Were the white American settlers are Arkansas Post heavily involved in the Revolutionary War? Why or why not? Whose side was Arkansas on in the Revolutionary War and why?
Answers
Answer:
Arkansas Post was the first and most significant European establishment in Arkansas. In the colonial and early national periods, from 1686 to 1821, it served as the local governmental, military, and trade headquarters for the French, the Spanish, and finally the United States.
The post was established on land given to De Tonti for his service in René-Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle's 1682 expedition. The French came to an arrangement with the local Quapaw to trade French goods for beaver furs. This arrangement did not yield much profit, as the Quapaw had little interest in hunting beaver.
Explanation:
Answer:
Arkansas Post was the first and most significant European establishment in Arkansas. In the colonial and early national periods, from 1686 to 1821, it served as the local governmental, military, and trade headquarters for the French, the Spanish, and finally the United States.
In return for serving in René-Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle’s 1682 expedition, Henri de Tonti, a French officer born of Italian parents, received land and a trading concession at the juncture of the Arkansas and Mississippi rivers. In the summer of 1686, he arranged with the local Quapaw for Jean Couture, Jacques Cardinal, and four other Frenchmen to establish a trading post, where they would exchange French goods for beaver furs. They founded this first Arkansas Post near the Quapaw town of Osotouy in present-day Arkansas County.
The First Post
The Frenchmen built a wooden house and fence, the first French establishment west of the Mississippi. The settlement, consisting of six men and a hut with no priest, was referred to it as “aux Arcs,” meaning “at the home of the Arkansas,” one of the names for the Quapaw Indians. Eager for French trade and alliance, the Quapaw welcomed the Post and supported it throughout most of its history. Without Quapaw supplies and military assistance, the Post would not have survived.
On July 24, 1687, La Salle’s brother and Henri Joutel arrived at Arkansas Post, having fled across Texas after a mutiny killed La Salle. They were relieved to find that Couture and Cardinal were getting along well with their Quapaw hosts. However, the fur trade was not going well. The Quapaw were not traditionally beaver hunters and showed little interest in changing, and French colonial policies failed to encourage the western trading ventures. Therefore, there was little trade on the Arkansas River in the Post’s early years.