La Salle - Adventures of the French on the Mississippi. Other actors
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Rene-Robert Cavelier de La Salle(fr. René-Robert Cavelier de La Salle ) or simply La Salle (November 22 ( 16431122 ) , Rouen - March 19, Texas) - French explorer of North America, the first European to sail along the Mississippi River and declare its entire basin to be the possession of the French king under the name of Louisiana. Thanks to his tireless activity, France acquired (at least on paper) a vast territory, which Napoleon would give away for next to nothing a century later in the Louisiana deal. In honor of La Salle, several cities and districts in the United States are named, the administrative region of Montreal, the Royal Military Academy in Canada and the brand of cars produced from 1927 to 1940 by General Motors.
early years
Rene-Robert Cavelier was educated in a Jesuit college. By the age of 22, he decided not to take the dignity and, having heard about the adventures of Champlain and other Frenchmen in America, he went to New France, where he was granted land plot on the island of Montreal near the Lachine Rapids. In addition to farming, Cavelier traded in furs, which were delivered to his estate by Indians from distant corners America. From communication with the natives, he became aware of big rivers south of the Great Lakes. In 1669 an enterprising Frenchman sold his property with the intention of moving towards the Ohio River; for a long time he was credited with the honor of its discovery.
Cavelier found an ally in the Comte de Frontenac, the most energetic and successful of all the governors of New France. Frontenac, who was bothered by the Iroquois with their sorties, convinced Cavelier to build Fort Frontenac on the shores of Lake Ontario, from where it was possible to control the fur trade of the Indians with the New England colonists, and also to send reconnaissance expeditions into the continent.
The plans of Cavelier and Frontenac ran into opposition both from the Montreal merchants, who held on to their monopoly on the fur trade, and from the Jesuits, who considered it their duty to be the first to bring to the natives "the light of God's word." Cavelier, however, during a trip to France, enlisted the support of the royal court, founded Fort Frontenac (now Kingston) and began to manage it as the representative of the governor. In gratitude for his diligence, Louis XIV elevated him to the nobility with the title of "Señora de la Salle".
New France expansion
While running his fort, La Salle made his fortune in the fur trade, but this did not cool his obsession with the uncharted lands to the south. In 1677, he again goes to meet the "sun king" and receives permission to develop the "western limits of New France", the construction of log fortifications, as well as the monopoly on the trade in buffalo skins.
Since the king refused to finance the colonist's ventures, La Salle had to go into heavy debt in Paris and Montreal. The Jesuits continued to interfere with his activities in every possible way, but in Europe he found a faithful ally in the person of the Italian knight Henri de Tonti. On their return to Canada in 1679, La Salle and Tonti built the Griffon, the first merchant ship to ply the waters of Lake Erie. On it they hoped to go down the Mississippi. Moving west, La Salle managed to discover big river Illinois. Fort Crevecoeur was founded there (fr. Crevecœur) and the construction of another ship has begun.
Preparing for a campaign inland, La Salle noticed that the Indians were able to make large land crossings, eating game and a small supply of maize. Thus, in the middle of winter, he traveled from Niagara Falls to Fort Frontenac, which aroused the genuine admiration of the Jesuit Louis Annepin, who decided to join his detachment. Despite the crash of the Griffon and the destruction of Fort Crevecoeur, La Salle managed to descend the Illinois in 1680 to its confluence with the Mississippi. The river of his dreams lay before him, but the pioneer had to turn back at the news of the danger threatening the detachment of his comrade Tonti.
Only in the 1681-1682 season, having received additional funds from creditors, La Salle and Tonti went down the Mississippi in a canoe and left on April 9 in the Gulf of Mexico. There, La Salle solemnly declared the entire basin of the river he had crossed to be the property of the French king and gave these lands, the most fertile on the continent, the name of Louisiana, that is, "Louis".
La Salle's next undertaking was the erection of Fort St. Louis in Illinois. The main settlers of this colony at first were Indians. To keep the colony afloat, La Salle turned to the governor of Quebec for help. The news came disappointing: Frontenac was dismissed, and his successor, who was very hostile to La Salle, demanded that the latter leave Saint-Louis. The pioneer refused to obey the order and, arriving at Versailles, insisted on an audience with the king, who listened to him favorably and promised his support.
Last hike
To secure Louisiana for France, La Salle considered it necessary to settle at the mouth of the Mississippi and, if possible, take away from the Spaniards northern part Texas. He had no more than 200 French at his disposal, but he considered it possible to gather up to 15 thousand Indians under his banners and, in addition, counted on the services of Caribbean buccaneers. From the outside, this enterprise looked like a gamble, but Louis XIV, who was at war with the Spaniards at that time, considered that it would be useful to divert their attention to the west. He gave La Salle money, ships and people.
On July 24, 1684, the La Salle expedition sailed from France towards the Gulf of Mexico. From the very beginning, failures haunted her - diseases, pirates, shipwrecks. The captains refused to follow La Salle's orders. Their maps were so inaccurate that the ships passed 500 miles west of their destination and mistook Matagorda Bay off the coast of Texas for the mouth of the Mississippi. Desperate to find the treasured river, the sailors rebelled and killed La Salle.
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Literature
- Varshavsky A.S. The road leads south (the life, travels and adventures of La Salle). M., 1960.
- Anka Muhlstein. . Arcade Publishing, 1995.
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An excerpt characterizing Cavelier de La Salle, Rene-Robert
Violet eyes studied me very carefully for several seconds, and then an unexpected answer sounded:- I thought so - you are still sleeping ... But I cannot wake you up - others will wake you up. And it won't be now.
- And when? And who will these others be?
– Your friends... But you don't know them now.
“But how will I know that they are friends, and that it is they?” I asked puzzled.
“You will remember,” Veya smiled.
- Do I remember? How can I remember something that is not yet? .. – I stared dumbfounded at her.
“It is, but not here.
She had a very warm smile, which made her unusually beautiful. It seemed as if the May sun peeked out from behind a cloud and lit up everything around.
“Are you all alone here on Earth?” - I couldn't believe it.
- Of course not. We are many, just different. And we've been living here for a very long time, if that's what you want to ask.
– What are you doing here? And why did you come here? I couldn't stop.
We help when needed. I don't remember where they came from, I wasn't there. I just watched how you are now ... This is my house.
The little girl suddenly became very sad. And I wanted to somehow help her, but, to my great regret, while it was still beyond my small powers...
"You really want to go home, don't you?" I asked carefully.
Wei nodded. Suddenly, her fragile figure flashed brightly... and I was left alone - the "star" girl disappeared. It was very, very dishonest!.. She couldn't just pick up and leave!!! This should never have happened!.. A real resentment of a child raged in me, who was suddenly taken away from his most beloved toy... But Veya was not a toy, and, to be honest, I should have been grateful to her already for the fact that she came to me at all. But in my “suffering” soul, at that moment, a real “emotional storm” crushed the remaining grains of logic, and complete confusion reigned in my head ... Therefore, about any “logical” thinking in this moment It was out of the question, and I, “heartbroken” by my terrible loss, completely “plunged” into the ocean of “black despair”, thinking that my “star” guest would never return to me again ... I wanted to ask her so much more! And she suddenly took it and disappeared ... And then suddenly I felt very ashamed ... If everyone who wanted to ask her as much as I wanted to ask, she, what good, would not have time to live! .. This thought somehow calmed me right away. I just had to accept with gratitude all the wonderful things that she managed to show me (even if I still didn’t understand everything), and not grumble at fate for the insufficiency of the desired “ready”, instead of simply moving my lazy “convolutions” and finding answers to the questions that tormented me myself. I remembered Stella's grandmother and thought that she was absolutely right when she spoke about the dangers of receiving something for free, because nothing can be worse than a person who is used to taking everything all the time. Moreover, no matter how much he takes, he will never get the joy that he himself has achieved something, and he will never experience a feeling of unique satisfaction from having created something himself.
I sat alone for a long time, slowly “chewing” the food for thought given to me, thinking with gratitude about the amazing purple-eyed “star” girl. And she smiled, knowing that now I would definitely not stop until I find out what kind of friends I don’t know, and what kind of dream they should wake me up from ... Then I couldn’t even imagine that, no matter how hard I tried, and no matter how hard I tried, it would happen only after many, many years, and my “friends” would really wake me up ... Only it would be completely different from what I could ever even imagine ...
But then everything seemed childishly possible to me, and with all my unburned ardor and “iron” perseverance, I decided to try ...
No matter how much I wanted to listen to the reasonable voice of logic, my naughty brain believed that, despite the fact that Veya apparently knew exactly what she was talking about, I would still achieve my goal and find those people (or beings) who were supposed to help me get rid of my incomprehensible “bear hibernation” earlier than I was promised. At first, I decided to try again to go beyond the Earth, and see who would come to me there... Naturally, it was impossible to think of anything more stupid, but since I stubbornly believed that I would achieve something, I had to plunge headlong into new, perhaps even very dangerous "experiments"...
For some reason, my kind Stella almost stopped “walking” at that time, and, it is not clear why, she “moped” in her colorful world, not wanting to reveal to me the real reason for her sadness. But I somehow managed to persuade her this time to go “walk” with me, interested in the danger of the adventure I was planning, and also in the fact that I alone was still a little afraid to try such “far-reaching” experiments.
I warned my grandmother that I was going to try something “very serious”, to which she only calmly nodded her head and wished me luck (!) ... Of course, this angered me to the core, but deciding not to show her my resentment, and pouting like a Christmas turkey, I swore to myself that, no matter what it costs me, something will happen today! ... Well, of course - it happened ... but not quite what I expected.
Stella was already waiting for me, ready for "the most terrible feats", and we, together and collectively, rushed "beyond" ...
This time it turned out much easier for me, maybe because it was not the first time, or maybe also because the same purple crystal was “discovered” ... I was taken out of the mental level of the Earth by a bullet, and then I realized that I overdid it a little ... Stella, according to the general agreement, was waiting at the “line” to insure me if she saw that something had gone wrong ... But “wrong” went already from the very beginning , and where I was at the moment, she, to my great regret, could no longer reach me.
The black, sinister space that I had dreamed about for so many years, and which now frightened me with its wild, unique silence, was breathing around the cold of the night ... I was completely alone, without the reliable protection of my "star friends", and without the warm support of my faithful girlfriend Stella ... And, despite the fact that I had seen all this not for the first time, I suddenly felt quite small and lonely in this unfamiliar, surrounding world of distant stars that looked completely different here. just as friendly and familiar as from the Earth, and little by little a petty, cowardly squeaking from undisguised horror panic began to seize me... But since I was still very, very stubborn as a little man, I decided that there was nothing to become limp, and began to look around, where did it all the same bring me...
I hung in a black, almost physically tangible void, and only sometimes some “shooting stars” flickered around, leaving dazzling tails for a moment. And right there, like, very close by, such a dear and familiar Earth flickered with a blue glow. But, to my great regret, it only seemed close, but in fact it was very, very far away... And I suddenly had a wild desire to go back!!!.. I no longer wanted to "heroically overcome" unfamiliar obstacles, but I just really wanted to return home, where everything was so familiar and familiar (to warm grandmother's pies and favorite books!), And not to hang frozen in some kind of black, cold "worldlessness", not knowing how to get out of all this, but with volume, preferably without any "terrifying and irreparable" consequences ... I tried to imagine the only thing that first came to mind - the purple-eyed girl Wei. For some reason it did not work - she did not appear. Then I tried to unfold her crystal... And right there, everything around sparkled, shone and swirled in a frenzied whirlpool of some unprecedented matters, I felt as if I was abruptly, like a big vacuum cleaner, drawn somewhere, and immediately the already familiar, mysterious and beautiful world of Weiyin "unfolded" in front of me in all its glory.... As I realized too late - the key to which was my open purple crystal...
LA SALLE, RENE ROBERT CAVELLER(La Salle, René Robert Cavelier) (1643–1687), French explorer of North America. Born in Rouen November 22, 1643. He studied at the Jesuit College. Obsessed with the desire to discover new lands, in 1666, following his brother, who was a member of the congregation of St. Sulpicia in Montreal, went to New France (Canada). Upon arrival, he received the status of a landowner and a land allotment in Lachine (in the vicinity of Montreal). After learning from the Indians about a large river in the southwest, which was believed to flow into the Gulf of California, La Salle decided to explore it. Having developed a plan for the expedition, he presented it to the governor Courcelle, who persuaded him to unite with two Sulpicians - Dollier de Casson and Galina. In 1668 they went up the St. Lawrence River and along south coast Lake Ontario to Burlington Bay. La Salle then decided to follow his own path to Ohio, while Dollier de Casson and Galina had other plans. During this journey, La Salle probably only reached the Ohio River, turning back in 1671.
In 1672, Count Frontenac, governor of New France, approached La Salle with a proposal to discuss plans for expanding the colony. First of all, it was necessary to build Fort Frontenac on Lake Ontario - the base for future expeditions. In 1677, La Salle went to France, where he received wide powers from King Louis XIV to further develop land in the New World. Returning to New France, La Salle, together with Lieutenant Henri de Tonti, went west in 1679. Having erected a fort at the mouth of the Niagara River, he followed to a place located near modern Buffalo, where he built the Griffin, the first merchant sailing ship sailing on the Great Lakes. The La Salle detachment headed for Lake Michigan, crossed it and reached the island at the entrance to Green Bay, where the tribe of friendly Potawatomi Indians lived. From here, La Salle decided to send the Griffin to Niagara with a load of furs, and he himself followed by canoe to the southern tip of Lake Michigan and further to the mouth of the St. Joseph River, where he built another fort.
Subsequently, La Salle decided to continue exploration further south. He received additional funds, in 1681–1682 he went down the Mississippi River to its confluence with the Gulf of Mexico. He reached the mouth of the Mississippi on April 9, 1682, declared the entire area the possession of Louis XIV and named it Louisiana. Upon his return to New France, La Salle fell out of favor with the governor. To restore the situation, La Salle again went to France and, after appealing to the king, returned the property taken from him. In 1684 he went on four ships to create a colony at the mouth of the Mississippi, but from the very beginning this expedition was plagued by failures. The ships passed the mouth of the Mississippi and mistakenly landed in Matagorda Bay. The forces of the detachment were undermined by a shipwreck and the departure of the last ship to France. Then La Salle tried to reach the Mississippi by land and, having failed here as well, in January 1687 decided to return to New France. On the way, the detachment rebelled, and La Salle was killed in the region of the Brazos River (now in Texas) on March 19, 1687.
The complete filmography of Eric La Salle includes a little more than forty roles. His career continues, so this figure is not final. Russian viewers and neighboring countries he is best known for his role as a doctor in the medical series ER. His co-star was famous George Clooney.
short biography
Eric La Salle was born on July 23, 1962. It happened in Hartford, Connecticut. He spent his childhood there until he entered the Juilliard School. At the New York educational institution, the young man studied art for two years. At twenty-two, he moved to New York University (School of the Arts). He did not wait to receive a diploma, having gone headlong into work.
Eric took part in the performances of the Shakespeare in the Park theater association. After that, he began to get roles on Broadway and Off-Broadway.
The beginning of acting
On TV screens, Eric La Salle first appeared in the soap opera Underworld, which ran for thirty-five seasons, starting in 1964. At the same time, he began acting in another soap opera called One Life to Live. Forty-five seasons have been filmed since 1968.
Movies with Eric LaSalle:
- Coming to America is a 1988 comedy. It tells about the trip of the African prince Akim to the USA. The main role went to For living, he chooses the area of Queens, which (despite beautiful name) is not famous for its safety and fashion. The prince will have many adventures and a meeting with his girlfriend. The actor played Daryl Jenks, a young man who (like Prince Akim) had strong feelings for the main character.
- Jacob's Ladder is a mystical thriller released in 1990. The film was barely able to cover its production costs. The story is about a former Vietnamese soldier who sees demons. The actor played the role of Frank.
- The Color of the Night is a crime drama that appeared in 1994. The main role of the psychologist went to Bruce Willis. The character investigates the murder of his colleague, which is full of mysteries. The main intrigue is the girl with whom all the patients of the murdered doctor are in love. What is she hiding? This is to be found out by the character of Willis along with the police. La Salle played the role of Detective Anderson.
- One Hour Photo is a psychological thriller released in 2002. The main role of an elderly photo salon operator who lives the lives of other people, looking at their pictures, went to Robin Williams. The actor played Detective Zee.
- "Gifted Man" - the television series was released in 2011-2012. Only one season was filmed. It tells about a talented surgeon who is obsessed with his person. His outlook changes when the spirit of his dead wife comes to him. The actor reincarnated as Edward Morris.
- "Eclipse" - a thriller was released in 2012. It tells about a global conspiracy, due to which electricity is cut off in one of the megacities of America. It's about Los Angeles. Agents of national security take over the case.
Despite the many roles, most of all, Eric La Salle was remembered for the TV series ER. More about this.
Dr. Peter Benton
Eric La Salle began acting in a medical drama series in 1994. For all eight seasons, he played the role of Dr. Benton. His hero was not in all episodes, as the producers removed him from the show due to low ratings. However, the actor was occasionally asked to return to the set.
So, in 2009, he took part in the filming of the last two episodes of the fifteenth season. Along with him in the fifteenth season, George Clooney returned, who played Dr. Doug Ross for the first five seasons. The trio of experienced doctors was supplemented by Noah Wyle, who played a student, and later Dr. John Carter.
Under the contract, Eric received four million dollars a year for playing the role of Peter Benton.
As a movie maker
In addition to acting career, La Salle acts as a screenwriter, producer and director. Maybe that's why it's less and less seen on screens.
Directed by Eric La Salle (films):
- Devilishly Mad is a 2002 thriller about a psychiatrist and his work.
- "Notes from Dad" is a family film released in 2013.
- Capture - released in 2014.
- "Messenger" - filmed in 2015.
In addition, the actor took part in the creation of some episodes of those series in which he starred. We are talking about "Ambulance", the series "Law and Order", "Without a Trace" and others. His career is ongoing, so more work can be expected.
“Our expedition ended without loss, not a single Frenchman, or Indian, or anyone else was even injured, to which we owe the protection of the Almighty and the great abilities of M. de La Salle” (Father Zenobius Membre’s story about La Salle’s journey down the Mississippi).
Russian Cossacks and industrialists for several decades traveled all over the vast Siberia and by the middle of the 17th century. reached the shores of the Pacific Ocean. The development of North America by Europeans was much slower. There are a number of reasons for this. The Urals is still not such a serious obstacle as the Atlantic. As for the Arctic seas, here is a paradox: they turned out to be insurmountable for dozens of travelers who were looking for a northern route to India and China, but became the main road for Russian explorers who conquered Siberia. In general, the number of Russian pioneers beyond the Urals was much larger than the number of European colonists in North America. And if the Russians, in their advance to the east, met with resistance only from individual Siberian tribes, then the British, Dutch and French, who were opposed by numerous Indians, also competed with each other. First of all, they had to take care not of expanding their own possessions, but of limiting the sphere of influence of competitors.
During the Thirty Years' War (1618-1648), the British abandoned their attempts to find the Northwest Passage and concentrated their efforts on strengthening their positions on Atlantic coast mainland. New England in the 1620s actively expanded and settled, mainly by Puritans. The Dutch chose the land a little to the north, around the mouth of the Hudson. In 1625 they founded a settlement on the island of Manhattan and named it New Amsterdam.
The French, thanks to Jacques Cartier, took even more northern territories near the St. Lawrence River, from this they both lost and won at the same time. Every winter, the estuary of the river was frozen over, so maritime trade stopped. But the French trappers and "forest tramps" got the opportunity to move further and further into the unexplored regions of the continent in search of furs. The colonists abandoned their settlements and went into the forests, Agriculture did not develop. As early as the beginning of the 16th century. The "father of New France" Samuel Champlain, having made an alliance with the Algonquins and the Hurons, thereby doomed the French colonists to war with the Iroquois, which was a big mistake. After Champlain, the French colonization was headed by ... monks: first recollettes (Augustinians), and then the Jesuits. Founding new missions, the Jesuits extended their influence to Lake Huron.
Meanwhile, the British and Dutch were not asleep. They, too, were involved in the fur trade and sought to keep the French from dominating this lucrative market. The conflict flared up and escalated into the so-called beaver wars, which lasted from 1630 until almost the beginning of the 18th century. The Indians also took an active part in them. The Iroquois, who pressed the Hurons, attacked the Jesuit missions, tortured and killed priests, and then began to raid Montreal, main center fur trade.
In 1672, Count Louis de Frontenac, a talented organizer, became governor of New France, who managed to regain control over previously lost territories and temporarily pacify the Iroquois, many of whom were even baptized. In 1673, on the banks of Ontario, where the St. Lawrence River flows out of the lake, Fort Frontenac (now the city of Kingston) was founded. Cavelle de La Salle was appointed to command the fort. Meanwhile, the French trappers moved further inland, and the fur trade gradually spread to the headwaters of the Mississippi. Where this giant river flows, no one knew. And suddenly in Pacific Ocean? So thought La Salle, who dreamed of opening the way to Asia.
René Robert Cavelier arrived in Canada in the late 1660s. (Then he did not yet have a title of nobility). The son of a wealthy merchant from Rouen, he was brought up in a Jesuit school for several years, but did not want to become a monk and went to New France. There he obtained land, traded in furs, and heard from the Indians of the great rivers west of the Great Lakes. In 1669, having sold the land, Cavelier set off on a journey to the southwest from Ontario, discovered the Mississippi Ohio tributary and traveled more than 1.5 thousand km along the river. In the autumn of 1671, together with trappers, he proceeded along Erie and Huron to west bank Michigan. Having reached the southern edge of the lake, Cavelier and his companions entered the Illinois River and reached the Mississippi by boat. He did not dare to go down it, especially since the river, contrary to his expectations, flowed not to the southwest, but to the southeast.
However, Cavelier was not one of those who give up easily: even if the Mississippi does not flow into the Pacific Ocean, it certainly flows into the Gulf of Mexico. Finding a new route from Canada to the Antilles was worth a lot! Cavelier shared his plans with Frontenac and found an ally in him. But his idea was met with hostility by merchants from Montreal and the Jesuits (the latter even tried to poison him). Then Cavelier went to France, where he enlisted the support of Louis XIV himself. Then he received a title of nobility and became known as Seigneur de La Salem (perhaps this happened during his second visit to his homeland). However, La Salle had to raise money for the trip himself.
Having pledged his property in Quebec, he founded a fort at the mouth of the Niagara, which flows into Ontario, and began to build the Griffin ship for sailing on the lakes and rivers of America. While construction was going on, La Salle and his companions began to explore the surroundings and buy furs. When the Griffin was completed, they set off from Lake Erie to Huron, and from there to Michigan. After that, for some reason, the ship turned back - either La Salle heard rumors that creditors were selling his property, and he decided to pay them off with furs that were stored in Niagara Fort, or provisions were urgently needed.
La Salle himself, without waiting for the return of the ship, went to the Illinois River and built Fort Krevker, i.e. "Deep chagrin" on the shores of Lake Peoria. The name says: obviously, La Salle's plans were frustrated (although other explanations are possible).
Leaving a small garrison in the fort, La Salle, according to some sources, went to Montreal and Quebec to settle business with creditors, and according to others, he took a trip to the upper Mississippi. New trouble awaited him. It turned out that the Griffin, loaded with furs, was gone - either it sank during a storm, or it was captured by the Indians or the enemies of La Salle. In addition, a ship sank, sailing from France to Canada with cargo for it. Finally, the Crevecoeur garrison rebelled. I had to negotiate with the Indians in order to win the fort from the rebels.
At the end of 1681, La Salle led a detachment of several dozen people to the Mississippi. On a sleigh they reached the mouth of the Illinois and waited for the ice to pass. After the river was cleared of ice, the detachment set off on a long journey on pirogues. La Salle passed the mouth of the Missouri, Ohio, at the confluence of which he founded a fort, and on April 9, 1682, reached the Gulf of Mexico. Declaring the lands around the Mississippi and its tributaries the property of the French crown, La Salle named them Louisiana in honor of the king.
Returning to Canada along the Mississippi and the Great Lakes, the traveler found that Frontenac had been replaced by another governor who had outright enmity towards La Salle. Moreover, in his report to Louis XIV new the governor painted the Mississippi expedition in black paint, accusing La Salle of abuse of power, abuse, etc. Tom had to go to France and seek an audience with the king.
He achieved his goal and, having presented the king with a rich gift - Louisiana, which was several times larger than France, managed to interest Louis and the ministers in plans for a naval expedition to the mouth of the Mississippi and founding a colony on the Gulf of Mexico. The king appointed La Salle as governor of Louisiana and ordered several expeditionary ships to be equipped. But here's the trouble: the Jesuits intervened in the matter, achieving that the command of the flotilla was entrusted to their nominee, Captain Bozho. And there was nothing La Salle could do about it.
In June 1684 four ships left La Rochelle. La Salle and Beaujou made no secret of their mutual hostility, although the matter had not yet come to an open clash. In November, the ships ended up in the Gulf of Mexico. Following along the coast, La Salle and Beaujou passed by the Mississippi Delta without noticing it, which, in general, is not surprising, because the coastline here is extremely indented, with many bays and straits, and the river itself enters the bay not in a continuous stream, but in dozens of branches hiding in the thickets. Finally, the travelers landed on the island of Matagorda, located much west of the mouth of the Mississippi, and in the spring they built a fort at the mouth of the Lavaca River. But one of the ships sank, the other was captured by the Spaniards, and the remaining two were taken to France by Bozho, leaving La Salle with a small detachment. The latter stubbornly searched for the Mississippi, sending scouts west and east. Unsuccessfully…
The colonists plowed and sowed the area, but rainstorms and floods washed away all the crops. And then diseases came, and a year later only about 30 people remained in the La Salle detachment. He decided to head east and, if he was lucky, reach the Mississippi and follow it up to the Great Lakes. Of course, there was a high probability of being captured by the Spaniards, but it was better than starving to death. In February 1687, La Salle, with several exhausted and angry people, set out on the road. And on March 19, in the area of the Brazos River (now in the state of Texas), satellites killed him.
In the middle of the XVIII century. as a result of the Seven Years' War, France ceded the west of Louisiana to the Spanish and the east to the British. After the formation of the USA West Side Louisiana again passed to France. And in 1803, Napoleon sold this vast territory to the Americans for $15 million. He was too busy preparing to conquer Europe.
NUMBERS AND FACTS
Main character
René Robert Cavelier de La Salle, French merchant and explorer
Other actors
Louis XIV, King of France; Louis de Frontenac and Lefebvre de la Barre, governors of New France; God, Captain
Time of action
Route
Down the Mississippi to the Gulf of Mexico; France to Gulf of Mexico
Target
Expansion of French possessions in the New World, foundation of a colony on the coast of the Gulf of Mexico
Meaning
First passage by Europeans of the Mississippi; declaring vast territory around the river and its tributaries as French property