Up until the mid 1700's, the Chicago area was a swamp inhabited by primitive trolls. The Chicago river at the time flowed from Lake Michigan into what would become the downtown area, making any kind of permanent settlement difficult. This changed when Louis Joliet arrived with a squadron of French soldiers, claiming the region in the name of France and forcing the trolls to reverse the flow of the river through a series of canal projects. In the process, they built the first Navy Pier. By 1782, French vessels were bringing cloth and venereal disease to the natives, along with civilization.