Hello and welcome to a history of the United States. Episode 98, Ohio Country.

In our last episode, we looked at how things were shaping up in the Ohio Valley during the early 1750s.

The area had long been desired by both the British and French, but they had reached a compromise whereby the region was controlled

by the Iroquois. However, this suzerency was an illusion. The Indian tribes living in the Ohio

Valley felt betrayed by the Iroquois, and Tanagrisson, granting permission for the English to build

forts and key positions in the Ohio River, proved to be the last straw.

Almost immediately, after the events we discussed last time, word arrived from a trading outpost,

Picoolani, which was attacked by a group of 180 Chpewa,

Thirce Ossua, and 30 French troops who had come from Detroit.

They destroyed the place, which had been one of the largest and richest trading stations in the Appalachians. It was intended to teach

a lesson to the Miami tribe, dumped trade with the British. The Miami sent pleas to Pennsylvania

and Virginia pleading for help, but this was denied. The Quakers in Pennsylvania did not wish to

become entangled in a war,

while the Virginians thought the conflict was too far away to justify sending aid. The Miami,

left with no alternative, meekly submitted to the French. This appeared a great victory

for the French in their efforts to force the English out of the Ohio,

but their colonisation efforts continued unabated.

This was because the French did not understand the British efforts in the Ohio.

They assumed the British had a grand plan to move into Ohio from Pennsylvania and Virginia in a coordinated effort,

when, in reality, they were fiercely competing with each other. There was also great

divisions and rival companies within the colonies themselves. The French knew none of those,

and tried to act quickly. De Cuesneau, the French governor, ordered that the Canadian militia train every week and

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