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		Struggle For Empire: Early Origins to 1815

		1800 A.D.

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BC 23000 AD 1100 1300 1500 1539 1656 1673 1675 1699 1720 1724 1756 1763 1764 1765 1769 1770 1771 1775 1776 1777 1778 1779 1780 1781 1782 1783 1784 1785 1787 1789 1790 1791 1792 1794 1797 1799 1800 1803 1804 1805 1807 1808 1809 1810 1811 1812 1814 1815 1816 1817		The Mississippi, forced eastward by the muddy Missouri River, begins eating away at the Illinois bank. The river's width grows to a mile and a half at St. Louis. The land that would come to be known as Bloody Island begins to form below Bissell's Point from silt and debris that came from the mouth of the Missouri River. It grew slowly by accretion. The formation of a sandbar (Duncan Island), just slightly south in the river, changed the current and led to the creation of Bloody Island. The existence of Bloody Island, which is 500 yards wide and filled with dense willows and cottonwoods, causes the river to wash away Illinois bottom land that once had been an Indian campsite. The river also intruded on Cahokia Creek and the slough (a body of stagnant water), filling the bed at the southwest comer of Piggott's small village. It turns Cahokia Creek from its former channel past Cahokia, to a new one that empties into the Mississippi further north at St. Louis. Bloody Island becomes a favorite site for cock fights, bare knuckle brawls and duels, since it was away from populated areas and considered to be neutral territory belonging neither to Illinois nor Missouri. Click here to read more about Bloody Island Congress divides Northwest Territory into Indiana and Ohio Territories. Illinois was part of Indiana Territory. French Village is settled by M. Delorme, Nicholas Turgeon, August Trotier and Dennis Valentine.