The Merchant John Askin

Furs and Empire at British Michilimackinac

Justin M. Carroll

• Publisher: Michigan State University Press
• Year: 2017
• Print ISBN:
  9781611862614
• eBook ISBN:
  9781628953121
• Topic: History
• Subtopic: Historical Biographies
• Index: History

John Askin, a Scots-Irish migrant to North America, built his fur trade between the years 1758 and 1781 in the Great Lakes region of North America. His experience serves as a   vista from which to view important aspects of the British Empire in North America. The close interrelationship between trade and empire enabled Askin's economic triumphs but also made him vulnerable to the consequences of imperial conflicts and mismanagement. The ephemeral, contested nature of British authority during the 1760s and 1770s created openings for men like Askin to develop a trade of smuggling liquor or to challenge the Hudson's Bay Company's monopoly over the fur trade, and allowed them to boast in front of British officers of having the "Key of Canada" in their pockets. How British officials responded to and even sanctioned such activities demonstrates the vital importance of trade and empire working in concert. Askin's life's work speaks to the collusive nature of the British Empire—its vital need for the North American merchants, officials, and Indigenous communities to establish effective accommodating relationships, transgress boundaries (real or imagined), and reject certain regulations in order to achieve the empire's goals.

Table of contents

• Cover Page
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Dedication
• Contents
• Acknowledgments
• Prologue. I Was Born at Aughnacloy in the North of Ireland in 1739: A Ubiquitous Man, the Great Lakes Fur Trade, and the British Empire
• Chapter One. Pretty Much of a Schemer: Albany, Pontiac’s War, and John Askin’s Bankruptcy, 1758–1764
• Chapter Two. There Have Been Many Who Complain Much against You: Michilimackinac, Fur Trade Reforms, and John Askin’s Commissaryship, 1764–1767
• Chapter Three. Sound as a Roach and as Full of Intrigue: Michilimackinac, the Hudson’s Bay Company, and John Askin’s Fur Trade, 1767–1774
• Chapter Four. One Should Never Give Offence in Trade: Michilimackinac, the American Revolution, and John Askin’s Network of Exchange, 1774–1779
• Chapter Five. The Key of Canada in His Pocket: Michilimackinac, the British Empire, and John Askin’s Banishment, 1779–1781
• Epilogue. A Drink Generally Closes the Scene: Alexander Henry’s Lament and John Askin’s Death
• Notes
• Bibliography
• Index