The French wanted the rights to use the river system to gain access to both the Mississippi and trade contacts with tribes to the west.

[4]: 218  The Fox unsuccessfully sought to establish themselves as middlemen between the French and the Sioux, one of their two traditional enemies, the other being the Ojibwas (Chippewas) in northern Wisconsin.

The Iroquoian wars brought fear and urgency for the French to attempt to save what was left of their trade alliances.

[5]: 143  Their alliances were in jeopardy, and also, in 1697 the western posts were closed as a result of the termination by Louis XIV of the fur trade west of Montreal.

[4]: 218  Historian Richard White illustrates central Wisconsin at the end of the seventeenth century as "a vast refugee center, its situation constantly changing, nations socializing, cooperating, feuding, fighting, constantly adjusting their strategies to shift in French trading policy, which was always the dominant reality.

Ottawa and Huron peoples established villages in the area, soon joined by the Potawatomi, Miamis, and Ojibwa.

[1]: 97  The Wisconsin tribes (Fox, Sauk, Mascouten, Kickapoo and Winnebago), with the intention of dominating the post, prevented the French from having direct trade access to the Sioux.

[4]: 218 By the end of the siege and pursuit, around 1,000 Fox and Mascouten men, women and children were killed (including many of the captives).

For the next four years, the French invested a lot of money and, with their allies, descended on Fox villages with an extreme advantage.

[4]: 218  By the summer of 1730, the Fox population was weakening and continued to be attacked until the Sauk finally granted them sanctuary.

The Sauk and Fox fought off the French with the help of western Indians, who were aware of Beauharnois' plan for decimation.

These ties continued to be significant as late as the War of 1812, when many Sauk and Fox fought on the side of British North America.

Periods of war slowed down the production of fur by the natives and New France was in no position to lose any more money that had already been spent elsewhere.

[8]: 74  These relationships were vital to French economic success, but this also bound them to act as diplomatic partners, becoming embroiled in conflicts between Native groups as part of their trade agreements.

By accepting these slaves, French colonists had symbolically acknowledged their enmity against the Fox, implicitly committing military support to their allies in future disputes.

[9]: 22–23  "If this amnesty for slaves is not reached, and if the Fox do not maintain their promises for peace and "take up the hatchet anew, it will be necessary to reduce them by armed forces of both colonies acting in concert.

"[2]: 66 Yet, long after the conflicts, Fox slaves worked in domestic service, unskilled labour and fieldwork, among other tasks throughout New France.

[11]: 171  By the end of the Second Fox War, France had lost a trading partner, and a certain amount of economic influence.

[12]: 280  This lack of control stemmed from the political nature of the slave trade and the adeptness at which Illinois natives had used it to anger the Fox and lock the French into alliances.