Fort Niagara is located twelve miles downriver from the world-renowned Niagara Falls, yet few visitors to either site know this was once Iroquois territory and claimed by France. This volume summarizes the fascinating span of North American history when New France was established during the sixteenth century in present-day Canada, explored, and expanded to the Niagara River — a strategic water and portage route connected to the Great Lakes. Chronologically the authors dramatically trace how the Iroquois gained the Niagara River, and how they kept this lucrative trade route for themselves long after the French became established fur traders in the Great Lakes. The Iroquois continued to control the Niagara River as the French built the short-lived Forts Conti (1669), Denonville (1687/1688), and finally Fort Niagara (1726-1759). Fort Niagara: The Key to the Inland Oceans and the French Movement to Dominate North America incorporates actions and political changes elsewhere that influenced the French and Iroquois at Niagara, especially during the French and Indian War, which ended the French Occupation of Fort Niagara and set the stage for the Iroquois to lose their long-held Niagara River territory.
