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Article: The founding of Detroit by Cadillac.(Research Note)
- Article from:
- Michigan Historical Review
- Article date:
- March 22, 2001
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2001 Clarke Historical Library. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Detroit was founded as a part of New France by Antoine de La Mothe Cadillac at a time when France controlled much of the North American interior. Cadillac had served in New France (now Canada) as a commandant at a remote northern for station until he persuaded the French government to found a larger post and colony on the site of Detroit.
In the beginning Detroit was an outpost of Montreal and the French maritime settlements, developed like them for the exploitation of the fur trade and the riches of the New World. Detroit's significance as an entrepot derived much from its presence on one of the continent's longest inland waterways, which also was one of the ...