The Illinois Country (French: Pays des Illinois), also known as Upper Louisiana,[1] was a region in what is now the Midwestern United States that was explored and settled by the French during the 17th and 18th centuries. The terms referred to the entire Upper Mississippi River watershed, though settlement was concentrated in what are now the U.S. states of Illinois, Missouri, and Indiana. First explored in 1673 by the expedition of Louis Joliet and Jacques Marquette, the area was soon claimed by France and became part of Louisiana, together with Lower Louisiana.
Whereas the term "Upper Louisiana" referred to the entire Upper Mississippi area claimed by France, through the 18th century "Illinois Country" primarily referred to the concentrated settlement area. By the mid-18th century, the major settlements included Cahokia, Kaskaskia, Chartres, Saint Philippe, and Prairie du Rocher, all on the east side of the Mississippi in present-day Illinois; and Ste. Genevieve across the river in Missouri.[2][3] The region was initially governed from Canada, but by the 1720s a local governmental infrastructure was in place, in which the local towns reported to the commandant of Fort de Chartres, who in turn reported to the governor general of Louisiana in New Orleans.[4] Upper and Lower Louisiana east of the Mississippi River were ceded to the British in 1763, and the west to the Spanish, after the French and Indian War. Some French settlers remained in the area, while others crossed the Mississippi, forming new settlements such as St. Louis. Both regions eventually came under the control of the United States. French language and culture continued to exist in the area, with the Missouri French dialect still being spoken into the 20th century.
Because of the deforestation that resulted from the cutting of much wood for fuel during the 19th-century age of steamboats, the Mississippi River became more shallow and broad, with more severe flooding and lateral changes in its channel in the stretch from St. Louis to the confluence with the Ohio River. As a consequence, many architectural and archeological resources were lost to flooding and destruction of early French colonial villages originally located near the river, such as Kaskaskia, St. Philippe, and Cahokia, Illinois, and old Ste. Genevieve, Missouri.[5]
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The region never had clearly defined boundaries. Earlier descriptions tended to be more expansive. The largest scope described it as extending east to the Allegheny Mountains, west to the Rocky Mountains, north up to Peoria and south to the Arkansas Post, where the Arkansas River flowed into the Mississippi River. By another description, it extended from lakes Michigan and Superior to the Ohio and Missouri rivers. A third, from after the British acquired the region, described it as bounded by the Mississippi River on the west, the Illinois River on the north, the Wabash River on the east, and the Ohio River on the south. The region now known as the American Bottom is nearly at the center of all descriptions of the Illinois Country.
Initially, the principal European, non-native inhabitants were French fur traders and missionaries, both dealing with Native Americans, particularly the group known as the Kaskaskia. The French were not very successful in encouraging settlement in the isolated area, despite the importation of women to induce permanent settlement. Some number of French convicts were relocated there and became settlers. There were also some German and Spanish immigrants to the region, creating one of the earliest American melting pot cultures.
It was originally governed from French Canada, but by order of King Louis XV on September 27, 1717, the Illinois Country was annexed to the French province of Louisiana, with the northern border being the Illinois River. In 1721, the seventh civil and military district of Louisiana was named Illinois. It included more than half of the present state, as well as the land between the Arkansas River and the line of 43 degrees north latitude, and the country between the Rocky Mountains and the Mississippi River. In 1723, the region around the Wabash River was made into a separate district. Around this time, the Illinois Country was sometimes referred to as Upper Louisiana, although this term was also used to describe the land west of the Mississippi River, with Illinois Country referring to land east of the Mississippi and north of the Ohio River. The distinction became clearer after the Treaty of Paris in 1763, when Britain acquired the land east of the Mississippi, and Spain acquired Louisiana and the land west of the Mississippi. Many French settlers moved west across the river to escape British control.
On January 1, 1718, a trade monopoly was granted to John Law and his Company of the West (which was to become the Company of the Indies in 1719). Hoping to make a fortune mining precious metals in the area, the company with a military contingent sent from New Orleans built a fort to protect its interests. Construction began on the first Fort de Chartres (in present-day Illinois) in 1718 and was completed in 1720.
The original fort was located on the east bank of the Mississippi River, downriver (south) from Cahokia and upriver of Kaskaskia. The nearby settlement of Prairie du Rocher, Illinois, was founded by French-Canadian colonists in 1722, a few miles inland from the fort.
The fort was to be the seat of government for the Illinois Country and help to control the aggressive Fox Indians. The fort was named after Louis, duc de Chartres, son of the regent of France. Because of frequent flooding, another fort was built further inland in 1725. By 1731, the Company of the Indies had gone defunct and turned Louisiana and its government back to the king. The garrison at the fort was removed to Kaskaskia, Illinois in 1747, about 18 miles to the south. A new stone fort was planned near the old fort and was described as "nearly complete" in 1754, although construction continued until 1760.
The new stone fort was headquarters for the French Illinois Country for less than 20 years, as it was turned over to the British in 1763 with the Treaty of Paris at the end of the French and Indian War. The British Crown declared almost all the land between the Appalachian Mountains and the Mississippi River from Florida to Newfoundland a Native American territory called the Indian Reserve following the Royal Proclamation of 1763. The government ordered settlers to leave or get a special license to remain. This was to cause many of the French settlers to move to St. Louis, but they also wanted to be ruled by a Catholic government.
The British took control of Fort de Chartres on October 10, 1765 and renamed it Fort Cavendish. The British softened the initial expulsion order and offered the French inhabitants the same rights and privileges enjoyed under French rule. In September 1768, the British established a Court of Justice, the first court of common law in the Mississippi Valley (the French law system is called civil law).
After severe flooding in 1772, the British saw little value in maintaining the fort and abandoned it. They moved the military garrison to the fort at Kaskaskia and renamed it Fort Gage.
During the Revolutionary War, General George Rogers Clark took possession of the entire Illinois Country for Virginia. In November 1778, the Virginia legislature created the county of Illinois comprising all of the lands lying west of the Ohio River to which Virginia had any claim, with Kaskaskia as the county seat. Captain John Todd was named as governor. However, this government was limited to the former French settlements and was rather ineffective.
For their assistance to General Clark in the war, French and Indian residents of Illinois Country were given full citizenship. Under the Northwest Ordinance and many subsequent treaties and acts of Congress, the French and Indian residents of Vincennes and Kaskaskia were granted specific exemptions, as they had declared themselves citizens of Virginia. The term Illinois Country was sometimes used in legislation to refer to these settlements.
Much of the Illinois Country region became an organized territory of the United States with the establishment of the Northwest Territory in 1787.
During the 19th century, steamboat travel flourished on the Mississippi River, which was good for the economy of St. Louis and other towns, but it led to deforestation along the river. Adverse environmental effects resulted, including more severe flooding as the river became broader and more shallow, lateral changes in the channel, instability of banks, and loss of towns due to flooding or channel changes. Much of archeological importance was lost in the flooding and destruction of French colonial towns such as Kaskaskia, St. Philippe, and Cahokia, Illinois; and Old Mines and old Ste. Genevieve, Missouri.