Signing of the Treaty of Fort Niagara

Background. Fort Niagara was originally constructed by New France to protect its interests in North America, specifically to control access between the Niagara River and Lake Ontario. In 1755, the French expanded the fort to its present size in response to the armed confrontation between French and British colonial interests, which was part of the Seven Years' War in Europe.

Subsequent Control. The British controlled the fort for thirty-seven years before handing it over to the Americans after the Revolutionary War. Although the British ceded the fort to the United States after the Treaty of Paris in 1783, the region remained effectively under British control for thirteen years until American forces occupied it in 1796.