La Salle Enters Chickasaw Territory

The first documented interaction between Chickasaws and Europeans since de Soto

La Salle was the first European that the Chickasaws came directly in contact with since their encounter with de Soto in 1540.

Trade Relationship Grows

The movement of goods between Carolina traders and the Chickasaws increase

The English in the Carolina colony were aware of the French claims and explorations in the Mississippi Valley, and eagerly pushed west.

Tonti's Diplomatic Mission

A short-lived peace between the French and Chickasaws

French-Canadian leader Pierre Le Moyne d'lberville sent trusted associate Henri de Tonti to the Chickasaw leaders.

The French Build on Natchez Soil

A move that would lead to four wars with the French and their Choctaw allies

The Chickasaws had allied with England, while the Choctaws sided with France.

Patrolling the Frontier

Trading with their British allies and patrolling against the French

By the 1720s, most Chickasaws traded exclusively with English merchants, who provided better quality goods than the French.

Chickasaw World View

A map that affirmed the Squirrel King's credibility as a frontiersman and asset to the British

• History Timeline

Squirrel King (or Fani Minko') presented a deerskin map to Governor Nicholson on September 14, 1723 at Savannah Town, South Carolina.

The Natchez Rebellion

The Natchez would no longer abide the acts of the French

• Nations Collide

The French, along with their Choctaw allies, besieged the Natchez in forts built near the site of the Grand Village of the Natchez.

The French Plan to Crush the Chickasaws

The Chickasaws' relationship with the Natchez and British, and their strategic location irked the French

The French coveted Natchez lands and were angered by the attack on Fort Rosalie.

The Battle of Ogoula Tchetoka

D'Arteguiette attacks, captures and occupies Ogoula Tchetoka

On February 22, Pierre D'Arteguiette departed Fort De Chartres for the Prudhomme Bluffs.

The Battle of Hikki'ya' (Ackia)

A striking Chickasaw defeat over Bienville and his army

• History Timeline

At this point Bienville does not know about D'Arteguiette's defeat, nor does he send a scouting party to find him.

French and Indian War (Seven Years' War)

An epic international struggle for control of the Americas

• Event

The end of the war and the triumph of England, meant the Chickasaw had survived France's attempt to destroy them.