Detroit (United Great Lakes)

Detroit (French: Détroit) is the state capital of Michigan. In January 2016, Detroit had an estimated population of 2,820,000 making it the second most populous city in United Great Lakes. The metropolitan area, known as Metro Detroit, is home to 3.1 million people and lies at the heart of the Great Lakes Megalopolis area, with around 60 million people. Today, Detroit is the fifth largest city in North America.

Detroit was founded on July 24, 1701 by the French explorer and adventurer Antoine de la Mothe Cadillac. During the 19th century, it became an important automobile industrial hub at the center of the Great Lakes.

History
The first indians around the area were Iroquoian tribes and they used to live in the area before Europeans. First Europeans penetrated into the region were French explorers, missionaries and traders. The city was named by French colonists, referring to the Detroit River.

European settlement
Detroit was founded on July 24, 1701 by the French explorer and adventurer Antoine de la Mothe Cadillac and it was merged to New France. Detroit (Fort Détroit) was used as one small seaport, but it expanded into one of the largest cities in the New France. The region grew based on the lucrative fur trade, in which numerous Native American people had important roles. Detroit's city flag reflects its French colonial heritage.

During the French and Indian War (1754–63), the North American front of the Seven Years' War between Britain and France, British troops gained control of the settlement in 1760 and they shortened the name to Detroit. Several Native American tribes launched Pontiac's Rebellion (1763), and conducted a siege of Fort Detroit, but failed to capture it. Detroit and several other French territories were ceded to Britain.

In 1805, fire destroyed most of the Detroit settlement, which consisted mostly of wooden buildings. A river warehouse and brick chimneys of the former wooden homes were the sole structures to survive. Detroit was used as a main city in Great Lakes colonies. It grew one of the biggest cities in the area with Toronto. Following the American Revolutions, other Great Lakes sub-colonies became independent. Detroit belonged to sub-colony of Michigan, so when it became independent, it became the capital city of Michigan.

Unification and 20th century
When Detroit was capital of Republic of Michigan, it suffered because financial reasons. In fact, other Great Lakes colonies had also a lot of financial problems. This was one of the reasons why Great Lakes colonies united into a single country. When this finally happened, leaders of the colonies decided to make Detroit capital city, because it had good trading status and it was the largest metropolitan city in the country. Leaders also decided to make Detroit a federal district for equality.

In 1903, Henry Ford founded the Ford Motor Company. Ford's manufacturing established Detroit's status in the early 20th century as the world's automotive capital. The growth of the auto industry was reflected by changes in businesses throughout the United Great Lakes, with the development of garages to service vehicles and gas stations, as well as factories for parts and tires.

The population of Detroit grew rapidly. In a hundred years, population of Detroit had grown from 9,000 town to one million metropolis. Detroit developed much; factories used the latest technologies, Detroit Transit Authority opened a subway system in 1960. On 1 January 2018, Toronto became the capital city of United Great Lakes, and Detroit became the state capital of Michigan.

Music
Live music has been a prominent feature of Detroit's nightlife since the late 1940s. The metropolitan area has many nationally prominent live music venues and festivals such as the Detroit International Jazz Festival, the Detroit Electronic Music Festival and the hip-hop Summer Jamz festival.

In the 1940s, Detroiter blues artist John Lee Hooker became a long-term resident in the city's southwest Delray neighborhood. Hooker, among other important blues musicians migrated from his home in Mississippi bringing the Delta blues to northern cities like Detroit.

In April 2016, Detroit was chosen to host Mappervision Song Contest IX, when United Great Lakes won the previous edition of Mappervision Song Contest. The host venue were Joe Louis Arena and the hosts were John Anderson and Katy Lewis. It was one of the biggest events in Detroit's history.

Sports
The venue of Formula Mappers Season 2 in Detroit International Circuit is now hosting for the final race in February 26 2017.

Airports
The Federal District of of Detroit has two airports; Detroit International Airport and Windsor Airport. Detroit International Airport is the second busiest airport in United Great Lakes and is a secondary hub for flag carrier airline, Lakes Air. Recently renovated, the airport is located outside of the city, in a town called Romulus. The Airport has railway (RES) access to Hart Plaza, in the middle of the Detroit.

Transit systems
Detroit Metro is a subway system in Detroit and it has four lines with 25 stations. It's owned by Detroit Transit Authority (DTA) and it's the first subway system in the country. The system contains over 170 kilometers of routes.

Growing capital needed a new and simple public transport system, so Detroit Transit Authority proposed to build a subway system. City Council of Detroit accepted the proposition and the first line was constructed between 1955-1960. It went from Hart Plaza to Cass Corridor and it became most used transportation system in the city. The System uses modern DM500 trains, which are built and operated by DTA. The busiest stations of the system are Hart Plaza and Campus Martius Park.

Detroit Metro is connected to the RES (Regional Express System) which is a railway system in Federal District of Detroit. It was constructed in 1985 because the busy international airport needed straight connection to the heart of the city. The railway line between Airport and Downtown has six stations. Today, RES is the busiest railway network in the whole country and fourth in North America.