Fox Wars

First Fox War

After the Peace Conference of 1701, Antoine de Lamothe Cadillac established Fort Pontchartrain du Détroit to resolve trade issues. The fort allowed access to water trade routes and warpaths, but the French could not survive without indigenous help. Cadillac invited numerous tribes to settle nearby, including Odawa, Huron, Potawatomi, Miami, and Ojibwe, with the population sometimes reaching 6,000. The presence of these groups alongside the Meskwaki aggravated tensions.

Indigenous enemies lived far apart but in Detroit competed for a relationship with the French. French imperial policy had privileged the Ojibwe-Odawa-Potawatomi confederacy and the Illini, while the Wisconsin tribes—Meskwaki, Sauk, Mascouten, Kickapoo, and Ho-Chunk—sought to dominate the post and prevent French trade access to the Sioux. They also disrupted the lives of Odawa and Miami near Detroit.

Second Fox War

For the Meskwaki, the conflict's start and potential end lay in the slave trade. They were willing to return to the French alliance if their captives were returned, wanting to be considered allies and kin. However, French officials supported the Illini, Odawa, Ojibwe, and Huron against the Meskwaki, annulling the 1726 peace treaty in summer 1727.

The Meskwaki then declared war on the French and their native allies. Over four years, the French invested heavily and, with allies, attacked Meskwaki villages with extreme advantage. The Sioux and Iowa refused sanctuary to the Meskwaki. By summer 1730, the Meskwaki population weakened, and the Sauk finally granted them sanctuary.

With help from western Indians aware of Beauharnois' plan for decimation, the Sauk and Meskwaki fought off the French. Beauharnois granted a 'General Pardon' in 1738, restoring peace. Many Sauk and Meskwaki later developed kinship ties with the British, fighting on the British side as late as the War of 1812.

Did You Know?

• The Meskwaki were living in eastern Wisconsin at the time of their first contacts with the French around 1670.
• Prior to 1701, the Beaver Wars brought fear and urgency for the French to save their trade alliances.
• The financial situation of New France before the first Meskwaki War was a state of semi-bankruptcy due to the War of Spanish Succession.