In 1783, the Treaty of Paris was signed and the newly formed United States was awarded Michilimackinac, a trading post on Mackinac Island where Lakes Huron and Michigan connect. The strategic position of Michilimackinac gave the Americans sound control of the upper Great Lakes. Forced into making an urgent decision, Lord Dorchester, then Military Governor of Canada, advised that St. Joseph Island be occupied quickly, fearing that the Americans might lay claim to the island. Lord Dorchester had hoped to compete with and possibly replace Michilimackinac as the hub of the fur trade in the region while keeping Aboriginal allegiance.