René-Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle
French explorer who claimed the Mississippi basin for France.
René-Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle (November 22, 1643 – March 19, 1687), was a French explorer and fur trader who worked in North America. He traveled through the Great Lakes region of what is now the United States and Canada, as well as the Mississippi River. His most famous achievement came in 1682, when he paddled a canoe down the lower Mississippi from where the Illinois River meets it all the way to the Gulf of Mexico. On April 9 of that year, he claimed the entire Mississippi River basin for France, naming it La Louisiane in honor of Saint Louis and King Louis XIV. One source says that “he acquired for France the most fertile half of the North American continent.” A later expedition in 1684, which went badly, took him to the Gulf coast of Mexico (in what is now the U.S. state of Texas). That journey later gave the United States a potential claim to Texas when it bought the Louisiana Territory from France in 1803. La Salle was killed during that expedition. Although Jacques Marquette and Louis Jolliet had traveled the upper Mississippi before him in 1673–74, La Salle extended exploration—and France’s claims—all the way to the river’s mouth. However, existing historical evidence does not show that La Salle ever reached the Ohio or Allegheny Valley.
La Salle was born on November 22, 1643, into a comfortable family in Rouen, France, in the parish of Saint-Herbland. His parents were Jean Cavelier and Catherine Geest. His older brother, also named Jean Cavelier, became a Sulpician priest. As a child, La Salle enjoyed science and nature. In his teens, he studied with the Jesuits and became a member after taking initial vows in 1660. Because joining the Jesuits required him to give up his inheritance from his father, he was nearly penniless when he traveled to North America as a would-be colonist. He sailed for New France in the spring of 1666. His brother Jean had moved there the year before. At La Salle’s request, on March 27, 1667—after he was already in Canada—he was released from the Jesuit order, citing “moral weaknesses.”
La Salle was granted a seigneurie on land at the western end of Montreal Island, which became known as Lachine. He quickly began issuing land grants, setting up a village, and learning the languages of the local Iroquois tribes.
The title “Sieur de La Salle” is French, roughly meaning “Lord of the manor of La Salle.” “Sieur” is
- born
- November 22, 1643, Rouen, France
- died
- March 19, 1687, Gulf coast of Mexico (present-day Texas)
- field
- Exploration, fur trade
- nationality
- French
- known_for
- Claiming the Mississippi River basin for France in 1682
Lore & Background
Robert Cavelier was born into a comfortably well-off family in Rouen, France. In his teens, he studied with the Jesuit religious order and became a member after taking initial vows in 1660. Required to reject his father's legacy when he joined the Jesuits, La Salle was nearly destitute when he traveled as a prospective colonist to North America, sailing for New France in the spring of 1666. At his request on March 27, 1667, after he was in Canada, he was released from the Society of Jesus after citing 'moral weaknesses'. La Salle was granted a seigneurie on land at the western end of the Island of Montreal, which became known as Lachine. He took the title Sieur de La Salle with his seigneurial purchase of Lachine from the Sulpician order around 1667.
La Salle explored the Great Lakes region and the Mississippi River. In 1669, he left Lachine with a flotilla of nine canoes and 24 men, seeking a western passage to China. The factual record of that first expedition ends in obscurity. He later undertook a successful 1682 expedition, canoeing the lower Mississippi from the mouth of the Illinois River to the Gulf of Mexico, where on April 9, 1682, he claimed the Mississippi River basin for France. A later, ill-fated expedition in 1684 to the Gulf coast of Mexico (today Texas) gave the United States a putative claim to Texas in the purchase of the Louisiana Territory from France in 1803; La Salle was assassinated during that expedition.
Reader's Guide
René-Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle is significant for extending French exploration and claims in North America to the mouth of the Mississippi River, an achievement that preceded earlier journeys by Jolliet and Marquette on the upper Mississippi. His 1682 claim of the Mississippi River basin for France, naming it La Louisiane, secured for France what one source describes as 'the most fertile half of the North American continent.' This claim later formed the basis for the Louisiana Purchase of 1803, through which the United States acquired a vast territory. La Salle's legacy is complicated by historical uncertainties: his own journal was lost in 1756, and later compilations by archivist Pierre Margry introduced discrepancies that have complicated efforts to retrace his expeditions. The historical evidence does not indicate that La Salle ever reached the Ohio/Allegheny Valley, and he himself never claimed to have discovered the Ohio River. His assassination during the 1684 expedition to the Gulf coast of Mexico ended his explorations, but his name remains closely associated with the expansion of French influence in North America.
Did You Know?
- La Salle was released from the Jesuit order in 1667 after citing 'moral weaknesses'.
- He took the title Sieur de La Salle with his seigneurial purchase of Lachine around 1667.
- His own journal of the first expedition was lost in 1756.
- The United States Congress appropriated $10,000 in 1873 to have original documents photostated due to doubts about Margry's work.
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