History of Detroit, MI

Detroit, the largest city in the state of Michigan, was founded in 1701 by French colonists. It is the first European area above sea level in North America. Established as a new French wool trade, it began to expand in the mid-19th century with the American settlement on the Great Lakes. In 1920, based on the growing automotive industry and migration, it became a world-class industrial power and became the fourth largest city in the United States. It held that standing in the middle of the 20th century.

The first European settlers in Detroit were French traders and colonists from the New Orleans (La Louisiane) colony. They are joined by traders from Montreal and Quebec; all had to contend with the five mighty Iroquois League, which ruled the southern coast of Lakes Erie and Huron in the 17th-century Beverver Wars when they conquered or drove out the underground nations.

The region originally grew from a high-profit country and the wool trade linked to the Great Sea, based on ongoing relations with influential American kings and translators. The Crown administration of New France offered free land to the colonies to attract families to the Detroit region. The population grew steadily, but gradually more than thirteen privately funded colonies approached the Atlantic coast. The French had a small population and attracted few families. During the French and Indian wars (1756-1763), the French fortified and developed Fort Detroit (1701) along the Detroit River between 1758-1760. It was under repeated attacks by British and colonial forces, reinforced by their Indian allies.