade and Alliances on the Middle Ground" (2024). GLI MA in American History Student Works. 16.
https://cupola.gettysburg.edu/glihist/16