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What was La Salle looking for in expedition?
René Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle, sailed from Rochefort, France, on August 1, 1684, to seek the mouth of the Mississippi River by sea. The war with Spain ended two weeks after La Salle sailed.
Why did Robert de La Salle explore?
He was sent by King Louis the 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 and goal was to explore and establish fur-trade routes along the river.
What land did La Salle discover?
Ten years later, in 1682, Robert Cavalier Sieur de La Salle and a larger party of explorers followed much the same route as Marquette and Jolliet. But La Salle’s journey brought him all the way to the Gulf of Mexico; where he claimed the Mississippi River Valley for his King and named it in his honor, Louisiana.
What was Robert de La Salle’s dream and where did he explore?
Abandoning his plan to discover the Northwest Passage, a maritime route over North America to Asia, La Salle planned to line the Mississippi River with forts and, most importantly, to found a large French fort and settlement on the Gulf of Mexico.
Why did Robert de La Salle claimed Louisiana for France?
La Salle secured a contract for the colonization of lower Louisiana from Louis XIV in 1683. The plan was to reach the Mississippi by sea and secure a permanent settlement upriver that would provide the French with a strategic advantage over Spanish interests throughout the Gulf of Mexico.
Why did the French want Louisiana?
The treaty effectively ceded the territory of Louisiana and the island of Orleans—essentially what is now New Orleans—to the Spaniards. The French saw the move as an inducement designed to persuade the Spanish to end the Seven-Years War.
What impact did La Salle have on Texas?
The La Salle expedition shifted the focus of Spanish interest from western Texas to eastern Texas. The French began exploring this area, too. Men from La Salle’s colony became explorers and set up settlements in the South and Southwest.
Why did La Salle name it Louisiana?
La Salle reassembled a party for another major expedition. In 1682 he departed Fort Crevecoeur with a group of Frenchmen and Indians and canoed down the Mississippi River. He named the Mississippi basin La Louisiane in honor of Louis XIV and claimed it for France.
What was Robert La Salle early life like?
Robert de La Salle Facts: Early Life. La Salle was born on November 22, 1643 to a wealthy family in Rouen , France. He grew to like science and nature and spent much time studying them and later became involved with the Jesuit religion. He showed an interest in exploration and navigation. While he was exploring New France he left the Jesuit religion.
What ships did Robert De La Salle use?
To carry his supplies, he would need a large ship to traverse the Atlantic Ocean and a smaller one to transport the supplies from Illinois to the Gulf of Mexico . Louis XIV gave La Salle the use of two ships, Le Joly and La Belle.
What did Robert De La Salle discover?
René Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle (1643-1687), was a French explorer and colonizer, best known for his discovery of the Mississippi Delta. His career is a remarkable tale of wanderings in North America and of the intrigues of Versailles .