, Canada
1673 - Frontenac sends Marquette and Jolliet to explore the Missippi.

In 1673, Governor Louis de Buade de Frontenac of New France commissioned Father Jacques Marquette, a Jesuit missionary, and Louis Jolliet, a French-Canadian explorer and fur trader, to undertake an ambitious expedition to explore the Mississippi River. The goal of this mission was both strategic and economic: to map the river’s course, establish potential trade routes with Indigenous nations, and assert French influence in the interior of North America, especially in areas that might be contested by English or Spanish interests.

Marquette and Jolliet set out from the Great Lakes region, traveling through Lake Michigan and the Chicago River, eventually reaching the Mississippi River and navigating southward. Along the way, they engaged with numerous Indigenous communities, documenting languages, customs, and trade practices. Their exploration confirmed that the Mississippi flowed into the Gulf of Mexico, providing critical geographic knowledge for France and laying the groundwork for subsequent settlements and trading posts along the river.

The expedition had far-reaching consequences. It strengthened French claims in the Mississippi Valley, helped expand the fur trade into new territories, and contributed to European understanding of the North American interior. Marquette’s detailed journals combined with Jolliet’s practical navigational expertise produced one of the most important early European accounts of the region, influencing maps, colonial planning, and future exploration. This journey exemplified the blend of missionary zeal, commercial ambition, and strategic exploration that characterized French expansion in 17th-century North America.

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