Louisiana Early Explorers

I. Early Exploration• European nations began sending

explorers to the New World in hopes of also finding riches.

A. Hernando De Soto1. De Soto and about 600 men landed in Florida to search

for gold. 2. They wandered across the southeastern United States3. Treated Indians brutally as they hunted for riches. 4. he discovered the Mississippi River, crossed into

Arkansas, discovered Hot Springs, and then traveled down the Ouachita River.

5. De Soto died from fever in southeast Arkansas 6. Few of his men survived and they had no gold or riches7. Europeans did not send another expedition for over 100

years.

De Soto’s route

Answers for Foldable- DeSoto1. Gold, 15412. Spanish

3. A. Started in Florida, went through Georgia, down through Alabama, up Mississippi, into Arkansas, down to Louisiana to Texas and back to Louisiana where he discovered the Mississippi River.

b. Treated Indians with cruelty.

4. He died of fever, they put it in the log and sunk him to the bottom of the river

5. 600 – about half (300)

6. One of the first European explorers to explore Louisiana – Treated Indians brutally.

II. La Salle Claims Louisiane

• Late 1600s, Spain, England, and France had established colonies in North America

• Spain had colonies in Texas and Mexico• English were establishing colonies along

the Atlantic seaboard• France had created New France in

Canada

La Salle’s claims

A. La Salle, the Opportunist

1. French explorers Marquette and Joliet discovered the upper Mississppi River which exploring the Great Lakes region.

2. La Salle realized this was the river De Soto had found

3. He wanted France to establish a colony at the mouth of the River

4. He thought the Gulf Coast would be an ideal location for a French naval base

B. Louisiane

1. Lower Mississippi had to be explored before a colony could be established.

2. King Louis XIV of France gave La Salle permission to lead an exploration party down the river.

3. Traveled from Canada to the Gulf in two months

4. He declared that France owned the land drained by the Mississippi River and would be known as Louisiane “Louis’s land”

C. Fort Louis

1. La Salle returned to France to gather settlers, supplies, and ships to set up a Mississippi colony

2. On his return trip he missed the mouth of the River and ended up lost in Texas.

3. he and his mean built Fort Louis, but starvation and hostile Indians took their toll

4. He was killed by his own men in East Texas

Answers for Foldable – LaSalle

1. Claim it and colonize the area so the English would not have access to Mississippi River and eventually invade Canada

2. King Louis XVI

3. All land drained by Mississippi River, France, Placed a Cross in the ground and had a ceremony, 1682

Answers for Foldable – LaSalle

4. French

5. Murdered by his own people because they couldn’t trust him and felt he betrayed them by making false promises.

6. He claimed Louisiane for the French.

III. Pierre Le Moyne, Sieur de Iberville

• France and England were enemies• France learned the English were planning

on building a colony at the mouth of the river

• France was worried about the English invading Canada by traveling up the River

• It became a race for control of the Mississippi River

A. Iberville Comes to Louisiane1. French Minister Pontchartrain choose Sieur

de Iberville to lead the expedition

2. Iberville and his brother Bienville arrived in the Gulf of Mexico and anchored at Ship Island

B. Finding the Mississippi

1. They explored the mainland and met Biloxi Indians

2. Searched for and found the Mississippi River on March 3—Mardi Gras

**What’s in a Name? (Read more about it on page 101)

C. Baton Rouge and Pontchartrain

1. Iberville and some friendly Indian guides found a red pole sticking out of the ground.

2. Iberville called it baton rouge or “red stick” 3. Iberville and his guides also found a shortcut to the

Gulf and discovered the largest lake he had ever seen –Pontchartrain after his superior, Count Pontchartrain

4. He named the smaller lake after his son—Count Maurepas.

5. They established Fort Maurepas, the first French settlement in Louisiane

6. He had to return to France twice for supplies

D. English Turn

1. Bienville enter the Mississippi River and spotted a large English ship anchored in the river

2. Bienville lied and told them it was too late to start a colony because France had already established one and French troop were nearby

3. He claimed the French would attach if they did not leave.

4. The English turned the ship around and this is how it got it’s name—English Turn

E. Fort de la Boulaye1. Bienville established this fort on land 50

miles upstream from the mouth to the Mississippi

F. Fort Louis de la Mobile and Dauphin Island

1. Fort Louis de la Mobile became the colony’s capital, and most of the settlers moved there

2. Dauphin Island was another post built for the French

Early Louisiana settlements

The Early Colonists

1. Major problems was the small population

2. Population was made up of soldiers, sailors, explorers, voyageurs, and 13 Caribbean pirates.

3. Voyageurs made their living paddling canoe, pirogues, and other boats for explorers and traders.

Foldable Answers – Ibberville

1. Because they heard the English were coming.

2. French Minister Pontchartrain – 1699

3. Baton Rouge – Red Stick Lake Ponchartrain after French Minister who sent LaSalle.

Answers for Foldable

4. First name is the family name, and the second is the noble title. FYI: Sieur – Place or regionRobert Cavelier de Sieur de LaSalle.

5. Ships Island, Biloxi Indians

6. LaSalle and Iberville both French Iberville and Desoto from different countries