The Merchant John Askin

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.

“"Although John Askin was one of the most prominent entrepreneurs of the period of British control of the Great Lakes (1760-1796), he has never been the subject of a comprehensive biography. Carroll illuminates the sometimes shadowy figure of Askin and clearly shows how he and his numerous business and family interests at Michilimackinac and later at Detroit influenced trade in the northern Great Lakes--and how it in turn affected him. This is an eminently readable account of a giant of Michigan's first major industry." -- Brian Leigh Dunnigan , Associate Director and Curator of Maps, William L. Clements Library, University of Michigan ”

2018 Midwest Book Award Finalist, Biography — 2018 Midwest Book Award Finalist, Biography

Justin M. Carroll is an Assistant Professor of American History at Indiana University East.

This item is eligible for free returns within 30 days of delivery. See our returns policy for further details.