Table of Contents
Why did La Salle go to the Mississippi river?
La Salle secured a contract for the colonization of lower Louisiana from Louis XIV in 1683. The plan was to reach the Mississippi by sea and secure a permanent settlement upriver that would provide the French with a strategic advantage over Spanish interests throughout the Gulf of Mexico.
When did La Salle claimed the whole Mississippi River?
After many vicissitudes, La Salle and Tonty succeeded in canoeing down the Mississippi and reached the Gulf of Mexico. There, on April 9, 1682, the explorer proclaimed the whole Mississippi basin for France and named it Louisiana.
What did La Salle use for the Mississippi river?
By August 1679, La Salle’s men had constructed a fort on the Niagara River and built the ship Le Griffon for the journey down the Mississippi.
Who found the Mississippi river for the French?
Rene-Robert Cavelier de La Salle
French explorer, Rene-Robert Cavelier de La Salle, sailed from the Great Lakes up the St. Lawrence River, through the Atlantic Ocean and Gulf of Mexico, to the mouth of the Mississippi River in 1682. There he raised a French flag and claimed all the lands drained by the Mississippi for France.
Why did the French want Louisiana?
The French saw the move as an inducement designed to persuade the Spanish to end the Seven-Years War. Ultimately, they feared the English would win the conflict, and French influence over New Orleans and the surrounding territory would come to an inglorious end.
When did Robert Cavelier de la Salle reach the Mississippi River?
On April 7, 1682, French explorer René-Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle reached the mouth of the Mississippi river at the end of his great expedition, claiming the region watered by the Mississippi and its tributaries for France, and naming it Louisiana after King Louis XIV.
When did Louis XIV give Louisiana to La Salle?
On April 9, 1682, at the western mouth of the Mississippi River (now Venice, LA), La Salle solemnly took possession of the entire Mississippi Valley for France, naming the territory Louisiane after King Louis XIV.
Who was the leader of the La Salle expedition?
La Salle Expedition. René Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle, sailed from Rochefort, France, on August 1, 1684, to seek the mouth of the Mississippi River by sea.
Who was the notary on the La Salle expedition?
Jacques de La Metairie was a royal notary at Fort Frontenac, New France, (now Kingston, Ontario) acting under a royal commission, granted in 1678. Notary Metairie was chosen to accompany the famous La Salle expedition, down the Colbert ( Mississippi ) River, to the Gulf of Mexico.