Rene-Robert de LaSalle was
important because of his exploration of the Mississippi
River in North America. He was the first European to sail
down the Mississippi to the Gulf of Mexico. He claimed
the Mississippi River Basin, which he called the
Louisiana Territory, for France. He is sometimes called
"the Father of the Louisiana Territory."
He was born in France on November
24, 1643. He went to Jesuit schools. When he was 23, he
set sail for Canada, with plans to be a farmer. However,
La Salle became interested in fur trading and set up a
fur trading post instead.
He became friendly with the
Iroquois Indians, and learned from them of a great river
which led to a sea. He became convinced that this was the
great water route that would lead to Asia and make
trading with the Far East easier. He decided he would try
to find that trade route.
In 1669 he sold his land and spent
two years exploring. He went up the St. Lawrence River to
Lake Ontario, and probably to the Ohio River region after
that, though we're not really sure because the records of
this part of his trip were lost. We do know that he
didn't find what he was looking for and that he returned
to Canada.
In 1677 he had grown bored with fur
trading and asked Louis XIV for authorization to explore
the western parts of New France. France was very
interested in taking over more of North America. In
1679-80, LaSalle led a group that explored the Great
Lakes and helped to establish French forts in the
area.
In 1682, LaSalle traveled down the
Illinois River to the Mississippi and continued all the
way south to the Gulf of Mexico. On April 9, 1682 La
Salle claimed all of the Mississippi River Basin for
France. That was an enormous amount of land because it
included all the rivers and streams that feed into the
Mississippi, and all of the land between. It includes
much of the western part of North America. He named this
area Louisiana in honor of the king. Later, in 1803,
France sold this land to the United States, and that led
to the explorations of Lewis
and Clark and then the
westward expansion of America.
From 1684 to 1687, LaSalle led an
expedition to further explore the southern end of the
Mississippi River and the Gulf of Mexico. This expedition
was full of problems. LaSalle didn't get along with other
leaders. He became very sick. Many of his men were
unhappy and deserted the expedition. On March 20, 1687 La
Salle was assassinated in Texas by three of his own men.
It was a sad end for an important
explorer.
