The Upper Lands ( French: Pays d'en Haut ) is an area around the Great Lakes on the American continent, which during the time of French colonization was directly subordinate to the governor of New France .
The term “Upper Lands” was understood to mean a region lying in the upper reaches of the St. Lawrence River west of the lands where immigrants from Europe settled.
As the English and French settlers moved west to consolidate their presence in the region, the French authorities built a number of forts, the main one being Fort Detroit .
In 1717, part of the Upper Lands, known as the “ Illinois Land, ” was transferred to the Louisiana colony.
In 1763, under the terms of the Paris Peace Treaty, all French possessions in North America (with the exception of the islands of Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Canada) passed to Great Britain and Spain.