Examine individual changes

'{{pp-pc1}} {{pp-move-indef|small=yes}} {{Refimprove|date=March 2010}} {{infobox person |name=René-Robert Cavelier |image=Cavelier de la salle.jpg |caption=A 19th-century engraving of Cavelier de La Salle |birth_date={{birth date|1643|11|21}} |birth_place=[[Rouen]], [[Normandy]], [[France]] |death_date={{Death date and age|1687|03|19|1643|11|21}} |death_place=present day [[Huntsville, Texas|Huntsville]], [[Texas]] |occupation=explorer |nationality=[[France|French]] |known_for=exploring the [[Great Lakes]],<br>[[Mississippi River]],<br>and the [[Gulf of Mexico]] |signature=De La Salle Signature.svg }} [[Image:DeLaSalle.jpg|thumb|Memorial Plaque to de La Salle in [[Rouen]]]] '''René-Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle''', or '''Robert de La Salle''' (November 21, 1643 – March 19, 1687) was a [[France|French]] [[List of explorers|explorer]]. He explored the [[Great Lakes]] region of the [[United States]] and [[Canada]], the [[Mississippi River]], and the [[Gulf of Mexico]]. La Salle claimed the entire Mississippi River basin for France. ==Biography== ===Youth=== René-Robert Cavelier was born on November 22, 1643, into a comfortably well-off family in [[Rouen]], [[France]],<ref>Francis Parkman, ''La Salle and the Discovery of the Great West'', France and England in North America, vol. 3 (Boston: Little, Brown, 1869), 7.</ref> in the parish Saint-Herbland. When Cavelier was younger he enjoyed science and nature. As a man, he studied with the [[Society of Jesus|Jesuit]] religious order and became a member after taking initial vows in 1660.<ref>The Order prohibited a man taking final vows before the age of twenty-five. Nonetheless, La Salle was still considered a part of the Order as he was later barred to his inheritance. See Parkman, p. 8, n. 1.</ref> At his request on March 27, 1667, after he was in Canada, he was released from the Society of Jesus after citing "moral weaknesses."<ref name="bio">Biography at the [http://www.biographi.ca/009004-119.01-e.php?&id_nbr=109 ''Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online'']</ref> Although he left the order, never took final vows in it, and later became hostile to it, historians sometimes described him incorrectly as a priest or a leader. deez nutz ==Family== La Salle never married,<ref>Pierre Margry, ''Découvertes et établissement des Français dans l'ouest et dans le sud de l'Amérique septentrionale'' Vol. 2. p.88</ref> but has been linked to [[Madeleine de Roybon d'Allonne]], an early settler of [[New France]].<ref name="Dupre">{{cite book|last=Dupré|first=Céline|title=ROYBON D'ALLONNE, MADELEINE DE, Dictionary of Canadian Biography|volume=Volume II (1701-1740)|publisher=University of Toronto/Université Laval|date=1969|url=http://www.biographi.ca/en/bio/roybon_d_allonne_madeleine_de_2E.html|accessdate=2014-01-03}}</ref> He had an older brother named Jean who was a [[Sulpician]] priest. His parents were Jean Cavelier and Catherine Geest.<ref name="bio"/> ==Explorations== 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. He sailed for [[New France]] in the spring of 1666.<ref>Parkman, 10.</ref> His brother Jean, a [[Sulpician Order|Sulpician]] priest, had moved there the year before. La Salle was granted a ''[[Seigneurial system of New France|seigneurie]]'' on land at the western end of the [[Island of Montreal]], which became known as ''[[Lachine, Quebec|Lachine]]''.<ref>Parkman, 16</ref> (This was apparently from the [[French language|French]] ''la Chine'', meaning [[China]]. Some sources say the name referred to La Salle's desire to find a route to China, though the evidence for this claim is unclear and has been disputed.) La Salle immediately began to issue land grants, set up a village and learn the languages of the native peoples, mostly Mohawk in this area. The Mohawk told him of a great river, called the [[Ohio River|Ohio]], which flowed into the [[Mississippi River]]. Thinking the river flowed into the [[Gulf of Mexico]], La Salle began to plan for expeditions to find a western passage to China. He sought and received permission from Governor [[Daniel de Rémy de Courcelle|Daniel Courcelle]] and [[Intendant]] [[Jean Talon]] to embark on the enterprise. He sold his interests in Lachine to finance the venture.<ref>Parkman, 13-16</ref> In 1682, he named the area Louisiana after King [[Louis XIV]] of France. ===Fort Frontenac=== On July 12, 1673, the Governor of New France, [[Louis de Buade de Frontenac]], arrived at the mouth of the [[Cataraqui River]] to meet with leaders of the Five Nations of the Iroquois to encourage them to trade with the French. While the groups met and exchanged gifts, Frontenac's men, led by René-Robert Cavelier de La Salle, hastily constructed a rough wooden palisade on a point of land by a shallow, sheltered bay. Originally the fort was named Fort Cataraqui but was later renamed [[Fort Frontenac]] by de La Salle in honor of La Salle's patron. The purpose of Fort Frontenac was to control the lucrative fur trade in the Great Lakes Basin to the west. The fort was also meant to be a bulwark against the English and Dutch, who were competing with the French for control of the fur trade.<ref>The History of Fort Frontenac ''The Cataraqui Archaeological Research Foundation'' [http://www.carf.info/kingstonpast/fortfrontenac.php ]</ref> La Salle was left in command of the fort in 1673. Thanks to his powerful protector, the discoverer managed, during a voyage to France in 1674–75, to secure for himself the grant of Fort Cataraqui and acquired letters of nobility for himself and his descendants.<ref name="dictionary">''Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online''</ref> With Frontenac's support, he received not only a [[fur trade]] concession, with permission to establish frontier forts, but also a [[title of nobility]]. He returned and rebuilt Frontenac in stone. An [[Ontario Heritage Trust]] plaque describes René-Robert Cavelier de La Salle at Cataraqui as "[a] major figure in the expansion of the French fur trade into the Lake Ontario region, Using the fort as a base, he undertook expeditions to the west and southwest in the interest of developing a vast fur-trading empire."<ref>[http://www.heritagetrust.on.ca/Resources-and-Learning/Online-Plaque-Guide/Plaque-information.aspx?searchtext=120 Ontario Heritage Trust plaque]</ref> [[Henri de Tonti]] joined his explorations as his lieutenant. ===''Le Griffon'' and Fort Miami=== [[File:LaSallesExpeditiontoLouisiana.JPG|thumb|Painting by [[Theodore Gudin]] titled ''La Salle's Expedition to Louisiana in 1684''. The ship on the left is ''[[La Belle (ship)|La Belle]]'', in the middle is ''Le Joly'', and ''[[L'Aimable]]'' is to the right. They are at the entrance to [[Matagorda Bay]]]] In early 1679, La Salle's expedition built [[Fort Conti]] at the mouth of the Niagara River on Lake Ontario. There they loaded supplies from [[Fort Frontenac]] into smaller boats ([[canoe]]s or [[bateaux]]), so they could continue up the shallow and swiftly flowing lower [[Niagara River]] to what is now the location of [[Lewiston, New York]]. There the Iroquois had a well-established [[portage]] route which bypassed the rapids and the [[Waterfall#Types|cataract]] later known as [[Niagara Falls]]. La Salle built ''[[Le Griffon]]'', a seven-cannon, 45-ton [[barque]], on the upper Niagara River at or near [[Cayuga Creek]]. She was launched on August 7, 1679. La Salle sailed in ''Le Griffon'' up [[Lake Erie]] to [[Lake Huron]], then up Huron to [[Michilimackinac]] and on to present-day [[Green Bay, Wisconsin]]. ''Le Griffon'' left for Niagara with a load of furs, but was never seen again. La Salle continued with his men in canoes down the western shore of [[Lake Michigan]], rounding the southern end to the mouth of the Miami River (now [[St. Joseph River (Lake Michigan)|St. Joseph River]]), where they built a stockade in January 1680. They called it [[Fort Miami (Michigan)|Fort Miami]] (now known as [[St. Joseph, Michigan]]). There they waited for Tonti and his party, who had crossed the Lower Michigan peninsula on foot. Tonti arrived on November 20; on December 3, the entire party set off up the St. Joseph, which they followed until they had to take a portage at present-day [[South Bend, Indiana]]. They crossed to the [[Kankakee River]] and followed it to the [[Illinois River]]. There they built [[Fort Crèvecoeur]], which later led to the development of present-day [[Peoria, Illinois]]. La Salle set off on foot for Fort Frontenac for supplies. While he was gone, the soldiers at Ft. Crevecoeur [[mutiny|mutinied]], destroyed the fort, and exiled Tonti, whom La Salle had left in charge.<ref name="FC">{{cite web|url=http://www.ftcrevecoeur.org/history_fort.htm|title=History of Fort Crevecoeur|accessdate=2009-02-03|work=Fort Crevecoeur Park website|publisher=Fort Crevecoeur Inc|date=2008-08-30}}</ref> Later La Salle captured the mutineers on [[Lake Ontario]]. He eventually rendezvoused with Tonti at [[St. Ignace, Michigan]]. ===Final expeditions=== [[Image:Lasalle au Mississippi.jpg|thumb|left|Claiming Louisiana for France]] 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 [[Louisiana (New France)|''La Louisiane'']]<ref name=HTsalle>"Handbook of Texas Online: La Salle's Texas Settlement" (history), Robert S. Weddle, February 21, 2002, [http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/LL/fla4.html TSHAonline.org]</ref> in honor of [[Louis XIV of France|Louis XIV]] and claimed it for France. At what later became the site of [[Memphis, Tennessee]], La Salle built the small [[Fort Prudhomme]]. On April 9, 1682, at the mouth of the Mississippi River near modern [[Venice, Louisiana]], La Salle buried an engraved plate and a cross, claiming the territory for France. In 1683, on his return voyage, La Salle established [[Fort Saint Louis (Illinois)|Fort Saint Louis]] of Illinois, at [[Starved Rock State Park|Starved Rock]] on the Illinois River, to replace Fort Crevecoeur. He appointed Tonti to command the fort while La Salle traveled to France for supplies. On July 24, 1684,<ref name=HTsalle/> La Salle departed France and returned to America with a large expedition designed to establish a [[French colony]] on the [[Gulf of Mexico]], at the mouth of the Mississippi River. They had four ships and 300 colonists. The expedition was plagued by [[pirate]]s, hostile Indians, and poor navigation. One ship was lost to pirates in the [[West Indies]], a second sank in the inlets of [[Matagorda Bay]], and a third ran aground there. They founded [[French colonization of Texas|Fort Saint Louis]], on [[Garcitas Creek]] in [[Victoria, Texas|Victoria County, Texas]].<ref name=HTsalle/><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Tucker |first1=Gene Rhea |year=2010 |title=La Salle Lands in Texas: La Salle and the Historians |journal=East Texas Historical Journal |volume=48 |issue=1 |pages=40–58 }}</ref> La Salle led a group eastward on foot on three occasions to try to locate the mouth of the Mississippi. During a final search for the Mississippi River, some of La Salle's remaining 36 men mutinied, near the site of present [[Navasota, Texas]]. On March 19, 1687, La Salle was slain by Pierre Duhaut during an ambush while talking to Duhaut's decoy, [[Jean L'Archevêque]].{{Citation needed|date=April 2012}} They were "six leagues" from the westernmost village of the [[Hasinai]] (Tejas) Indians.<ref name=HTsalle/> Duhaut was killed to avenge La Salle, while [[Jean L'Archevêque]] was killed in 1720 by Indians during the [[Villasur expedition]]—coincidentally in an ambush beside a river. The colony lasted only until 1688, when [[Karankawa]]-speaking Native Americans killed the 20 remaining adults and took five children as captives. Tonti sent out search missions in 1689 when he learned of the settlers' fate, but failed to find survivors.{{Citation needed|date=March 2010}} There is some disagreement about accepting Navasota as the site of La Salle's death. The [[historian]] Robert Weddle, for example, believes that La Salle's travel distances have been miscalculated. Weddle thinks that La Salle was murdered just east of the [[Trinity River (Texas)|Trinity River]], which would put the site somewhere about {{convert|20|mi|km}} east or north-east of today's [[Huntsville, Texas]].{{Citation needed|date=March 2010}} ==Legacy== [[File:De la Salle.jpg|thumb|Statue of de La Salle located in [[Navasota, Texas]]]] La Salle's major legacy was establishing the network of forts from Fort Frontenac to outposts along the Great Lakes, Ohio, Illinois and Mississippi rivers that came to define French territorial, diplomatic and commercial policy for almost a century between his first expedition and the 1763 cession of New France to Great Britain. In addition to the forts, which also served as authorized agencies for the extensive fur trade, LaSalle's visits to Illinois and other Indians cemented the French policy of alliance with Indians in the common causes of containing both Iroquois influence and Anglo-American settlement. He also gave the name Louisiana to the interior North American territory he claimed for France, which lives on in the name of a US state. His efforts to encompass modern-day Ontario and the eight American states that border the Great Lakes became a foundational effort in defining the [[Great Lakes region]]. In 1995, La Salle's primary ship ''[[La Belle (ship)|La Belle]]'' was discovered in the muck of [[Matagorda Bay]]. It has been the subject of archeological research.<ref>[http://www.thc.state.tx.us/belle/ "La Salle Shipwreck Project"], Texas Historical Commission</ref><ref>[http://www.caller2.com/newsarch/lasalle1.htm Dan Parker, " Raising The Belle-La Salle's last ship]", ''Corpus Christi Caller-Times'', 1996</ref> Through an international treaty, the artifacts excavated from La Belle are owned by France and held in trust by the Texas Historical Commission. The collection is held by the [[Corpus Christi, Texas|Corpus Christi]] Museum of Science and History. Artifacts from ''La Belle'' are shown at nine museums across Texas. The wreckage of La Salle's ship ''[[L'Aimable]]'' has yet to be located. A possible shipwreck of ''[[Le Griffon]]'' in Lake Michigan is the subject of a lawsuit concerning ownership of artifacts. A more promising wreck has now been identified in the depths of northern Lake Michigan, divers Monroe and Dykster happened upon an ancient wreckage in 2011 while looking for Confederate gold. The bowsprit of their find includes what appears to be a carved wooden Griffin, similar to other examples of the French 17th Century. News of the find was not released to the public until December 2014, when it was published in the editor's note of issue #34 of "Wreck Diver" Magazine. Authentication of the find is expected to be painstaking, but forthcoming.<ref>Editor's note, Wreck Diving Magazine, issue #34</ref> * The ghost town of [[Indianola, Texas]] near Matagorda Bay has a statue of La Salle. * Many places were named in La Salle's honor, as was the [[LaSalle (automobile)|LaSalle]] [[automobile]] brand. (See [[La Salle (disambiguation)|La Salle]] for a list of places, most of which were named after him). * Fort LaSalle at the [[Royal Military College of Canada]] in [[Kingston, Ontario]] * [[LaSalle, Ontario|LaSalle]], in [[Essex County, Ontario]], south of [[Windsor, Ontario|Windsor]] on the [[Detroit River]] * [[LaSalle, Quebec]] is a borough of the city of [[Montreal]], [[Quebec]], [[Canada]]. * Avenue La Salle, located in [[Shawinigan]], [[Quebec]], [[Canada]]. * Lasalle Road, a prominent east-west road to the south of [[Sarnia]], [[Ontario]], [[Canada]]. * [[LaSalle County, Illinois]], the city of [[LaSalle, Illinois|LaSalle]] and the La Salle Speedway within it. * [[LaSalle Parish, Louisiana]] * [[LaSalle-Peru Township High School]] in [[LaSalle, Illinois]] has the mascot of the Cavaliers (Cavs) and Lady Cavaliers (Lady Cavs). * La Salle Avenue in Waco, Texas. * LaSalle Elementary School in [[Creve Coeur, Illinois]], located near the site of [[Fort Crevecoeur]]. * La Salle Street in [[Navasota, Texas]]. It also contains a statue given by the French Government in honor of the explorer. * La Salle Avenue, a prominent downtown street in [[Minneapolis]], [[Minnesota]]. * The La Salle Neighborhood in [[Niagara Falls, New York]], the place where La Salle's ship, Le Griffon, was built in 1679. * The La Salle Expressway, a prominent roadway through [[Niagara Falls, New York]] and its outer suburbs. * [[LaSalle Street]], a major north-south thoroughfare in [[Chicago]], leads directly to the Board of Trade, and is the center of Chicago's financial district. * LaSalle Avenue, a thoroughfare in [[South Bend, Indiana]], which traverses the downtown area and carries a portion of [[U.S. Route 20 Business (South Bend, Indiana)|U.S. Route 20 Business]]. * LaSalle Park, [[Burlington, Ontario]] * Robert LaSalle County Park, [[Door County, Wisconsin]]. The Door County Historical Society commemorates the site as a Robert de LaSalle landing place in 1679. * ''Jardin Cavelier de La Salle'' in the ''[[Arrondissements of Paris|6ème arrondissement]]'' in [[Paris]] * La Salle Hotel in downtown [[Bryan, Texas]] * The [[La Salle Causeway]], connecting Kingston, Ontario to neighbouring [[Barriefield, Ontario]]. * [[La Salle Hotel]], Chicago<ref name="Randall">{{cite book|last1=Randall|first1=Frank Alfred |last2=Randall|first2=John D. |title=History of the development of building construction in Chicago|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=gYLlF61yeYEC&pg=PA271|year=1999|publisher=University of Illinois Press|isbn=0-252-02416-8|page=271}}</ref> *''École secondaire publique De La Salle'' in [[Ottawa, Ontario]] * [[Six Flags Over Texas]] opened with an animatronic attraction named La Salle's River Adventure Ride. It closed in 1982, but a recreation of Ft. Saint Louis remains.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.guidetosfot.com/features/rideretrospective/lasallesriver/ |title=La Salle's River Adventure Ride Restrospective |publisher=Guide to Six Flags over Texas |accessdate=1 September 2013}}</ref> * La Salle Secondary School in [[Kingston, Ontario]] * LaSalle Boulevard and Cavelier Road in Marquette Heights, Illinois, near Fort Crèvecoeur ==References== {{reflist|33em}} ==External links== {{Portal|Normandy|New France|Texas|Biography}} {{Commons category|René Robert Cavelier de La Salle}} *[http://www.chickasaw.tv/historic-figures/list/robert-de-la-salle Profile and Videos] - Chickasaw.TV *[http://www.civilization.ca/virtual-museum-of-new-france/the-explorers/rene-robert-cavelier-de-la-salle-1670-1687/ Museum of New France (The Explorers): René-Robert Cavelier de La Salle 1670-1687] *[http://www.biographi.ca/009004-119.01-e.php?&id_nbr=109 Biography at the ''Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online''] *[http://www.carf.info/kingstonpast/fortfrontenac.php The Cataraqui Archaeological Research Foundation] *[http://www.enchantedlearning.com/explorers/page/l/lasalle.shtml René-Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle: North American Explorer] *Justin Winsor (1884). [https://archive.org/stream/narrativecritica04wins#page/200 Narrative and critical history of America] vol. IV, pages 200-246. Includes several maps drawn by La Selle. *''The journeys of Rene Robert Cavelier, sieur de La Salle.'' [http://texashistory.unt.edu/permalink/meta-pth-6104 Volume 1], [http://texashistory.unt.edu/permalink/meta-pth-6103 Volume 2] (hosted by the [http://texashistory.unt.edu/ Portal to Texas History]) *[http://texashistory.unt.edu/permalink/meta-pth-14384 ''Cabeza de Vaca; La Salle.''] published 1901, hosted by the [http://texashistory.unt.edu/ Portal to Texas History.] *[http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/LL/fla4.html ''The Handbook of Texas Online:'' Renê Robert Cavelier Sieur de La Salle] *Detailed Account of [http://www.sonofthesouth.net/texas/la-salle.htm La Salle] in Texas *[http://texashistory.unt.edu/widgets/pager.php?object_id=meta-pth-5828&recno=92&path=meta-pth-5828.tkl La Salle's Map of Texas] from [http://texashistory.unt.edu/permalink/meta-pth-5828 ''A pictorial history of Texas, from the earliest visits of European adventurers, to A.D. 1879''], hosted by the [http://texashistory.unt.edu/ Portal to Texas History]. *[http://www.urbanext.uiuc.edu/rivers/HOFlasalle.html Sieur de La Salle – The All-Star River Explorers] (University of Illinois Extension) *[http://www.lasallebb.com/who-is-lasalle/ ''La Salle's mark in Fort Wayne''] *[http://www.texasbeyondhistory.net/stlouis/index.html Texas Beyond History] *[http://www.lasallepride.org/ Le Griffon construction site in Niagara Falls New York] *{{Wikisource-inline|list= **{{Cite CE1913|wstitle=René-Robert-Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle|author=Jarvis Keiley|short=x |noicon=x}} **{{Cite EB1911|wstitle=La Salle, René Robert Cavelier, Sieur de|author=Charles Crawford Whinery|short=x |noicon=x}} **{{Cite Appletons'|wstitle=La Salle, Robert Cavelier, Sieur de|author=[[Francis Parkman]]|year=1892|short=x|noicon=x}} }} {{Authority control}} {{Persondata | NAME = La Salle, René-Robert Cavelier, Sieur de | ALTERNATIVE NAMES = | SHORT DESCRIPTION = French explorer | DATE OF BIRTH = November 21, 1643 | PLACE OF BIRTH = [[Rouen]], [[Normandy]], [[France]] | DATE OF DEATH = March 19, 1686 | PLACE OF DEATH = present day [[Huntsville, Texas|Huntsville]], [[Texas]] }} {{DEFAULTSORT:La Salle, Rene}} [[Category:1643 births]] [[Category:1687 deaths]] [[Category:17th-century explorers]] [[Category:Explorers of Canada]] [[Category:Explorers of North America]] [[Category:French explorers]] [[Category:French nobility]] [[Category:French Texas]] [[Category:Persons of National Historic Significance (Canada)]] [[Category:People from Rouen]] [[Category:People of Colonial French Louisiana]] [[Category:People of New France]] [[Category:Lycée Pierre-Corneille alumni]] [[Category:Explorers of the United States]]'