Mississippi Land Company facts for kids
The Mississippi Land Company was a group of people who came together in 1763. They wanted to buy and sell large areas of land in North America. This happened right after the British won the French and Indian War (1754–1763).
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What Was the Mississippi Land Company?
The Mississippi Land Company was a business created to get land grants. A land grant is like a special permission from the government to own a large piece of land. The company was interested in a huge area that used to be called New France. This land stretched between the Appalachian Mountains and the Mississippi River. France had given this land to Britain after the war.
Who Started the Company?
Many important people from the British colony of Virginia helped start the Mississippi Land Company. One of the most famous founders was George Washington, who later became the first president of the United States. Other founders included his brother, John Augustine Washington, along with Richard Henry Lee, Arthur Lee, and William Fitzhugh.
What Did They Hope to Do?
The company had a big dream: they wanted to create a brand new colony in the Mississippi Valley. To do this, they asked the British King (also known as the Crown) for a huge amount of land. They wanted about 2.5 million acres (which is about 10,000 square kilometers). This land is now part of the states of Illinois, Kentucky, and Tennessee. It also included the area where the Ohio River joins the Mississippi River.
Why Did the Company Not Succeed?
The timing for the Mississippi Land Company was not good. Soon after they formed, the British government made an important rule called the Royal Proclamation of 1763. This rule temporarily stopped people from moving west and claiming new lands. The British wanted to avoid conflicts with Native American tribes after the war.
Even though the boundary line for settlement was moved further west in the years that followed, the Mississippi Land Company never received the land they wanted. Because they couldn't get the land, the company stopped operating around 1770.
