 As French influence grew in the region, Great Britain, competing with France for control of North America, came to believe that control of Indiana was important to halt French expansion on the continent.The first European outpost within the present-day boundaries of Indiana was "Tassinong", a French trading post established in 1673 near the Kankakee River.French explorer René-Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle, came to the area in 1679, claiming it for King Louis the XIV of France.