1673: Jacques Marquette and Louis Jolliet
Who first explored the Mississippi River?
On May 8, 1541, south of present-day Memphis, Tennessee, Spanish conquistador Hernando de Soto reaches the Mississippi River, one of the first European explorers to ever do so.
Who were the two French explorers who found the Mississippi River?
JACQUES MARQUETTE & LOUIS JOLIET were sent to explore the Mississippi River in 1673 and answer two questions: Was the Mississippi the long-sought water passage to the Pacific Ocean?
Who Mapped the Mississippi?
Spanish conquistador and explorer Hernando de Soto depicted in Discovery of the Mississippi, oil on canvas by William H. Powell, 1848–53, in the rotunda of the U.S. Capitol, Washington, D.C.
Why did Louis Jolliet explore the Mississippi?
In 1673, Joliet embarked on a privately-sponsored expedition with Jacques Marquette, a missionary and linguist, to be among the first Europeans to explore what was called by Native Americans the “Mesipi” river and ascertain where it led to, with hopes of finding a passage to Asia .
How did settlers cross the Mississippi?
In. the early movement of settlers to Iowa, the Mississippi River played a double role. ... Rivers proved to be an unfailing source of trouble. The small streams were crossed by fording the larger ones by swimming the teams, wagons and all .
The first seigneury owners were, for the most part, nobles and religious communities. Over time, as seigneuries were sold or inherited, they changed hands and were divided up. In the late eighteenth century, most of them were in the hands of the middle class , of people of French or British origin.
Why did the French come to America?
Motivations for colonization: The French colonized North America to create trading posts for the fur trade . Some French missionaries eventually made their way to North America in order to convert Native Americans to Catholicism. ... The French in particular created alliances with the Hurons and Algonquians.
Did the French discover America?
France: Giovanni da Verrazano, Jacques Cartier and Samuel de Champlain. While Spain was building its New World empire, France was also exploring the Americas. ... He was followed in 1534 by Jacques Cartier, who explored the St. Lawrence River as far as present-day Montreal.
What is wrong with the Mississippi river?
The Mississippi River and its tributaries have been plagued by nutrient runoff , specifically excess nitrogen and phosphorous. ... All of that nitrogen and phosphorous runoff ultimately ends up in the Gulf of Mexico, triggering rapid overgrowth of algae.
Can you swim in the Mississippi river?
There are always unknown hazards in the Mississippi river due to bacteria levels according to Stuart Schmitz, a toxicologist at the Iowa Department of Public Health. ... He said the Mississippi is safe to swim and fish in , as long as people are safe about it.
Who named the Mississippi?
The state of Mississippi is named after the Mississippi River. Though the river was called by many different names, the name Mississippi given to it by the Indians was the name that was used on Robert Cavelier Sieur de La Salle’s map of the area in 1695. Mississippi means “large river” to the Chippewa Indians.
Where did Louis Jolliet really go?
Jolliet received a Jesuit education in New France (now in Canada) but left his seminary in 1667 and went to France. The following year he returned to New France to work in the fur trade.
What was Marquette’s goal?
In 1673, Father Jacques Marquette, a Jesuit missionary, and Louis Joliet, a fur trader, undertook an expedition to explore the unsettled territory in North America from the Great Lakes region to the Gulf of Mexico for the colonial power of France .
Why was the Mississippi the most important river?
The Mississippi River is one of the world’s major river systems in size, habitat diversity and biological productivity. It is also one of the world’s most important commercial waterways and one of North America’s great migration routes for both birds and fishes.
