René-Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle: North American Explorer René-Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle (1643-1687) was a French explorer. He was sent by King Louis XIV (14) to travel south from Canada and sail down the Mississippi River to the Gulf of Mexico. He was the first European to travel the length of the Mississippi River (1682). His mission was to explore and establish fur-trade routes along the river. La Salle named the entire Mississippi basin Louisiana, in honor of the King, and claimed it for France on April 9, 1682. He also explored Lake Michigan (1679), Lake Huron, Lake Erie, and Lake Ontario. He tried to start a settlement in the southern Mississippi River Valley, but the venture ended in disaster. Exploring North America: La Salle traveled from France to Quebec, New France (Canada), in late 1667. He was determined to find a water passage to the east through North America. Leaving Montreal in July, 1669, La Salle crossed Lake Ontario, Lake Erie, and other places which
are not documented (he did not return to Montreal until late 1670, and may have traveled down the Ohio or Mississippi River). La Salle made many exploring trips during the years 1671 to 1673. La Salle returned to France in 1677, getting permission form the King to explore the area between Florida, Mexico and New France (Canada). He returned to Canada in 1678 with his friend, Henri de Tonty, and others. In Canada, they constructed a fort on the Niagara River (between Ontario and New York) and built a ship called the Griffon, which they used to explore the Great Lakes. They sailed on August 7, 1679, traveling across Lake Erie and Lake Huron. They traveled across land to Lake Michigan, which they paddled across in canoes. Returning, they discovered that the Griffon was lost, the fort at Niagara had burned down, and many men had deserted their posts, robbing supply stores. Traveling the Length of the Mississippi River: On a 1681 expedition, La Salle and about 40 men again headed to the Mississippi River. They reached the Mississippi River on February 6, 1682, then headed down it in canoes. They built Fort Prud'homme at what is now Memphis, Tennessee, and later reached the Gulf of Mexico on April 9, 1682, where they built a cross. They claimed all the land along the Mississippi River for France. Their return to New France was beset by illness and Indian attacks. Settling Gone Awry: La Salle returned to France in 1683,
but sailed to the New World again in 1684 with four ships, intending to start a colony in the Mississippi River Valley (the king actually wanted him to travel to the Rio Grande to take over Spanish mines, but La Salle lied and told him that the Mississippi was farther north than it is). The expedition lost a vital supply ship en route, and mistakenly landed in Matagorda Bay, near what is now Houston, Texas, where one ship ran aground. La Salle's men shot Indians who took supplies from the wrecked ship, making enemies of the local Indians. One ship returned to France with a disgruntled crew. Stranded in Texas: The French expedition built a fort at the mouth of the Lavaca River, and explored the area. The last remaining ship was wrecked by a drunken pilot in April 1686, stranding the French in Texas. The 20 men traveled up the Lavaca River, trying to locate the Mississippi River so they could follow it north into the French missions in the Great Lakes region. Most of the men in this expedition died, and the 8 survivors returned to the fort in October, 1686. On a second try, La Salle and 17 others set out (25 people remained at the fort); in a few months, a group of five mutineers shot and killed La Salle (near Navasota, Texas) on March 19, 1687. They left his body for the animals to eat. The rest of the expedition made it to Montreal in 1688, but those at the fort were killed by the Karankawa Indians.
The Gulf Coast Expedition: d Iberville Tasked by King Louis XIV and the French Government with building a southern bastion on the Mississippi River and enforcing France s claim on the area they called Louisiana, d Iberville was following the previous exploration of Rene Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle in 1682 when he claimed the territory of Louisiana for France, but failed to find the mouth of the Mississippi from the Gulf of Mexico. D Iberville s mission included finding that passage and blocking the entrance to the Mississippi from rival nations. In October of 1698 d Iberville led a group of four vessels that included two frigates, the Marin and the Badine along with two traversiers (ferries), the Precieuse and the Biscayenne from Brest, France to the Gulf of Mexico after a stop in Saint-Domingue and Florida. When he reached Pensacola he observed the Spanish occupation there. In February of 1699 d Iberville anchored the frigates in the lee of what is now called Ship Island. On the 13th he traveled to the mainland, wading ashore, with proper escort. For the next three months d Iberville led explorations of the region as he traveled east to Pascagoula, 200 miles up the Mississippi River, to Lake Pontchartrain and across the Pearl River and into Bay St. Louis. Native Americans were present on the mainland when d Iberville came ashore. They greeted d Iberville with a belly-rub ceremony. The name they called themselves sounded like BIL-OX-EE to the French and they gave the bay and the area that name. With d Iberville on the expedition was his younger brother, Jean Baptiste Le Moyne, Sieur de Bienville. In late April, 1699 Bienville explored the area now known as D Iberville. When d Iberville explored the same area on the north side of the Biloxi Bay, traveling 12 miles inland, he wrote, I found it very beautiful with pine woods, mixed with trees of other kinds in spots, many prairies, light, sandy soil everywhere; I saw a good many deer. Deer are killed everywhere in the vicinity of the fort. He did not, however find a suitable location for a French Colony. Instead he took the colonists who had traveled with him to the east side of the Biloxi Bay and gave instructions to built a pine log fort, a beach head, named Fort Maurepas before he left in May to return to France for more supplies and reinforcements for a permanent colony. The young soldier, Sauvolle was left in charge of the colony and instructed to continue exploring the area. In France d Iberville was presented with the Cross of the Order of Saint-Louis,
seen in the much-reproduced portrait of him. He was the first Canadian to receive the honor. In January, 1700, d Iberville returned to the beach head from France delivering much needed supplies. He left again in late May for New York and France, selling pelts acquired from trappers in the Mississippi Valley. In 1701 after the sudden death of Sauvolle, Bienville assumed command of the fort. D Iberville arrived in Pensacola in 1702 and ordered the abandonment of Fort Maurapas in December, 1702. In the beginning of 1706 he ruthlessly drove the English out of the island of Nevis (a 36 square mile Island 200 miles south of Puerto Rico). He then traveled to Havana, Cuba to sell some French iron. He died there on board the Juste on July 9, 1706. (Some historians speculate that the American New England coast was the next stop of d Iberville s anti-english crusade.) He had been suffering from some type of illness since 1701. He is buried under the name El General Dom Pedro Berbila at the Church of San Cristobel in Havanna. He was 45 years old. At the time of his death an investigation into his financial exploits and the gain of his military plundering was underway. Though he died a wealthy man, his wife was unable to benefit from the wealth as it was tied up in legal issues during the course of her life.
Hernando De Soto: Explorer Hernando De Soto (1500?-1542) was a Spanish explorer who sailed the Atlantic Ocean and was the first European to explore Florida and the southeastern US. De Soto was born in the Spanish province of Extremadura (near Portugal). In 1524, he went on an expedition to Nicaragua, South America, with Francisco de Cordoba. De Soto sided with Pedro Arias de Ávila (also called Pedrarias Dávila) against Cordoba (who had tried to claim land for himself), and Cordoba was killed. De Soto lived for a while in Nicaragua, prospering by engaging in the slave trade. Francisco Pizarro enlisted de Soto for an expedition to Peru (1531-1532). During this expedition they met and killed Atahualpa, the ruler of the Incas, and conquered the Inca empire. De Soto returned to Spain in 1536, and was granted the rights to conquer Florida and was named governor of Cuba in 1537.
De Soto arrived on the west coast of Florida on May 30, 1539 with 10 ships carrying over 600 soldiers, priests, and explorers. They spent four years searching for gold and silver, exploring the area, and brutally contacting native societies, including the Cherokees, Seminoles, Creeks, Appalachians, and Choctaws. De Soto died during the explorations and was buried on the banks of the Mississippi River in late June, 1542.