Editing Fort Frontenac (section)

===Establishment and early use===
The intent of Fort Frontenac was to control the lucrative [[North American fur trade|fur trade]] in the [[Great Lakes Basin]] to the west and the [[Canadian Shield]] to the north. It was one of many French outposts that would be established throughout the [[Great Lakes]] and upper [[Mississippi River|Mississippi]] regions. The fort was meant to be a bulwark against the English who were competing with the French for control of the fur trade. By constructing the trading post the French could encourage trade with the [[Iroquois]], who were traditionally a threat to the French because of their alliance with the English. Another function of the fort was the provision of supplies and reinforcements to other French installations on the Great Lakes and in the [[Ohio Valley]] to the south.
[[Image:La Salle Fort Frontenac.jpg|left|upright|thumb|Depiction of [[René-Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle|Robert de La Salle]] inspecting the construction of Fort Frontenac, 1676.]]
Explorer [[René Robert Cavalier de La Salle]] was ordered by governor [[Daniel de Rémy de Courcelle]] to select a location for a fort. He selected the strategic junction of [[Lake Ontario]], the [[Cataraqui River]], and the [[St. Lawrence River]]. Governor [[Louis de Buade de Frontenac]], de Courcelle's successor, was concerned about further Iroquois threats, and endorsed La Salle's proposal. Governor Frontenac and his close associates also hoped to personally benefit from building the fort by controlling trade.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.carf.info/kingston-past/fort-frontenac |publisher=Cataraqui Archaeological Research Foundation |title=Fort Frontenac |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140815111047/http://www.carf.info/kingston-past/fort-frontenac |archive-date=August 15, 2014 |access-date=2017-07-09}}</ref><ref>Harris 1987, p. 87</ref> Frontenac, along with his entourage, journeyed up the St. Lawrence to the fort's future site where he met leaders of the [[Five Nations of the Iroquois]] on July 12, 1673 to encourage them to trade with the French, and to begin the fort's construction. The fort, which was constructed of wood surrounded by a wooden [[stockade]] consisting of sharpened poles, was completed within six days.<ref>Mika 1987, pp. 9–12</ref><ref>Osborne 2011, p. 9.</ref> La Salle administered the fort and built storage buildings and dwellings, brought in domestic animals and ensured some land outside the fort was cultivated with the aim of attracting settlers.<ref>Mika 1987, p. 9</ref>

The fort was sited to protect a small sheltered bay (the "cannotage")<ref>Osborne 2011, p. 151.</ref> that the French could use as a harbour for large lake-going boats. Unlike the [[Ottawa River]] fur trade route into the interior, which was only accessible by [[canoe]]s, larger vessels could easily navigate the lower lakes. The cost of transporting goods such as furs, trade items, and supplies through at least the lower Great Lakes would be reduced.<ref>[https://archive.org/stream/historickingston03kinguoft#page/n7/mode/2up The History of the Port of Kingston. ''Historic Kingston''. Kingston Historical Society. 1954. pp. 3–4.] Retrieved 2010-02-02</ref>
[[File:The expedition leaving fort frontenac on lake ontario.PNG|thumb|A painting by [[George Catlin]] of an expedition departing from Fort Frontenac, November 1678]]
La Salle was granted [[Seigneurial system of New France|seigneurial]] privileges in the vicinity of the fort. In return for these privileges, La Salle was obliged to reimburse Frontenac for expenses related to building the fort, keep 20 workers onsite for two years, and maintain the fort. In 1675, La Salle rebuilt the structure. Stone [[bastions]] and a stone wall were constructed to strengthen the fort and much of the wooden [[pallisade]] was rebuilt. He was also required to attract settlers and meet their spiritual needs by building a chapel and establishing a [[mission (Christianity)|mission]] with one or two [[Recollet]] priests.<ref>Armstrong 1973, pp. 15, 16</ref> A description of the fort written in the 17th century mentions that:

{{Quote|Three quarters of it are of masonry or hardstone, the wall is three feet thick and twelve high. There is one place where it is only four feet, not being completed. The remainder is closed in with stakes. There is inside a house of squared logs, a hundred feet long. There is also a blacksmith's shop a guardhouse, a house for the officers, a well, and a cow-house. The ditches are fifteen feet wide. There is a good amount of land cleared and sown around about, in which a hundred paces away or almost there is a barn for storing the harvest. There are quite near the fort several French houses, an Iroquois village, a convent and a Recollet church.<ref>Finnigan 1976, p. 38.</ref>}}

La Salle used Fort Frontenac as a convenient base for his explorations into the interior of North America.