The Middle Ground: Indians, Empires, and Republics in the Great Lakes Region, 1650 - 1815

Chapter 11 covers the end of the middle ground in the pays d’en haut. White begins by discussing the growing white American view that Indigenous Americans would disappear unless they embraced “progress.” This was portrayed as the opposite of “Indian hating” in that people who subscribed to it believed that Indigenous Americans could change; but they also believed that they should. This “benevolence” sought to “save” Indigenous Americans while simultaneously taking away their remaining lands. Despite the political calm in the years following the Treaty of Greenville, significant economic, social, and environmental shifts occurred in the pays d’en haut.

After the Revolution, the British abandoned their posts and accepted the loss of the fur trade to reduce costs. The Montreal traders fought to retain the posts after the Revolution. When that failed, they delayed the evacuation and supported resistance by the Algonquians. The delay did not protect the southern pays d’en haut trade, so it shifted north and west. Some economic theorists argue that Algonquian communities became dependent when Europeans finally took control of their access to fur production. While acknowledging this eventual dependency, White questions when this change happened. The shift to dependency resulted from changing circumstances in the early 19th century.