Aboriginal Land Transfers and Jean Baptiste Reaume

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Title

Aboriginal Land Transfers and Jean Baptiste Reaume

Description

The presence of the primary source, a native land transfer to Jean Baptiste Reaume for Celeron Island, within the Askin Papers shows the connection between the major populations of the Detroit region during the late eighteenth century. The local French settlers held great relations with the native tribes in comparison to the English and often acted as interpreters. As a result, frenchmen such as Jean Baptiste Reaume, made a living through both farming and interacting with the native population. In many cases, the French with good standing within the native community were given preference and often granted land.

The legitimacy of land exchanges in Detroit from 1776 until 1796 were highly questionable and the process itself only became regulated in 1818. After the United States declared their independence, the British crown’s authority was in question and its political jurisdiction failed to impact Detroit. Yet the British remained in control of Detroit until 1796, thirteen years after the end of the American Revolution. During this power vacuum, the Commandant (the officer in charge of the fort) of Detroit would proceed to assume pseudo-governmental authority. During the 1780s, land speculation became popular throughout Detroit as the commandant, Arent Schuyler DePeyster was more than willing to sign off on native land transfers for his friends, such as John Askin. These deeds while not illegal, as they had been witnessed by a notary and accepted by the commandant, were neither supported by Montreal or the British Crown and therefore illegitimate to a degree. The acceptance of land claims in the area became a social contest, those with close ties to the commandant would be favored in any dealings. Land speculation flourished under DePeyster’s time as commandant and would waver over the next decade and a half due to the differentiating leanings of his seven successors. Under DePeyster, major local figures such as the Macomb brothers and John Askin would accumulate large tracts land under the partially legal deeds. These deeds would later be held in question by the Detroit Land Office or in congress in order to assess their validity and judged whether or not they conflicted with processed or unprocessed land claims.

Source

Hatter, Lawrence B.A. "The transformation of the Detroit land market and the formation of the Anglo-American border, 1783-1796." Michigan Historical Review 34, no. 1 (2008): 83+.
Burton, Clarence Monroe. The city of Detroit, Michigan, 1701-1922. Chicago: The S. J. Clarke publishing company, 1922.

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