FORT MACKINAC Geographical Names: Mackinac Island Straits of Mackinac Vocabulary: fort - bluff to tower above significant , military

military - furnishings - to load - to fire - canon Answer the following questions: 1. Where is Fort Mackinac located? 2. Who was it once occupied by? 3. What purposes do you think it served? What is it now? 4. What activities does Fort Mackinac offer? 5. What was Jeff about to do? Fort Mackinac History Vocabulary: to be constructed to fortify - area , , to grow anxious - to relocate - vulnerable - to be taken apart to assemble - to take control of/over smth/smb to break out -

armed - ally - to manage - fur to ship - strategic importance budget cuts to escape (from) smth - The first fort on the Straits of Mackinac, Fort Du Buade, was constructed in about 1690 by the French but was closed in 1697. By the early 1700s the French began to refortify the area. In 1715 they constructed Fort Michilimackinac on the south side of the Straits (present day Mackinaw City ). The fort became the main trade spot of the upper Great Lakes fur trade and functioned as both a military post and a civilian community. Michilimackinac remained a French outpost until 1761 when British soldiers took control of it after their victory in the French and Indian War. The British grew anxious that Fort Michilimackinac, a wooden fort built on the beach, was vulnerable and chose to relocate the fort to Mackinac Island. Many buildings were taken apart on the mainland and reassembled on the island. The fort and island became United States territory as a result of the American victory in the Revolution. However, it took thirteen years for American troops to arrive and finally take control of the fort from the British. The war of 1812 broke out between the United States and Great Britain in the summer, when about 300 armed British and their Native American allies tried to attack the fort. There was no way for the American soldiers about 30, to stand the battle. Two years later the Americans tried to have the fort back and managed it a bit later. Fort Mackinac became a center of fur and fish trade. Millions of dollars worth of furs got shipped to the East Coast and Europe. In 1895, after 115 years of service, the United States Army closed Fort Mackinac . With no strategic importance, the fort could no longer escape budget cuts. After that the fort became a museum.