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Maine's French & Indian Wars
by Mike Dekker
In the fifth of a series of lectures sponsored Old Fort Western and the Maine Bicentennial Commission, Mike Dekker presents “Maine’s French and Indian Wars”. The lecture filmed by CTV-7 can be viewed for free on CTV-7 and from the City of Augusta Website, Fort Western’s Website and Fort Western’s Facebook Page.
Between 1675 and 1760 the Maine frontier was ravaged by a series of six wars involving the native people and their English-speaking neighbors. Explore the history of this eighty-year conflict with historic interpreter, Mike Dekker. Mike is the author of the book The French and Indian Wars in Maine, which uncovers this tragic and largely forgotten story. In 2017 Mike participated in an international conference held at Bowdoin College dedicated to the history and culture of the Scots-Irish. The paper Mike presented at the conference, Resistance and Reprisal: The Scots-Irish of Mid-Coast Maine during the French and Indian War has been published in the book 1718-2018 Reflections on 300 Years of the Scots Irish in Maine.
Growing up and residing in Mid Coast Maine, Mike Dekker has developed a life-long passion for the region’s past. An avid student of early American history and material culture, he presents educational programs for historical societies, museums, historic sites, schools and the public. In addition to talks and lectures regarding forgotten aspects of Maine’s history, he often engages the public through living history displays. Using period documents, images and historically accurate items, Mike endeavors to bring to life the stories of soldiers, farmers and fishermen on the Maine frontier during the 17th and 18th centuries.