BY CLARENCE EDWIN CARTER A. M., 1906 (UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN) THESIS SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY IN HISTORY IN THE GRADUATE SCHOOL OF THE UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS 1908 UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS June 1 1908 THIS IS TO CERTIFY THAT THE THESIS PREPARED UNDER MY SUPERVISION BY Clarence Edwin Carter, A.M. ENTITLED British Policy in the Illinois Country, 1763-1768 IS APPROVED BY ME AS FULFILLING THIS PART OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF

INTRODUCTORY SURVEY. In 1763 Great Britain was confronted with the momentous problem of the readjustment of all her colonial relations in order to meet the new conditions resulting from the peace of Paris, when immense areas of territory and savage alien peoples were added to the empire. The necessity of strengthening the imperial ties between the old colonies and the mother country and reorganizing the new acquisitions came to the forefront at this time and led the government into a course soon

THE OCCUPATION OF ILLINOIS. By the treaty of Paris the title to the Illinois region passed to Great Britain, but Fort Chartres was not immediately occupied. Detachments of British troops had taken possession of practically every other post in the newly ceded territory as early as 1760. The occupation of the forest posts of Green Bay, Mackinac, St. Joseph, Ouitanon, Detroit, Fort Miami, Sandusky, Niagara and others seemed to indicate almost complete British dominion in the West. The transfer of t

STATUS OF THE ILLINOIS COUNTRY IN THE EMPIRE. Before entering upon the more detailed study of events in the Illinois country during the period of the British occupation, it is necessary to take into consideration certain general aspects of the subject which will enable us to understand more clearly the bearing of those events. The relation of that country to the empire and the view held by British statesmen of the time relative to its status are problems which naturally arise and demand solution

TRADE CONDITIONS IN ILLINOIS, 1765-1775. The peltry trade had been one of the elements which had accentuated, throughout the eighteenth century, the difficulties between France and England in the Ohio and Mississippi valleys. It was the chief support of the French government in Canada and now that the English were in undisputed possession of the great peltry districts it became apparent that the management of the trade deserved most serious consideration. It was becoming of increasing importance

COLONIZING SCHEMES IN THE ILLINOIS. Although prior to the Seven Years War France was in nominal possession of the Ohio and Mississippi valleys, the English colonies on the sea-board viewed that territory in a different light. The old sea to sea charters still possessed a potential value in the eyes of British colonists and little or no respect was accorded the claims of France. Gradually toward the middle of the century the more enterprising and farsighted of the colonists, who appreciated the f

EVENTS IN THE ILLINOIS COUNTRY, 1765-1768. In the foregoing chapters an attempt has been made to point out certain general aspects relating to the West and to the Illinois country, with special reference to the governmental status of the old French settlements after the conquest, the extension of the English law to the conquered territory, some of the problems of the Indian and trade relations, and finally attention has been called to some of the projects for the colonization of the Illinois cou

Alden, George Henry, New Governments West of the Alleghany Mountains before 1780. University of Wisconsin Bulletin, II. Madison, 1889. Alvord, C. W., Genesis of the Proclamation of 1763. Mich. Pion. & Hist. Colls. Bancroft, George, MSS Collection of, N. Y. Pub. Lib. Beer, G. L., British Colonial Policy, New York, 1907. Brown, Henry, Hist. of Ill., New York, 1844. Butler, Mann, Hist. of Ky., Louisville, 1834. Canadian Archives, Report concerning for the year 1906. Ottawa. Chatham Papers,