The History of the North Star Republic

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All characters, organizations, entities or otherwise human constructs appearing in this work are fictitious. Any resemblance to real persons, organizations, entities or human constructs, living, dead, existent or nonexistent is purely coincidental.

Foreword from the Historian


The revolution of the United States against Great Britain in 1776 showed the world one thing: that if a group of people thought that their constituents and their ideals were not being represented in a form of government, they expected change. And if that form of government refused to accept change, revolution was inevitable. The success of America's revolution in 1781 upon Washington's defeat of Cornwallis at Yorktown during the American War of Independence embedded this idea not only into the foundation of America's government, but into the very fabric of American culture. The expansion into the American west and upper Midwest in the 1800's carried this idea. As independence and liberty carried forward, short-lived nation states like the Republic of Texas and the Republic of California mirrored these principles. Similarly, throughout America's history they were all eventually absorbed or granted statehood for multiple factors, but mainly for the sake of public debt repayment, national security and cultural identity.

But as unlikely as it seems, even the most esteemed historical scholars have always entertained the idea of "what if". What if the Republic of Texas had refused statehood and won its independence from the Empire of Mexico? What if the Republic of California had been allowed to exist peacefully as a sovereign nation? What if the Republic of Deseret came to fruition, or if Lee had won Antietam and Grant was killed at Vicksburg? As most have guessed by now, this is a fictional history of a republic that explores this possibility.

Minnesota, like most states in the Union, has had an interesting history throughout its existence, but not one that has ever recognized independence as being a fundamental part. Granted statehood in 1858 prior to the start of the American Civil War, its areas were first thought to be explored by Norse Vikings from as early as 1362. A Native American breeding ground, it enjoyed a century of tranquility free from European settlement before being further explored by French fur traders in the 17th century. Following the United States' acquisition of the territory from Britain after the Treaty of Paris in 1783, it began to see American settlement in the mid-19th century, which culminated to a "rush" of white settlement in the late 1840's and 1850's along the Mississippi River and saw the displacement of thousands of Native Americans westward into the Dakotas who recognized their existence as a free people would soon be at risk.

This history, however, covers a much more interesting turn of events. What if, perhaps, Minnesota had seen a larger influx of white settlement prior to the 1840's? What if they, like their forefathers, also found themselves to be misrepresented by elected officials? And what if these elected officials refused to change the status quo? One can only speculate.

Introduction: "A Bright North Star For All"


Since the discovery and eventual colonization of the New World in the 15th and 16th centuries, few could have guessed that the European inhabitants that settled in these usually austere and backwood environments would have such a pivotal role in determining the future of the world. The already established and sometimes hostile Native cultures coupled with a complete lack of "Western" society seemed all too perilous for most would-be settlers. Most Europeans, regardless of their financial or social calamity, were simply unwilling to uproot their entire families and lifestyles to settle in a strange and unexplored continent completely devoid of law. To most, it seemed as though it was a foolhardy enterprise, one designed only for young men and those attempting to escape debts or broken promises they had left back in the "Old World" of Europe. Yet for some, the promise of freedom and liberty from religious persecution or the hope of a new life seemed too promising to ignore. Europe's situation in the 1500's had only added a tempting initiative for settlers to travel to the New World; and this initiative was independence.

This emphasized idea was carried forward by the men who eventually laid the foundation of colonies scattered across the two new continents of North and South America. Not only was this trait recognized as independence from religious and cultural persecution, but independence as a unique culture. The combing effects of grossly different lifestyles from their European ways of life that they left behind prior to their migration and an indifference of government that regarded these new colonies as trivial before evaluating their worth eventually forced "Englishmen" and "Spainards" alike to develop new identities to resolve their commitment to their new regional governments and people. Descriptors like "Colonists" and "Conquistadors" would be replaced by "Americans", "Mexicans" and "Canadians." And it was these people and their independent nations that shaped the course of the world.

As these small, young Republics formed, the very word of independence not only defined them in terms of culture, but also defined them as nations. A republican form of government that exercised democracy was practiced and adopted widely throughout the New World, and this style of representation would find a new light as the stroke of fate turned the wheels of destiny. And as it stood the test of time through tranquility, it would be tested in ways far beyond human comprehension in calamity - and even in war, when it would evolve in the 20th century to a scale that engulfed the entire world - it would be challenged to stand. Yet despite its tribulations, it remained a beacon for hope and independence - one that has been acclaimed to be a North Star - a star commonly referred to in the Americas as one that can be used for navigation to find direction. Thus the namesake of a nation that reflected these values.

- - -

Long prior to Zebulon Pike's first term as President, no one had conceived that the North Star Republic would have such a resounding influence on the outcome of international human events. The growth of the nation through the 19th century would prove to be pivotal, and the challenges it would face in the 20th century would prove to be near fatal for not only the Republic, but for the Free World. But through determination and strength, the challenges the Republic faced over the years after its independence came - and Harold Stassen put his famous words to the test: "A bright North Star for all will be brighter - a bright North Star for all will always endure."

Part I, Chapter I: The First People

Table of Contents
Introduction: "A Bright North Star For All"​

The discovery of the North American continent in 1492 by the expedition lead by Christopher Columbus had sparked an impressive trade of both goods, plants, cultures, communicable diseases and human demographics. The scope and size of the continent remained a mystery, and although by 1554 colonization attempts had remained fruitless and impractical, a few token traders had began to move inland in search of rare and valuable goods. The eventual breeding ground and starting point of the Thirteen Colonies in the Chesapeake Bay area of Virginia was still 100 years in the making, but the curiosity of human nature was in full swing. Explorers from Spain, Great Britain and France had begun to search for areas best suited for their future desires, but also broadly negotiated and communicated with Native American cultures during their tenures in the New World. This lead to not only a wide exchange of goods, but also lead to rapid displacement and migration westward of many Natives. Many of the Native cultures feared that the "pale men" would eventually arrive in numbers greater than the means they had at their disposal to control, and as such the eastern coast of the American continent saw its population base drop dramatically during the 16th century in preparation for the inevitable. One of these populations were the Sioux and Ojibwa nations, who began to move far west in an attempt to escape the inevitable threat of colonization by Europeans. Already a small minority had been exposed to European disease through trade with Europeans, and this threat alone was enough to begin their long travel from their homelands in the Southeast and Northeast to a new home farther west.


The Sioux had originated in present day Carolina on the footsteps of the Appalachians, and their migration westward was in direct response to threat of European intervention. Although at first unwelcome to the idea, by the end of the 15th century almost no trace of the Sioux's former existence along the east coast remained, and the entire Nation had relocated to the Great Plains. Being driven by force from the Mississippi by hostile tribes, they instead settled in the Dakotas, while the Ojibwa nations had made a similarly long trek from the eastern shores of Canada and Maine to Lake Superior decades later, settling in Minnesota, Wisconsin and the upper peninsula of Michigan. The nations would reside in these new regions permanently throughout their existence, which had formerly been devoid of human habitation for almost 2,000 years. A hunter-gatherer society began to take shape, and whereas their prior habitation of the East Coast had been primarily agrarian, the Natives displayed their unique ability to adapt for the sake of continued existence, and hunting for survival became widespread throughout the Native cultures in the Upper Midwest. Yet the shortcomings of being unable to develop new and more effective ways to gather a larger amount of food in order to sustain a growing population stunted the growth of both cultures, and as a result they remained stagnant, but not nomadic.


By the 17th century, the English, Dutch, French and Spanish had successfully launched their colonization programs of North America. The Chesapeake Bay area of Virginia, New York, Florida and the eastern shores of Canada all saw a rapid influx of European colonists throughout the 1600's. Their efforts to tame the wild lands of the New World, however, did not come without conflict. Hundreds of thousands of Natives began to make the trek west due to threat of disease and persecution, and by 1700 these Native populations had ballooned due to an astounding number both on the Great Plains all the way south to present Louisiana. These new tribes that had not made the trek as early as their Sioux and Ojibwa cousins also brought with them the effects of European commerce, the most important being a new four legged animal unseen to North America and a new weapon of Old World origin. The horse and the firearm in many ways changed North American Native culture just as the railroad changed Europe - if not more. The rapid influx and breeding programs used by Natives in order to ensure the survival of horses during the 1600's lead to a new spark in population, and the Sioux and Ojibwa traded with these westward bound Native tribes in order to obtain an advantage on the Plains in order to sustain their growing populations. The introduction of the horse to Native culture on the Plains had dramatically expanded the Natives' ability to control their populations and provide for them.


As the colonists on the eastern seaboard began to move further west, however, the idea of peaceful negotiation and trade also began to take root. In the late 1650s, French traders, lead by Pierre Espirit Raddison and Medard des Groseilliers, had explored the southern shore of Lake Superior, and had made first contact with the Dakota tribe of the Sioux nation. News of land west of the Appalachians abundant in trade traveled quickly throughout the European Colonies, and by the 1670's, an influx of traders began to appear throughout Native lands on the northern Plains, most significantly Daniel Greysolon, Sieur du Lhut in 1671, who successfully negotiated a peace between the Ojibwa and Sioux who prior to his arrival had been on hostile terms just short of open warfare. Explorers and expeditions also began to search this new frontier, and although the Ojibwa and Sioux peoples greeted some with disdain, open hostilities had yet to be started between the nations and European travelers. This opened the way for religious missions as well, the most important lead by Louis Hennepin in the late 1670's.


In 1680, however, Father Hennepin's expedition had come to a close and he was captured by the Dakota Sioux due to his religious capacity, of which the Sioux regarded as hostile. Du Lhut, who by this time had become a well established trader and European that was held in high regard by Natives due to his negotiation between the Ojibwa and Sioux, successfully negotiated for his release. During his captivity, however, the Father had mapped an astounding portion of Minnesota. His efforts would ultimately lead to many eventual settlements across the Upper Midwest - and unintentionally, his capture under the Dakota would ultimately lead to the end of Native sovereignty over the Plains.

Part I, Chapter II: The Fur Trade


Due to Wisconsin's much shorter distance from the Appalachians and the Saint Lawrence Riverway, it experienced a much higher volume of French exploration and trading than Minnesota in the 17th century. Jean Nicolet, Jacques Marquette and Louis Jolliet all lead famous expeditions into the territory now known as Wisconsin simultaneously during Sier du Lhut and Father Hennepin's journeys through Minnesota. The northern regions of Iowa also saw these famous early explorers travel through its borders, albeit briefly, but the effects of the explorer's travels were unchanged regardless. The abundant amount of natives and the fur that they collected in the regions from the indigenous animals residing was more than enough to convince the French to devote resources into colonizing the Upper Midwest, and in the late 1600's these efforts began to come to fruition. Security from Natives who had the ability and means to turn hostile should events turn in their disfavor was paramount to ensuring the survival of trade, and this fact did not go unnoticed by early French colonists. Already, the first permanent establishment of European settlement had started in the Upper Midwest with the fur trading post of Green Bay, Wisconsin which was established by Jean Nicolet in 1634, who is usually credited with the territory's discovery during the same year.


By 1671, a Jesuit mission had also been created in Green Bay (called "La Baye"), adding to Nicolet's already lucrative trading post. A rapid influx of French traders and missionaries arrived in the Wisconsin territory and southern Minnesota during the early part of the 1680's, and on April 9th, 1682, Sieur de la Salle had claimed the entire Mississippi River Valley and Upper Midwest for France and its King, Louis XIV, naming the new territory Louisiana in his honor and successfully incorporating the territory into the overarching entity of New France. Although the Louisiana Territory had a vast expansive landscape, it was French in claim and name only. Apart from Sier du Lhut and a few other traders of less than notable repute, there were few actual permanent inhabitants of the territory, as the Jesuit missions and traders that came regularly took their profits from their work back to Acadia in order to invest it properly before returning for more business. Regardless, the influx of traders into the Upper Midwest during the time frame remained at an all time high, even though the majority of the "residents" were temporary, but most importantly, the French had established an official and internationally recognized claim to the Louisiana Territory. Father Hennepin had also returned to France and in 1683 published his "Description de la Louisiane," which included a remarkably accurate (although embellished) description of the Upper Louisiana Territory, in particular northwestern Wisconsin and southern Minnesota. This only provided further intrigue to would-be French fur traders, and by the 1690's, the "rush" was on.


By the summer of 1693, Nicolas Perrot, the French commander of the west, had seen the establishment of several different forts and trading posts across the Upper Louisiana Territory's frontier. Fort Saint Nicholas at Prarie du Chien, Fort Saint Antoine at Lake Pepin, Fort Perrot on an island on Lake Pepin, and Fort La Pointe and its respective Jesuit missionary in La Pointe, Wisconsin all insured security for French traders on the frontier, and although they provided no standing armed guards (as most argued they were not necessary due to usually peaceful relations with the Natives), and were "forts" only in the sense that they provided shelter from the elements, they did provide a sense of relief and a link to the "Old World" of France, where news, rumors and gossip could be shared among traders. These forts and the development of the original "La Baye" colony in Green Bay lead to "fur fever" for many Frenchman in the Upper Midwest, who were now enticed and in some cases enthralled at the economic success that was resulting from their work in fur trading. This only pressured the Sioux and Ojibwa to keep up with the demands of the French traders, and the French expansion into Wisconsin and the resulting claim of the "Louisiana Territory" for the King of France was ignored by the Natives as simple wordplay in favor of the large amount of profits they were enjoying at the expense of the French presence in Wisconsin.


In the 1690's, the Fox Meskwaki - a Native tribe from the Great Lakes Ontario region - were also finally making their great migration west in fear of white settlement. New France and British settlements on the opposite side of the Saint Lawrence near Niagara had forced the Fox to relocate to the Upper Peninsula of Michigan and Wisconsin, where they settled and after establishing their own hunter-gatherer society began to disrupt the elegant balance between the Sioux and the Ojibwa, and all three nations began to compete for profits with the French, who remained neutral in their own regard. The Fox, seen by the Sioux and Ojibwa as invaders and a threat to the relative stability of the fur trade, were at first pushed from the Upper Midwest back into southeastern Wisconsin where relations began to normalize and trade continued into the mid 1690's. French settlers still began to pour into the Wisconsin territory, however, and by 1700 the Green Bay colony had ballooned to a remarkable size of over 35 permanent European settlers and traders and over 130 temporary and seasonal traders and missionaries.


Far to the north, the British had also begun to consolidate their New World possessions. Aside from their crown jewel of the Colonies which would later become the United States, Henry Hudson had also explored the Hudson Bay area (thus its namesake) in 1611, and after the foundation of the Hudson's Bay Company in 1670 the British awarded the company with absolute control of the Hudson Bay watershed, which would last as a monopoly for over 200 years. York Factory in northeastern Manitoba had been established in 1684 as a major fur trading post, but the territory still remained unorganized as both the French and the British laid claim to the territory. The original fort of Fort Nelson which had been established in 1682 by the Bay Company was actually destroyed by rival French fur traders, which would provide briefly violent overtones for the coming struggles between the two nations in the early 1700's.

Part I, Chapter III: Queen Anne's War


As the 17th century neared a close, the 18th century brought forth new challenges across the North American continent. The War of Spanish Succession as it was referred to in Europe or Queen Anne's War as it was referred to in the New World had started in 1702, and would drastically change the political spectrum and sphere of influence in both Europe and most importantly in northeastern North America. Due to France's reallocation of assets to fight the British in Europe and Acadia, their ability to continue the fur trade in Wisconsin and southeastern Minnesota took a backseat to what was perceived as a much larger threat. This allowed private enterprise to instead march forward, and for lack of a better option, the French Kingdom was unable to refute, and by the early 18th century any new fur trading outposts and forts established in the frontier had been done primarily through private enterprise, although some were still subsidized and encouraged directly from the French government itself. These new "entrepreneurs," however, were few and far between. By the start of Queen Anne's War, even the famous Jean Nicolet (who had established Green Bay in 1634) had passed due to age, and very few of the old explorers of the new frontier remained. Louis Hennepin was nearly 80 years in age and after his published works was content on spending the rest of his days in a relatively calmer manner. Sieur de La Salle, after he laid claim to the Louisiana Territory in the name of the King, spent the rest of his days exploring Louisiana until his men mutinied, and he was slain by one of his own men in present day Texas. Only one, Sieur du Lhut, remained.


Sieur du Lhut, after exploring the sharp edge of Lake Superior and northern Minnesota, negotiating the peace between the Ojibwa and Sioux and saving Father Hennepin from likely execution in the 17th century, returned to the Wisconsin area in 1685 after winning a near-constant year long bout with gout. His journeys were also cut short due to accusations of treason, which required him to return to France in order to clear his name and be acquitted. However, prior to his return to the New World, he was able to obtain several permits from the French government, which allowed him an appropriation of funds to build new fur trading posts and forts in the Minnesota territory, which had gone relatively undeveloped in comparison to the Wisconsin frontier. Du Lhut, even despite nearing 65 years, traveled back to the edge of Superior, where he was greeted in a friendly manner by the Ojibwa and Sioux who still inhabited the area. He and his expeditionary party built Fort Dakota, a fur trading site, from permission of the Natives, and spent the rest of his career managing it in old age. Upon Sier du Lhut's passing in 1710 at Fort Dakota after a reappearance of gout, the Fort was renamed Fort du Lhut in his honor.


Sier du Lhut's passing, however, did not go in vain. Fort du Lhut was extremely lucrative in its trade, and by his passing in 1710 had over 50 permanent settlers and 200 seasonal traders, rivaling the numbers of even the Green Bay settlement. As the first permanent European settlement in the Minnesota territory, Fort du Lhut, much like the Green Bay trading post, became a stepping stone for future settlement into Minnesota. Pierre-Charles Le Sueur also traveled to the du Lhut settlement in 1701 after an unsuccessful venture to find mineral ore in the southern Sioux countries. At first believing to find copper, Le Sueur took his samples to Fort du Lhut in an effort to analyze it further, but instead found it worthless. After befriending du Lhut prior to his death, Le Sueur was promised the rights to du Lhut's fur trading permits in the event of du Lhut's passing, and upon the reappearance of his gout, this seemed inevitable. After his death in 1710, Le Sueur established two other forts in relative proximity to the settlement in search of possible iron ore in the region, Fort Le Sueur and Fort Pilante, before he also passed to illness in 1711.


As the 1710's came to a close, however, the fur trade began to feel the first effects of European "efficiency" in Wisconsin. Overhunting as a result of the introduction of firearms to the Natives had dire consequences to the "fur fever" that was once so economically lucrative in the late 16th century. The Green Bay colony and its surrounding fur trading posts felt the full effects of the shortage of pelts in this region. The Fox nation that had traveled from Ontario and now inhabited the southeastern portions of Wisconsin had widely depended on the trade of currency and goods in order to stabilize their people, and the absence of pelts highlighted this necessity. The Sioux and Ojibwa, however, regarded this trade as only a commodity, as they had long before introduced subsistence farming in the area. Slowly, tensions began to build in the Upper Midwest, and the inability of French traders to quell the Fox people's anger over the issue did little to ease the imminent future conflict. The tensions only became higher as the French asserted their claims to the Mississippi River and began to expand towards the Fox River, which the Fox natives controlled.


As the War of Spanish Succession faded in Europe as per the Treaties of Utrecht, Rastatt and Baden, so too did the war fade in North America. Its affects in Europe, however, were far reaching. As a result of the British victory in the war, the French settlements of Acadia and Newfoundland in eastern Canada were ceded to Great Britain, but most importantly the contested land of York Factory and Manitoba were also renounced. This pushed French settlement effectively back into the regions of Wisconsin and Minnesota, where they were forced to negotiate with an increasingly hostile and angry native population who were now finding it difficult to provide for their growing populations. In the Twelve (later Thirteen) Colonies, it also lead to an increase in taxation in order to repay the heavy economic toll in the war, which most (with the exception of the colonists, of course) regarded as a trivial issue.

Part I, Chapter IV: The Fox Wars and Early Colonies


The decade of the 1710's saw an interesting change in the demographic in the areas of Minnesota, especially after the results of Queen Anne's War became evident. As new French trading posts like Fort du Lhut and Fort Le Sueur began to expand because of private enterprise from early French explorers, so too did their populations and the growth of their commerce. Unaffected by the shortage of furs due to overhunting because of their only recent establishment (unlike their Wisconsin and upper peninsular Michigan-based cousins who had existed since the 1680's), the new French posts enjoyed a peaceful relation with the surrounding Sioux and Ojibwa Natives, a booming economy and a rapid increase in settlement. This rapid increase is partly credited due to the large influx of French speaking peoples from Acadia and Newfoundland in the late 1710's, who voluntarily (or sometimes forcibly) left their homes and brought their families to these new settlements in search of wealth and freedom from cultural persecution at the hands of the new British government. Although it is often regarded as a nominal amount, these early settlers would become pioneers in terms of shaping the future of the region. By 1720, the Fort Le Sueur and Fort du Lhut settlements had expanded to an astonishing 200 permanent party European settlers and 400 seasonal traders, dwarfing the Green Bay colony in Wisconsin and becoming the largest permanent European settlement in the New World west of Fort Ponchartrain in Michigan (which would later become Detroit,) a marvel considering its remote location.


The region known as Wisconsin, however, did not fair as well as its Minnesota cousin. The Fox natives inhabiting the southeastern portions of the territory and the upper peninsula were becoming increasingly hostile due to European expansion and lack of trade, and their numbers only emphasized how large of a threat they remained to the French populace. Numbering 5,000 strong in highly concentrated areas, they more than doubled the entire French population of Wisconsin and Minnesota combined. In 1713, relations turned sour, as news spread like wildfire to the Wisconsin territory that Fort Ponchatrain in Michigan had been besieged at the hands of the Fox natives residing there. Although the siege was eventually broken and the natives were defeated accordingly, the settlement of Green Bay and its surrounding trading posts were not nearly as prepared nor well equipped as Ponchatrain. In 1715, the already uneasy relations between the French and the Fox finally gave way, and open hostilities were quickly declared. The Fox natives surrounded the Green Bay colony with nearly 700 armed Natives, while the colonists (formerly traders) numbered only 100 Europeans, of which only 50 were Frenchmen and only 40 were fit to fight. The other 50 Europeans, mostly Dutch and English, were granted amnesty by the Fox warchief Pemaussa, and they quickly left the besieged settlement. The majority of those granted amnesty traveled East to Detroit in search of further trading, as this was a shorter distance from the Green Bay colony, but a nominal amount of some 20 British turned north to Minnesota, where they would eventually settle around the du Lhut area.


Pemaussa encamped his warriors and braves outside the Green Bay settlement, and asked the residing settlers to surrender. Knowing their fate, they refused, and instead began to make defensive preparations for the inevitable Fox assault. On June 26th, 1715, the Fox attempted to breach the shallow walls of Green Bay, but were turned back, suffering 20 dead and 35 wounded, while the French only suffered a handful of casualties. Realizing that the siege could not last against French firepower and fortification, Pemaussa never again sent an assault party into range of the French rifles, and instead resorted to harassing tactics in order to draw the French settlers out into the open. His warriors were only armed with bows and horses, and of the 700 Natives he had brought into battle, only 20 were armed with rifles, all of which were outdated and regarded as inefficient. By July 22nd, word had reached the colony by horseback courier that reinforcements from Ponchatrain had been mustered, as the Fort had received word of the siege from the Dutch settlers who were granted amnesty and traveled there. It was confirmed that a significant party was en route to break the siege, but no estimation was given to the time of their arrival. Already running dangerously low on supplies, the colonists could only hope, wait, and pray.


On August 28th, the party arrived, and Pemaussa's 2-month long siege was quickly broken by over 200 armed French and 600 of their Ojibwa allies in little more than half an hour. With the siege lifted, Green Bay slowly began to rebuild, and Pemaussa and his warriors were eventually killed near Sault Sainte Marie, Michigan on September 16th, effectively ending the First Fox War. By the end of hostilities, over 1,000 Fox men, women and children had been killed by the French colonists, while only suffering 9 killed and 17 wounded of their own. Their Native allies also took a handful of casualties, but the total ratio had resounding effects for the future progression of the territory of Wisconsin. Their future resistance during the token Second Fox War that started in the 1730's as a result was only minor, and their warchief Kiala was captured in 1733. The French proceeded to sell him into slavery in the West Indies, while they used the other captured Fox as tribute slaves to their Native allies, the Ojibwa and Sioux. The remnants of the Fox that were free, now numbering only roughly 500 Natives, took refuge with their Sauk counterparts, and never again became a major factor in the expansion of French settlement in the Upper Midwest. During the wars and the years following, the French had pursued destruction of the Fox tribe to such an extent that it began to slightly damage their relations with other tribes, including the Ojibwa and Sioux.


Regardless, with the Fox eliminated, the French now enjoyed total dominance of the combined Wisconsin-Michigan theater and the Upper Louisiana Territory. With some 4,500 Natives perished, the "fur drought" of the 1710's and 1720's in Wisconsin soon began to reverse, and by the 1730's the fur trade had again stabilized. The Green Bay territory saw improvements and expansion as well, bringing in roughly 400 seasonal traders every summer. By 1735, Green Bay and Sault Sainte Marie had each expanded to over 150 permanent party Europeans each. The upper peninsula of Michigan and northern Wisconsin also saw some slight expansion, as agrarian "advisers" to friendly natives began to form in search of yet unexplored ways beyond fur trading to acquire wealth.


Minnesota's expansion along the tip of Superior was also coupled by the establishment of forts and fur trading posts to the south along the Minnesota side of the Mississippi River. The most significant, Fort Beauharnois, was built on the shores of Lake Pepin in 1727, and also held the first established Roman Catholic Church west of Detroit upon the completion of its chapel in 1728. The formal Roman Catholic faith had yet to have an establishment in the Upper Midwest, instead relying on Jesuit missionaries prior to its creation, and immediately began conversion efforts, which unintentionally quelled a small minority of the Sioux and Ojibwa populations.

Minor issue, the vikings discovering Minnesota thing is really controversial and believed by most historians to be false I believe.

Part I, Chapter V: The French and Indian War


By the 1740's, the upper Louisiana Territory and the regions of Minnesota and Wisconsin had grown and expanded to an impressive size, even in spite of the regions' harsh winter conditions and relatively remote location. The European colonists residing in Fort de Lhut and the small but rapidly growing Green Bay colony had experienced unparalleled growth as a result of the end of the Fox Wars and the subsequent extermination of the Fox tribes, the promotion of unrestricted trade, and the benefits of friendly relations with the Sioux and Ojibwa Natives. The threat of overhunting due to increased demand for pelts and furs had also subsided and stabilized in both regions, in Minnesota due to the larger settlements of Fort de Lhut and Fort Le Sueur only being recently established and in Wisconsin due to the end of the Fox Wars and the respective end of the Fox Natives, which removed over 4,500 Natives in a matter of a decade. This, coupled with the displacement of other French-speaking European colonists from Acadia and Newfoundland to Minnesota and Wisconsin following the end of Queen Anne's War either through force or through voluntary means meant that the Upper Midwest enjoyed both stability and economic prosperity for the better part of three entire decades.


Across the Atlantic, however, the far reaching effects of European war were once again poised to spill over onto the shores of the New World. As was demonstrated only 50 years prior during Queen Anne's War, international conflict certainly knew no bounds, and the instability of Europe was in sharp contrast and in a different field altogether when held in comparison to the tiny but peaceful European colonies of North America. Even so, British claims slowly began to spill over the 49th parallel into claimed French territory in the Upper Midwest, and since the defeat of France during Queen Anne's War, Britain had forced the nation to renounce their claims on the contested lands of York Factory and Manitoba. As such, little could be done to curb British territorial claims into the region of Minnesota, and by 1750 these claims laid only a few short 100 miles north of Fort de Lhut and Le Sueur, stopping abruptly south of the Lake of the Woods and International Falls and stretching well into eastern North Dakota, all of which had been claimed by France a century prior. As the nations across the Atlantic began to inch closer to war, the fate of the Upper Midwest was undoubtedly in question, and the colonists remained oblivious in light of this fact. The entirety of New France and as a result its Louisiana Territory ultimately would be unable to decide its own fate regardless.


In 1754, the powder keg of war in North America had finally erupted, followed by war in Europe only 2 years later, and in spectacular fashion. The French and Indian War, as it was known in the Americas, or the Seven Years' War as it was known in Europe, was arguably the single most important event in the early history of the Upper Midwest. Although conflict and hostility was never seen on its lands, the cultural significance and the overarching effects that the war would instigate upon its final treaty would cause drastic shifts in every facet of life in the colonies of the Upper Midwest. Ultimately and most importantly, the upper portion of the Louisiana Territory and its European colonists of which were mostly French would see drastic changes to the general demographics of the region by 1800.


By 1756, the first effects of the war began to be felt in the Upper Midwest. The French and their Native allies began to mobilize efforts to defend against the threat in the East, and as a result the construction of any future trading posts or forts in the Minnesota, Wisconsin and Upper Peninsular Michigan regions through either the French government or private enterprise (which had formerly been presented as a temporary solution during Queen Anne's War) came to an immediate halt. Fort Beauharnois and its Catholic chapel, built on the Minnesota side of the Mississippi in 1727, were left a shadow of its former self, saved only by a handful of permanent French settlers who had traveled to the Fort from de Lhut in the mid-1740's. The British settlers who had settled in de Lhut following their amnesty granted to them by the Fox Natives during the siege of Green Bay in the Fox War had immediately fled the settlement following the declaration of hostilities, in fear of reprisal from the much larger French majority residing there. In summary, the growth of the regions appeared to be poised to be stunted dramatically, if not forever. This dramatic loss, however, was offset by the forced displacements of thousands of French colonists from Acadia after the capture of the colony by the British in 1755, which was executed in a massive scale. The majority of the displaced Acadians would eventually settle in the region of Louisiana along the Gulf coast (and later become Cajuns), or return to France, but roughly two dozen settlers also came by way of overland travel to settle in Minnesota, eventually settling in or near Fort Beauharnois, which enabled the Fort to survive despite its abandonment from the majority of its settlers following the outbreak of hostilities. Economic effects of the war were not as widespread, except in the quantity of supplies given to the various Forts from the New French government across the Upper Midwestern frontiers in order to construct new settlements. By 1758 these provisions had been completely halted, but trading between the European colonists and the Natives continued, as they had perpetually traded in goods, not money. The absence of established currency on the frontier had arguably saved the Colonies from total financial ruin.


Gratefully, and before effects could be dire, the end of 1760 brought the war in North America to a close. The majority of combat had ended in the North American theater, and the results of the imminent treaty to follow were all but certain. France had been completely removed from the North American continent with the exception of the Louisiana Territory, which held little strategic or economic value, and the consequences of this fact and how they would be reflected in the coming treaty had made the French settlers in the Upper Midwest regions understandably uneasy, especially for those who had witnessed or heard news of the deportation of thousands of French speaking colonists from Acadia following Britain's conquest of the region during the war. Nonetheless, following negotiations, the victor had been made very clear. Great Britain emerged as the most powerful nation on the planet and most importantly in North America, and had gained complete control over Canada, the entirety of the Hudson Bay and Manitoba, her Thirteen Colonies, and a vast amount of land westward of them blocked only to expansion by the formidable Appalachians (which by all accounts were passable regardless). The former entity of New France and its claims were no more, and was divided among both Spain and Great Britain. The Treaty of Paris in 1763 had effectively placed Minnesota, Wisconsin and the Upper Peninsula of Michigan in complete control of Great Britain, while Spain was given control of all former French lands west of the Mississippi, to include Fort Beauharnois, in the secret Treaty of Fontainebleau in 1762 (which was not revealed until 1764.) For the now remaining French settlers in the Upper Midwest, their future as a people was very uncertain.

Part I, Chapter VI: The American Expeditions


The Treaty of Paris in 1763 at the end of the French and Indian War had changed the ruling power of the Louisiana Territory and the Upper Midwest overnight. The entity known as New France that once spanned from the bayous of Louisiana all the way to the colony of Acadia had been shattered and retained only a token amount of governance in the New World in comparison to its former expansive territory. The clauses of the Treaty had regulated France to their only remaining North American possessions, the Caribbean Island colonies of Guadeloupe, Martinique, and Saint Lucia. Nonetheless, their largest colonies in the Upper Midwest - Michigan, Minnesota and Wisconsin - had grown extensively over the 18th century as a result of the lucrative fur trade and the settlements established in these colonies had sweeping French speaking majorities. The deportation of Acadians from the northeastern colonies of North America during the war had emphasized Great Britain's unwillingness to negotiate with non-Anglo resistance to the expansion of its colonial goals, and now that these territories rested firmly in the grasp of British rule, their future was all but certain.


By 1765, however, it was clear the territories of the Upper Midwest would go relatively unharmed and unimpeded by the British, even despite a change in flags and ownership. The Treaty had provided a period of 18 months of amnesty for the remaining French speaking people in the newly acquired territories to relocate should they desire, and in some cases this relocation was subsidized and encouraged by the Crown in order to allow further Anglo colonization and to mitigate future problems that were likely to occur due to the disdain and animosity from their newly acquired subjects, who were certainly less than enthusiastic about being ruled by a now foreign crown. Furthermore, the remote location of the Minnesota, Wisconsin and Michigan colonies had dissuaded British interest, as they were also now forced to relocate assets to deal with an increasingly unruly Thirteen Colonies, who were beginning to voice their open discontent due to a sharp increase in taxes that had been imposed on the Colonies as a result of the massive amount of war expenditure Great Britain had accumulated in debt over the duration of hostilities with France.


The end of the French and Indian War and the British acquisition of virtually all territory east of the Mississippi River had also opened this territory to Colonial expansion from the more well established and rapidly growing Thirteen Colonies, who viewed these new territories as a rightfully owed inheritance, and if anything a simple repayment for their struggle and sacrifice during the war. This radically early idea of Manifest Destiny, however, was quickly (and unintentionally) trampled by the British Crown when it issued the Royal Proclamation of 1763, which forbade American colonists from settling west of the Appalachian Mountains. Chief Pontiac and his Seneca Natives had become openly hostile by 1764, and had eliminated any chance of European travelers moving any further west than the Ohio River Valley, and the Iroquois Confederacy, although only a shadow of its former self, still remained as a significant threat along the Tennessee River. Regardless, the Proclamation would become a major grievance for the American colonists in the 1760's and well into the 1770's, and its stipulations would go widely ignored throughout the majority of the decade, as the British had very few means to enforce it. This would ultimately lead to a series of conflicts throughout the 1760's and 1770's (the most significant being Pontiac's War from 1763 - 1766) between the Natives and the American Colonists. Some of these conflicts would require intervention from British assets, and as a result lead to further taxation of the Colonies.


The issues further East with the hostile Seneca Natives and widespread American dissent throughout the Thirteen Colonies meant that the Minnesota, Wisconsin and Michigan colonies continued to see unimpeded fiscal growth throughout the 1760's and 1770's, even in British rule, mostly in part due to their strategic insignificance and remote location. The 18 month amnesty period that had been provided in the wake of the massive amount of territorial exchange in the Treaty of Paris in 1763 had granted French colonists subsidized relocation from the former colony of New France courtesy of the British Crown, but by 1764, this amnesty period had passed, and throughout many territories east and west of the Mississippi, the fur trade still proved to be profitable, and the majority of the French settlers that profited from the trade had simply refused the offer. The inability of the British to enforce a threat of deportation and a minimal amount of voluntary French relocation had lead to only a continuation of the status quo across the Upper Midwest. In fact, throughout the entire British "ownership" of the land, representations of the British government - other than its flag - never set foot in the Upper Midwest territories, with the one exception of a platoon of British rifles who briefly visited Green Bay in 1763. They stayed only for a short few days, and only in order to rearm and refit during the ongoing struggles with the Natives, and were later regarded only as a footnote and were treated well by the French settlers there, much to their surprise. Fort Beauharnois was also the only Upper Midwestern settlement considered to be in Spanish territory due to the Treaty of Fontainebleau, but because of its only trivial population, the now healthy relations between Spain and France, and the redirection of Spain's focus to its newly acquired Louisiana province, it was allowed to remain and saw no threat of closure or eventual deportation of its populace from the ruling Spanish governor of New Spain, Joaquin de Montserrat. It likewise would never see any presence of its new "owner."


The destruction of Acadia and the capture of French Canada at the hands of combined Anglo efforts during the war had nonetheless disrupted the delicate position of the demographics of the Upper Midwest. Whereas the Thirteen Colonies numbered over 2,000,000 colonists of European origin by 1770, the permanent European settlers in Minnesota, Wisconsin and the Upper Peninsula of Michigan numbered only 1,000 - 920 of which were French. These numbers were doubled during the summer and fall months with the inclusion of up to 2,000 seasonal traders and missionaries as well, but their residencies were regarded as only temporary. In contrast, their Native American allies, the Sioux and Ojibwa, who still maintained a large presence (sometimes in extremely close proximity to settlements and trading posts) in the region numbered well over 50,000. Their numbers, however, were much less concentrated and unorganized than their European counterparts, and relations had fortunately remained friendly and stable, even despite the persecution of the Fox Natives following the Fox Wars. The reason for these low numbers was not only due to the remote location and inaccessibility of the regions, but also because during France's rule of the Louisiana Territory it was interested in little else but the fur trade, not settlement, and most colonization efforts were done strictly through private enterprise by the beginning of Queen Anne's War in the early 1700's. This demographic deficit was sharply emphasized by the loss of New France, as new settlers were few and far between, and the majority of New World French settlers had returned to France or settled in Louisiana following their displacement in the 1760's. The French and Indian War also saw close to 100 permanent French settlers and all of its permanent 20 British settlers to leave the Upper Midwest upon the declaration of hostilities, almost causing one of its settlements, Fort Beauharnois and its Catholic chapel in Minnesota, to be completely abandoned, and it was saved only by roughly two dozen displaced Acadians, who settled at the Fort in 1759.


Nonetheless, due to its still lucrative fur trade, the inclusion of the Upper Midwest into territory now controlled by Great Britain and the conclusion of Native-Anglo warfare in the Great Lakes region following the end of Pontiac's War in 1766 improved interest in the area from British and American explorers and settlers, even after the Royal Proclamation of 1763, which was widely ignored. In 1770, Charles Michel de Langlade lead his expedition of 30 settlers from Massachusetts into the Wisconsin region in order to capitalize on the growing fur trade, and they settled a few miles west of the Green Bay area, making history as the first American settlement in Wisconsin. Jonathan Carver, a former American French and Indian War captain and his party of 12 other Americans from Connecticut and Massachusetts, also lead an expedition into the frontier when they were contracted by Robert Rogers, the famous French and Indian War commander and the leader of "Roger's Rangers," to find a western water route to the Pacific Ocean, which would later be known as the Northwest Passage. His efforts would be in vain as Carver was unable to find the passage as it was much farther north than he anticipated, but his party included two surveyors, and they mapped a good portion of the northwestern Wisconsin and southeastern Minnesota area before stopping briefly in Fort Beauharnois in 1768. Upon contacting Rogers, he no longer promised the appropriation of funds following Carver's perceived failure, and Carver instead lead his party north to Fort du Luht, where he would eventually settle with his family of seven children and his wife, Abigail Carver, after becoming a very successful trader due to his business experience in Connecticut. He and the 9 other members of his party that also chose to stay in the du Luht area would also make history, and became the first permanent American settlers in the Upper Midwest. The still lucrative fur trade in the regions continued to occur throughout the Upper Midwest well into the 1770's and as a result also saw a brief increase in European colonists after the end of Native tension along the Ohio River Valley, which would continue into the late 1770's.


By 1775, however, the fate of the Upper Midwest was once again at the mercy of conflict in the east, and as a result once again out of the region's control. Unrelenting taxes, the garrison of British soldiers in American cities, and a lack of representation in British government had pushed the British Empire and its American colonies to the brink of war. As negotiations in London and Philadelphia broke down, the world held its breath once again, and it was clear the war for the independence of a nation was inevitable, but few, especially the small amount of colonists in the Upper Midwest, could imagine at what scale.

Part I, Chapter VII: The American War of Independence


By the end of 1775, the Thirteen Colonies were in complete and utter revolt against Great Britain. The skirmishes at Lexington and Concord, Massachusetts in April had given the Colonials two early key victories against the British, and the "shot heard 'round the world" had started a course of events that once set in motion could no longer be undone. The British Pyrrhic victory at Bunker Hill in Charlestown had cemented the idea that the Colonies would not win independence in a few short months, and the British besieged Boston until eventually being uprooted by George Washington, the commander of American forces in the northern theater, after his emplacement of artillery on Dorchester Heights in March of 1776. The early victories in the Massachusetts campaign were offset, however, by the defeat of the Colonist's attempts to invade Canada, and despite capturing Montreal, they were unable to take Quebec, and they were forced back into New York in October of 1776.


In July of 1776, the Thirteen Colonies had officially become the United States of America. The young Republic lacked a formal government beyond the Continental Congress, which was little more than elected officials representing all thirteen of the original colonies. Washington and his fellow founders knew, however, that the war would be impossible to win without international assistance, and attempts to become recognized by both France, Spain and the Netherlands quickly went underway. These attempts, however, were in vain, as all three of the nations saw little interest in helping the Colonists in what they perceived as a fool-hardy endeavor with little benefit for intervening. In August of 1776, the British renewed their offensives and invaded Long Island, and was quickly in control of the entirety of New York City by late September. Washington quickly gathered his tattered Army and fled to New Jersey, and the British gave chase, until Washington retreated into Pennsylvania and remained encamped there in December. His quick offensive into New Jersey before the onset of a full New England winter ended in a much needed victory, and by January of 1777 both the Americans and British had gone into winter quarters. In September and October of 1777, the British Army from Canada had been soundly beaten by the Americans at Saratoga, and Washington remained eternally elusive, fighting a battle of delay against the British, attempting to stop their march into Philadelphia. The end of the Northern Front at Saratoga did little to help Washington, however, as he was unable to stop the British advance, and they marched into Philadelphia unopposed in October of 1777. In December of 1777, both armies once again withdrew into winter quarters, with the American forces encamped at Valley Forge, some 20 miles from Philadelphia.


In February of 1778, however, the French had agreed to enter the war, emboldened by the American victory at Saratoga. The British, unable to consolidate their gains in Pennsylvania, and in fear of being cut off from the coast due to French entry into the war, withdrew to New York, and Washington retook Philadelphia as the Americans emerged from Valley Forge in the summer of 1778. Unable to make further progress in New England, the British strategy turned to the southern colonies, where they invaded and captured Savannah, Georgia in December of 1778. By May of 1780, the majority of the American southern front had been shattered, and the British captured Charleston, South Carolina with relative ease, consolidating their gains in the south. The British gave chase to the remnants of the American forces, who had withdrawn to North Carolina, but the Americans were able to defeat a sizable contingent of the armies of the commander of the British forces in the south, Charles Cornwallis, due to the overstretching of British supply lines. Losing momentum, Cornwallis withdrew further north into Virginia, and the Americans quickly recaptured South Carolina and Georgia, although Charleston and Savannah still remained in British hands. By 1781, Cornwallis had realized his situation for further offensive operations in the south was untenable, and unable to withdraw, in June he instead encamped his army and fortified it in the peninsular hamlet of Yorktown, Virginia, and awaited the arrival of the Royal Navy, where his Army would then withdraw and launch more promising offensives elsewhere.


In early September, however, the Royal Navy in North America had been soundly defeated by the French Navy in the Battle of the Chesapeake, and Cornwallis had been trapped in his fortified position by the southern American army. The arrival of Washington's Army from New England and the French Navy in September of 1781 had completely sealed Cornwallis' fate, and he surrendered in October, effectively ending the American War of Independence. Although fighting continued between France, Spain and Great Britain following the surrender of Cornwallis, the Treaty of Paris was signed in 1783 regardless, and its implementation would formally end the war that same year. The Treaty had changed the spheres of influence in the continent dramatically. The United States, the clear victor, had not only won independence of its Thirteen Colonies, but had also attained the vast expanse of all territory east of the Mississippi River with the exception of Florida, which had been returned to Spain. Great Britain was no longer in any position to negotiate terms following their disastrous defeat at the hands of the Americans in 1781, and the shift in territorial possessions as a result of the Treaty had spared only Canada from the bargaining table out of all their continental settlements. Coupled with little to no British presence west of the Ohio River Valley and the suppression of the Natives living there following Pontiac's War, it was clear the Americans would eventually aim to expand into this territory (as they already had in the 1760's and 1770's even despite the Royal Proclamation of 1763) and British measures to ensure these western territories remained theirs were few and far between, as they saw little benefit in keeping them, nor did they have the means to do so if they desired.


The Minnesota, Wisconsin and Upper Michigan regions had escaped any change to its demographics that the American War of Independence had brought on the continent, which was contained between New England, Canada and the southern United States. Early settlements from American expeditions into the territories in the 1770's had seen a slight increase in settlers and also the first permanent American residents in both Minnesota and Wisconsin, but at the outbreak of hostilities in 1775, business ventures from New England where these colonists had originated from had ended due to strain on the American economy. Nonetheless, by the Treaty of Paris in 1783, the regions had a combined total of 1,200 settlers, of which roughly 1,000 were French, 150 were of other European origin, and 50 were American. Fort du Luht and Fort Le Sueur on the southwest coast of Lake Superior still remained as the largest settlements in the Upper Midwest, contributing to nearly 50% of these numbers. Prarie du Chien in western Wisconsin had welcomed new settlement in 1781, mostly from French colonists from Green Bay who established several new fur trading posts in the colony. By late 1783, news had reached the settlements that the Colonists had won their independence and were now in control of all territory east of the Mississippi with the exception of Canada. Fort Beauharnois was the only settlement to not undergo a change in governance, as it still rested in Spanish controlled Louisiana, but remained unaffected in light of its strategic irrelevance. Many settlers had followed the events of the war as they unfolded closely, as the majority had supported the American idea of independence, since removal of the British from the continent was in the best interests of the French who resided there, who made up roughly 90% of the population.


Following the adoption of the Constitution of the United States in 1788, the 1789 Northwest Ordinance, signed into law by George Washington, included these regions into the newly founded "Northwest Territory." Most importantly, the Ordinance outlawed slavery in the territories. However, the majority of the settlers inhabiting the regions were permanent fur traders who owned no slaves, and by 1790 the nominal handful of slaveowners in the regions had relocated further west in fear of prosecution from the American government, and the law passed with little affect on the still profitable fur trade. Although the remoteness of the newly acquired territories in many ways prohibited large scale American investment into settlement, they sparked interest to the American government regardless, mostly due to the still increasingly profitable fur trade occurring there, as the United States had accumulated a massive amount of debt during the duration of its war with Britain and any method of stimulating its war torn economy was a welcome idea. As a result, the 1800's would see a sharp renewal in both explorers and expeditions into the Minnesota frontier - most notably one lead by a man named Zebulon Pike.

Emperor Julian said:

Minor issue, the vikings discovering Minnesota thing is really controversial and believed by most historians to be false I believe.

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Correct! Thus why the wording I chose to describe this issue is very particular.

Looking for some feedback!

Has anything changed?

Where is the POD? You have done this long essay in "alternate history" withot showing anyting that has changed from our history.

There have been several PODs, although they may be hard to spot to for those unfamiliar with the early history of the Upper Midwest. Regardless, the major POD will be arriving shortly.

Good TL so far.

Are you going to focus on the changes around the world from OTL a little?

MN.Gruber06 said:

There have been several PODs, although they may be hard to spot to for those unfamiliar with the early history of the Upper Midwest. Regardless, the major POD will be arriving shortly.

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You may want to flag those, since otherwis epeople won't know what's going on.

All of the differences between this history and OTL will be discussed at the end of the history if there's interest in knowing. For now the chapters will remain strictly "in character" until then. I will be discussing international affairs eventually as they come.

Sounds like a plan.