ANCHORS OF EMPIRE: DETROIT, MONTREAL AND THE CONTINENTAL INTERIOR, 1760–1775

ABSTRACT

After the defeat of New France in 1760, Britain faced the problem of controlling and defending the trans-Appalachian West. By occupying the former French military and trade posts, she continued the French program of securing imperial rather than colonial authority over the interior. In order to ensure the military defense, political stability, and economic exploitation of this wilderness hinterland, the home government came to rely on a series of imperial garrison towns.