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= Sieur de La Salle, also known as Rene-Robert Cavelier La Salle, was a well-known French explorer important to the European settlement of North America. La Salle lived from 1643 to 1687. As a boy, he went to Jesuit schools. Later, in 1666, he set sail for Canada and the New World and became interested in fur trading.

In 1673, La Salle was made commander of Fort Frontenac in Canada. This was the first of many forts that La Salle was a part of during his lifetime.

When La Salle returned to France in 1677, he asked Louis XIV for authorization to explore the western parts of North America known then as New France. At that time, he was awarded a patent to build forts, explore, and trade in that region. King Louis XIV and the people of France liked the idea of taking over more land in North America. As a result, La Salle eventually became the first European to sail down the Mississippi to the Gulf of Mexico.

In 1679 to 1680, La Salle led a group that explored the Great Lakes and helped to set up more French forts in the area. Another well-known French explorer named Henri de Tonti went to Canada with La Salle as his lieutenant. At that time, de Tonti built the Griffin. The Griffin was a famous ship used to sail across the Great Lakes in August of 1679. The trading adventurers sailed on the Griffin to Green Bay. La Salle's exploring led him along the banks of Lake Michigan where he built Fort Miami. Then, he traveled on the Illinois River and built Fort Creve Coeur.

In time, La Salle went back to Fort Frontenac, where he was once a commander of in 1673. While there, La Salle's friend de Tonti was attacked by the Iroquois and forced to leave. La Salle set out to find de Tonti after seeing the abandoned settlement and later found him on Mackinac Island. La Salle, de Tonti, and a small group of explorers then traveled down the Mississippi River arriving at the Gulf of Mexico on April 9, 1682. That is when La Salle took possession of the whole Mississippi River Basin and called it the Louisiana Territory for France. The region was given the name Louisiana to honor King Louis XIV.

Towards the end of his life, La Salle set out to colonize and govern the area between Lake Michigan and the Gulf of Mexico. But, La Salle never completed this journey. Sadly, he was murdered by his own men along the Texas shore.

References:

Rene-Robert Cavelier, sieur de La Salle. (2010). In Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved September 23, 2010, from Encyclopedia Britannica Online: []

Robert Cavelier La Salle, sieur de. The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition. 2008. Retrieved September 23, 2010 from Encyclopedia.com: [[[]://www.google.com/imgres? |[]]][[[]://www.google.com/imgres? |__[]?__ ]]

Retrieved September 24, 2010 [] Retrieved September 24, 2010 __[]__

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Author:Shawn T. Editor:Michael W.