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La Salle was born in Rouen and was briefly a member of the Jesuit religious order. In 1666, La Salle was granted land in La Chine in New France, where he settled. He led his first expedition in 1669. His travels on this occasion are unclear; he may have reached the Ohio River, but not the Mississippi, which Louis JolietLouis Joliet also known Louis Jolliet ( September 21, 1645 May 1700), was a Canadian explorer born in Quebec who is important for his discoveries in North America. Jolliet, along with Jacques Marquette were the first white men to map the Mississippi River discovered in 1672. In 1674, he established Fort FrontenacFort Frontenac was the historic nucleus of the modern city of Kingston, Ontario. Located near the head of the Saint Lawrence River, it was the major Canadian colonial fort at the eastern end of Lake Ontario. First France and then Great Britain controlled on Lake OntarioWolcott, New York Lake Ontario bounded on the north by Ontario and on the south by Ontario's Niagara Peninsula and by New York State, is one of the five Great Lakes of North America. The name of the lake is an Iroquois word meaning either "beautiful lake" as part of a fur tradeThe fur trade was a huge part in the early economic development of North America. European traders and trappers explored the continent and established relationships with local Native American communities in order to obtain the best pelts. Beaver was espec venture. The fort was named for La Salle's patron, Louis de Baude Frontenac, governor of New France. La Salle then travelled to France that year to establish his claim and procure royal support. With Frontenac's influence, he received not only a fur trade concession, with permission to establish frontier forts, but also a title of nobility.
In 1678, La Salle set sail on Tonty's Le Griffon, the first shipA ship like a boat, is a vehicle designed for passage or transportation by water. A ship usually has sufficient size to carry its own boats, such as lifeboats, dinghies, or runabouts. A rule of thumb saying (though it doesn't always apply) goes: "a boat c to navigate the Great Lakes, and sailed up Lake ErieLeamington, Ontario Lake Erie is one of the five large freshwater Great Lakes in North America, the world's largest such lakes. Lake Erie itself is the 13th largest natural lake, if the Caspian and Aral Seas are counted. It has a surface area of 24,000 km to Lake HuronLake Huron is one of the five Great Lakes of eastern North America, and separates Michigan from Ontario. Georgian Bay, the easternmost part of Lake Huron, is entirely within Canada. Lake Huron is separated from Lake Michigan, which lies at the same level, and then down Lake Michigan. On November 1, he built a fort at the mouth of the St. Joseph River in present day Michigan and waited for a party led by Henri de Tonty , who had crossed the peninsula on foot. Tonty arrived on November 20 and on December 3 the entire party set off up the St. Joseph, which they followed until they reached a portage to the Kankakee River. They followed the Kankakee to the Illinois River, where they established Fort Crevecoeur . LaSalle then set off on foot for Fort Frontenac for supplies. While he was gone, Louis Hennepin followed the Illinois River to its junction with the Mississippi, but was captured by a Sioux war-party and carried off to Minnesota. The soldiers at the fort mutineed, destroyed the fort, and exiled Tonty, whom La Salle had left in charge. La Salle captured the mutineers on Lake Ontario and eventually found Tonty at Mackinaw.
La Salle canoed down the Mississippi River in 1682, naming the Mississippi basin Louisiana in honour of Louis XIV. In 1683, on his return voyage, he established Fort Saint Louis at Starved Rock on the Illinois River, to replace Fort Crevecoeur. Tonty was to command the fort while La Salle returned again to France.
La Salle returned with a large expedition designed to establish a French colony on the Gulf of Mexico at the mouth of the Mississippi River. They left France in 1684 with 4 ships and 300 colonists. The expedition was plagued by pirates, hostile Indians, and poor navigation. One ship was lost to pirates in the West Indies, a second sank in the inlets of Matagorda Bay, where a third ran aground. They set up Fort Saint Louis , near Victoria, Texas. La Salle led a group eastward on foot on three occasions to try to locate the Mississippi. During the last such search his followers mutinied and he was murdered near Navasota, Texas. The colony lasted only until 1688, when local Indians massacred the 20 remaining adults and took 5 children as captives.
The LaSalle automobile brand and many places were named in his honor (see La Salle for a list of places, most of which were named after him).
See also: French colonization of the Americas.