1783 Treaty of Paris and Isle Royale

The Day Michigan Changed Hands (Sort Of)

On September 3, 1783, Great Britain and the United States signed the Treaty of Paris, officially ending the Revolutionary War. Among its many consequences, it ceded Michigan—and the rest of the Northwest Territory—to the United States. Sounds neat and tidy, right? Well, not exactly. Britain, eager to keep its profitable fur trade alive, refused to give up its military or political strongholds in Michigan for another thirteen years. In fact, British troops didn’t pack up and leave until after Jay’s Treaty in 1796. Their influence still lingered until after the War of 1812.

One of the more intriguing subplots to the treaty was Benjamin Franklin’s personal mission to claim Isle Royale for the United States. Franklin had heard rumors that the island in Lake Superior was loaded with copper. Over the two years of negotiations, he pestered the British so relentlessly that they eventually agreed to move the boundary line north of the island. Franklin was successful in putting it firmly in American territory. Britain’s Prime Minister, Lord Rockingham, supposedly grumbled, “Mr. Franklin, I don’t give a damn if that island is solid copper. If the treaty conference had lasted another week, you Yankees would have insisted on running your infernal boundary line around Ireland.”

Still Not Settled

Even after Isle Royale was granted to the United States in the Treaty of Paris, things weren’t settled. The British maintained practical control of the island until after the War of 1812. Meanwhile, the Ojibwa people considered Isle Royale their homeland and continued to use it for hunting, fishing, and gathering. It wasn’t until the 1842 Treaty of La Pointe that the Ojibwas formally ceded the island to the United States. The Grand Portage Band didn’t realize at the time that neither they nor the island were technically in British territory. This misunderstanding was cleared up with the 1842 Webster–Ashburton Treaty. Two years later, the Isle Royale Agreement of 1844 reaffirmed the Ojibwas’ cession of the island.

From Revolutionary War politics to resource rumors, and from drawn-out British withdrawals to complex Native treaties, the story of Michigan’s change in ownership is anything but straightforward. So while September 3, 1783, marks the day the ink dried on the Treaty of Paris, it’s also a reminder that history often moves at a much slower pace than the signatures on a page.

Marisa Fancy along with her husband and four children dreamt of moving “Up North”. They had vacationed for years in northern Michigan and in 1995 they finally made the move.

The family was always out exploring, but with 4 kids there was some limitations on what they could do. Marisa discovered the amazing network of trails in Northern Michigan after Steve died and she would walk for miles. The trails provided her with peace, comfort and solitude at a difficult time in her life. Later, after meeting Guy who would become her second husband, she learned to golf and found another passion she could enjoy in beautiful Northern Michigan.

Marisa has been the family historian, writer, and poet for as long as she can remember. She has always loved to write and has now found a creative outlet for it other than family. You can read her articles in Adventures in Northern Michigan, Northern Michigan History and Golf Up North.