After the Treaty of Utrecht (1713), which stripped New France of the territories of Newfoundland, Acadia and Hudson Bay, the French sought access to the furs in the North and the West. A portage area and a trading centre existed in the Niagara region, between the extension of the St. Lawrence River and Lake Ontario, and Lake Erie toward the Detroit post. The Iroquois, who controlled it, continued to respect the neutrality agreement signed in Montréal in 1701. Having already given the English permission to build Fort Oswego in 1725, they allowed the French to establish a settlement nearby. To consolidate their good relationship with the Iroquois, the Governor General and the Intendant decided to offer them high-quality goods in exchange for their pelts. A trading post was established at Niagara in 1726-1727. The goal was to eliminate the need of the Aboriginal peoples to have to travel to Montréal and to remove the temptation to sell their furs in Albany. This post also had to protect the colony from enemy attack.