The site was an early fur-trading post. The French built
(1749) Fort
Rouille there to counteract British influence in the
Niagara country,
but the post was destroyed (1759) to prevent its
occupation by the
British. The British purchased the site from the Native
Americans in
1787 and it became the home of many American Loyalists.
It was chosen
by Sir John Simcoe in 1793 to be the capital of Upper
Canada and was
named York. In the War of 1812 the city was raided twice
by the
Americans, and many buildings were destroyed. In 1834 it
was
incorporated as Toronto. The city was the scene of the
insurrection led
by William Lyon Mackenzie Mackenzie, William Lyon, in
1873.
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