Detroit

Detroit

Detroit is the most populous city in Michigan. The city is a major cultural center, known for its historical automotive background and its contributions to music, art, architecture and design. Detroit's unique culture, distinctive architecture, and 21st century revitalization and urban renewal efforts have made it an increasingly popular tourist destination in recent years. As early as 11 000 years ago, Paleo-Indian people inhabited areas near Detroit, including a culture known as the Mound-builders. In the 17th century, the area was populated by Huron, Odava, Potavatomi and Iroquois peoples. It was only when the French missionaries and traders bypassed the Iroquois alliance, with whom they were at war, and other Iroquois tribes in the 1630s, that the first Europeans penetrated the region and reached the straits of Detroit. At the beginning of the 18th century, Detroit became an important fur trading post. The city was ceded to the British in 1760, during the French and Indian War. In 1805, Detroit became the capital of the newly created Michigan Territory. After the American Civil War, Detroit went from being a rural merchant to an industrial magnate. With the help of manufacturer Henry Ford, who introduced the assembly line in 1914, Detroit became the automobile capital of the world. Several of the area's notable museums are located in the historic cultural center around Wayne State University and the College for Creative Studies. Among these museums are the Detroit Institute of Art, the Detroit Historical Museum, the Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History, the Detroit Science Center, and the main branch of the Detroit Public Library.