Essay On La Salle

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La Salle

La Salle, René-Robert Cavelier, Sieur de (1643-1687), French explorer in
North America, who navigated the length of the Mississippi River and claimed the Louisiana region for France.

La Salle was born on November 22, 1643, in Rouen, France, and educated by the Jesuits. In 1666 he immigrated to Canada, was granted land on the
St. Lawrence River, and became a trader. From 1669 to 1670 he explored the region south of Lakes Ontario and Erie, and he later claimed to have discovered the Ohio River in 1671. In the course of his explorations in the wilderness, La Salle became familiar with indigenous languages and traditions. Because of his capabilities, French colonial governor Louis de
Buade, comte de Palluau et de Frontenac, appointed …show more content…

His mission was successful, and he received a patent of nobility.

La Salle subsequently conceived a plan for exploring and trading farther west, and in 1677 he again visited France to secure royal approval of his scheme. He returned with Italian explorer Henri de Tonty, who became his associate. In 1679 he set out on a preliminary expedition, and after establishing forts at the mouth of the Saint Joseph River and along the
Illinois River, in February 1680, he sent a group to explore the upper
Mississippi River. La Salle then returned to Fort Frontenac to procure new supplies and funds. By spring he was able to travel west again, and he and
Tonty proceeded with their party of French and indigenous peoples to the
Mississippi, which they descended to the Gulf of Mexico in 1682, claiming all the land drained by the river for Louis XIV, king of France, and naming the region Louisiana. La Salle subsequently commenced construction of forts in the new territory. When Frontenac was recalled to France later in 1682, however, La Salle's rivals succeeded in turning the new governor against him. Journeying to France in 1683, La Salle made a successful appeal to

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