Chronology 1500-1699

ca. 1500    The Neshnabek ("The True People") Indians migrate from the land north of Lakes Superior and Huron to an area along the eastern shore of lower Lake Michigan stretching from Ludington to St. Joseph. (Indians of North America, The Potawatomi, James A. Clifton, Chelsea House Publishers, New York, 1987, p. 16.) This was the first migration.

1564   (April 23)    William Shakespeare is born in England. (Encyclopedia Britannica, Multimedia Edition, 1999).

1607   (May 24)    Three ships carrying approximately 80 Englishman disembark at Jamestown, Virginia thus establishing the first English settlement in the United States. (Encyclopedia of American History, Richard B. Morris (ed.), Harper Brothers, 1953, p. 26).

1616   (April 23)    William Shakespeare dies on his 52nd birthday. (Encyclopedia Britannica, Multimedia Edition, 1999).

1634    Members of the Neshnabek Indian Tribe cross Lake Michigan in their canoes to meet the French Explorer, Jean Nicolet, at Red Bank, Door County, Wisconsin. It is during this encounter that the Neshnabek tribe becomes known as the "Pouutouatami" which meant, to Nicolet, "the Firemakers" (Clifton, op.cit., p. 20).

ca. 1641 - 50    A confederacy of Iroquoian tribes from the Ontario peninsula attacks the Potawatomi, Sac, Fox, Kickapoo and Miami tribes living along the eastern shore of Lake Michigan. The Potawatomi relocate to present-day Wisconsin around Green Bay and Door County, joining the Winnebago and Menominee Indian tribes. (Clifton, op.cit., p. 23-4). This was the second migration.

1653    The Potawatomi and other Wisconsin tribes defeat the invading Iroquois Indians at "Mitchigami", a fortified village located on the eastern shore of the Door Peninsula. "Mitchigami" means "Great Lake", a term later appropriated by the Europeans. (Clifton, op.cit., p. 24-5).

1666    The French publication, Jesuits Relations, mentioned Lake Michigan as "Lake Ill-e-aouers" and "Lake Ill-i-ni-oues, as yet unexplored;" also that the Fox Indians called it "March-i-hi-gan-ing." (Hiram W. Beckwith, The Illinois and Indiana Indians, Fergus' Historical Series No. 27, Chicago, 1884, p. 165).

1667    Peace was established between the French and the Iroquois Indians, enabling the coureurs de bois to move farther west in search of furs. (Centennial History of Illinois, v. 1, The Illinois Country, 1673-1818, Clarence Walworth Alvord, (ed.), Illinois Centennial Commission, Springfield, IL., 1920, p. 58).

ca. 1668    French trader Nicholas Perrot and Jesuit Missionary Claude Allouez establish themselves among the Potawatomi. (Clifton, op.cit., p. 27).

1670    Rene Robert Cavelier de LaSalle first uses the Chicago Portage (History of Cook County Illinois, Alfred Theodore Andreas, Chicago, 1884, p. 61 / The Discovery of the Great West, Francis Parkman, Boston, Little Brown & Co., 1869, p. 21).

1671    The Miami Indian Tribe establishes new settlements at the Southern end of Lake Michigan and on the St. Joseph River (Beckwith, 1884, pp. 107-08 / Handbook of American Indians north of Mexico, Frederick Webb Hodge (ed), Rowman & Littlefield, New York, 1971, p. 852 / Andreas, op.cit., pp. 33, 46.)

June 14    At a ceremony with the Indians at Sault Saint Marie, the French claim title to the lands of the Illinois (Alvord, op.cit., p. 61 / Harry Hansen, The Chicago, Farra & Rinehart, New York, 1942, p. 28 / Illinois; A History of the Prairie State, Robert P. Howard, W.B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1972, pp. 25-6).

1673    The Jesuit missionary explorer, Jacques Marquette, and Louis Jolliet return from their voyage of exploration of the Illinois and Mississippi rivers. Their account relates their use of the Chicago portage (Andreas, op.cit., p. 46 / Hansen, op.cit., pp. 27, 29 / Illinois 68: Marking 150 Years on the Nations Frontier, Illinois Sesquicentennial Commission, 1968, p. 22 / Illinois "Prairie State", Olin Dee Morrison, V.3 Historical Atlas, 1959, p. 13 (map) / The Moving Frontier: North America seen through the eyes of its pioneer discoverers, Louis B. Wright and Elaine W. Fowler, Delacorte Press, N.Y., N.Y., 1972, p.97). The Chicago Portage National Historic Site is located near 46th Street and Harlem Avenues. It marks the western terminus of a portage over Mud Lake between the Chicago and Des Plaines Rivers and marks the low point between the Mississippi and St. Lawrence river systems. (John Husar, Chicago Tribune, Sec. 3, p. 11, November 7, 1999).

1674 - 75    Jacques Marquette spends the winter at the Chicago portage aided by courers de bois living in the area. (Alvord, op.cit., p. 67 / Andreas, op.cit., pp. 44-45/ Hansen, op.cit., p. 30 / Illinois "Prairie State", Olin Dee Morrison, V. 1 (1960), P.142 / Evanston; Its Land and its People, Viola Couch Reeling, Daughters of the American Revolution, Evanston Chapter, Evanston, IL., 1928, p. 117)

1676   (April 10)    Jesuit Missionary Claude Allouez reaches the Chicago portage on his way to replace Fr. Marquette at southern mission. He was received by about 80 Indians. (Andreas, op.cit., p. 233).

1679    Robert Coeur de La Salle, with 14 men, pass the mouth of the Chicago River. (Andreas, op.cit., p.62).

1680    Henri de Tonty, Italian adventurer and follower of La Salle, with several companions, utilize the Chicago portage in escaping the Iroquois and the fall of Ft. Crevecouer. (Andreas, op.cit., p. 63.)

ca. 1680    The Potawatomi, in response to crowded conditions in the Green Bay area, migrate southward to the Milwaukee area. (Clifton, op.cit., p. 34). This is the third migration.

1681 - 82   (December 27 - January 7)    LaSalle, Tonty and Fr. Membre pass through the Chicago area on their way to rebuild their fort on the Illinois River. (Andreas, op.cit., pp. 63-64 / Hansen, op.cit., pp. 48-49 / Morrison, V.3, op.cit., map 13).

1681 - 82    Peace was established between the French and the Iroquois Indians, enabling the coureurs de bois to move farther west in search of furs. (Alvord, op.cit., p. 58).

1684    The Wea Miami Indians are in control of the Chicago area. (History of Illinois, Rufus Blanchard, National School Furnishing Company, Chicago, 1883, p. 6).

Franquelin's map of 1684 contains the name "Chicagou". (Politics and Politicians of Chicago, Cook County and Illinois, Fremont O. Bennett, Blakely Printing Company, Chicago, 1886, p. 103.)

1685 - 92    The French, under the command of Henri de Tonty, visit Chicago on several occasions to obtain provisions. (Andreas, op.cit., 1884, p. 65 / Hansen, op.cit., 49).

1694    Approximately 1,200 Potawatomi of the Great Sea and Bear clans resettle the area located in SW Michigan along the St. Joseph River. (Clifton, op.cit., p. 34-5).

1696    The "Mission of the Guardian Angel" is established at Chicago by the French Jesuit Pierre-Francois Pinet. (Alvord, op.cit., p.104 / Howard, op.cit. p.36 / Morrison, op.cit., (1960), p. 142.)

1698    Desliettes (Pierre-Charles de Liette), a relative of Tonty, commands the French fort at Chicago. (Hansen, op.cit., 49).

1699    The Reverend Jean-Francois Buisson de St. Cosme and his companions from the Seminary of Foreign Missions at Quebec, on their way to establish a southern Illinois mission, find Miami Indians at Chicago and stay a few days at the Mission of the Guardian Angel. (Alvord, op.cit., pp. 115-16 / Andreas, op.cit., pp. 33, 37, 45, 66 / George D. Bushnell, Wilmette, A History, Wilmette Bicentennial Commission, Wilmette, IL., 1976, p. 5¹ / Reeling, op.cit. p. 36).

The London edition of Hennepin's account of La Salle's expedition is published, mentioning the word "Che-caugou." (Blanchard, op.cit., p. 96).

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