The French in Illinois

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The French in "Illinois Country"

Let's get started!

Which places in our state have French heritage?

Notice all these French place names in the Midwest, including Illinois!

France in North America

What places in Illinois have a French name? Make a list!

At that time, the French wanted to develop their trade with China and Asia. From France, it was difficult to go to China by traveling toward the east on land. Maybe they could go to China by boat, if they could find a water route that went through North America! So they wanted to explore.

In the 16th century (the 1500s), North America was populated by many Native American tribes. But the French, like the English and the Spanish, thought they could benefit from this rich land--a land that was new to the French.

Who were the Native people living in Canada?

France in North America

Next, the French founded a second settlement on an island in the St. Lawrence River, a site that was also inhabited by Native people: this was Montreal!

In 1603, Samuel de Champlain first came to North America. In 1608 he established a small "habitation" or settlement on a site where Native people lived already. Today, this is Quebec City.

The French king decided to send men to explore this new continent. First, Jacques Cartier came down the huge St. Lawrence River several times starting in 1534. He met Native people who lived in that region. But the French did not begin to build any towns at that time.

The Native people of Illinois

France in North America

In 1673, Louis Jolliet and Father Marquette were the first Frenchmen to see the Mississippi River. They came down Green Bay and crossed what is today Wisconsin by taking the Fox and Wisconsin Rivers. They had to portage between the two rivers. On their way back, they went through what is now Illinois, on the Illinois River! On their trip, they were guided by Native people and they met other Natives up and down the Mississippi.

By 1645, the French had founded small settlements in Canada: Quebec City, Trois-Rivières, and Montréal. Frenchmen continued to travel from these towns toward the region of the Great Lakes and the Mississippi River. Louis Jolliet and Father Marquette, Jean Nicolet, René- Robert Cavelier de LaSalle, and other men traveled into the middle of the continent.

The Native people were important partners for the French in the fur trade and they were very important in helping the French survive.

The Fur Trade and Native People

A fur (pelt) of a beaver stretched on a frame. They had to process the furs before sending them to France.

The French saw that they could buy furs (also called pelts) like beaver in North America and send them to Europe to sell them there. In Europe, there was a large demand for furs. The French thought that they could make money through buying furs from the Natives and sending the furs back to Europe to sell them there. This business--the fur trade- -seemed like it might be very valuable!

Who were the Native people that the French traded and lived with? In Illinois and the area around the Great Lakes, there were many tribes: Odawa, Ojibwe, Potawatomi, Illinois, Menominee, Ho-Chunk, Miami, Meskwaki, Hurons, and more!

What have you learned?

• Even though Native people lived everywhere in this region, the French said that the whole territory was a French colony. The Native people continued to see this land as their land.

• The Native people knew how to survive in this environment, which was different from France!

• The Native people supplied the furs that the French people wanted to export to Europe.

• The Native people could help the French be integrated into the trade network that already existed among Native tribes.

In North America, the French needed Native people for several reasons.

Native People and the French

• forts
• religious missions (churches)
• villages

There were other forts that did not last very long, like Fort de Massac or Fort le Pouz.

At Kaskaskia, also on the MIssissippi, there was a religious mission along with a village.

One fort in Illinois was Fort de Chartres. The village next to it was Prairie du Rocher. The village called Cahokia was on the Mississippi River.

Who came? Traders, soldiers, habitants and priests.

Forts and villages

After the explorers, French-speaking people came little by little to live in the territory that is Illinois today. They built:

Who were habitants?

PROJECT: Research one of these Illinois sites!

Why are these sites on rivers?

Plaque in Québec City stating it was founded by Champlain

New France was divided into two regions: Canada (in the north) and Louisiana (in the south). The area that includes Illinois was known as "Illinois Country." It was sort of between Canada and Louisiana.

+ info

The territory in blue on this map was the colony that they called "New France." The smaller red area was the British colony.

What have you learned?

The end of "New France," but ...

In 1763, France lost the French & Indian War to Great Britain. As a result, all the territory east of the Mississippi became British territory. (To the west of the Mississippi it became Spanish territory.) It was no longer New France. And, at the end of the 18th century the area that is now Illinois became part of the new country, the United States of America. For the Native people, of course, this was still their territory. They still had to deal with European people, whether they were French or British.

This part of North America became British after 1763. Then, after 1783, it became part of the new United States of America!

LeTourneau House, Bourbonnais

When Illinois became a state in 1818, some of the leaders of the new state were French speakers like Pierre Ménard, the state's first lieutenant governor. You can visit his house near Chester, Illinois!

In the 19th century, French speakers from Canada--people from Quebec like Noël LeVasseur--came to live in Illinois and they founded the village of Bourbonnais.

French continued in Illinois!

Statue of Jean-Bapiste Pointe DuSable in Chicago

French culture continued to be present in Illinois territory! In the village of Prairie du Rocher, the residents, who spoke French, continued to trade with the Native people, to farm, and to speak French in the 1700s and 1800s.

The fur trade business continued in the 1700s and the 1800s, and many leaders in this business were French speakers: Jean-Baptiste Pointe DuSable for example was born in Haiti and he founded a trading post on the site of Chicago on Lake Michigan in about 1780.

What have you learned?

• Choose a French site in Illinois and research it. Create a brochure for tourists or other visitors that gives them good information about this site.

• French settlements--forts, missions, or villages--in Illinois are almost always on rivers. Why?

• Research the Native tribes that were in "Illinois country": Potawatomi, Illinois, Miami, Kickapoo. Where do these tribes have land now?

• The French needed their Native trade partners in order to survive! Make a list of the things that the French needed, in this new land, which the Native people could give them or help them with.

Let's think about it!

The French in Illinois

For more info...

Which places in our state have French history??

Although French-speaking traders and habitants lived in Illinois in the 17th and 18th centuries, the villages were not large. Villages like Kaskasia or Prairie du Rocher often had no more than 200 French speakers living there!

Traders traveled a lot to trade for furs with the Natives and usually didn't have farm crops. Traders often married Native women.

"Habitants" raised crops and didn't travel as often, though they often did some fur trading. The land of much of Illinois was rich and productive!

Fort de Chartres

LET'S EXPLORE!

Traders and habitants

What's the difference between fur traders and habitants?