Ironically the merchant houses based in Saint-Louis were in this period still hesitant about direct control of the hinterlands, preferring to work through their own trade networks and the series of French military trading posts.
Ironisnya rumah-rumah pedagang yang berbasis di Saint-Louis pada periode ini masih ragu-ragu tentang kontrol langsung dari pedalaman, lebih memilih untuk bekerja melalui jaringan perdagangan mereka sendiri dan serangkaian pos perdagangan militer Prancis.