{ French Arrive in the Gulf

In 1682 René-Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle sailed down the Mississippi River to the Gulf of Mexico and claimed the land for France, naming it La Louisiane, in honor of King Louis XIV. La Salle Sails for France

La Salle returns to ask King Louis XIV for permission to establish a colony at the mouth of the Mississippi. If they were to it would: - serve as a checkpoint to track Spanish activity in the Gulf - French expeditions from the colony could seize silver mines in Mexico - French Missionaries could teach the Catholic religion to the natives. - A colony at the mouth of the Mississippi could control trade in the Gulf and the interior of North America. The king grants La Salle 4 ships and allows him to take 300 colonists and 100 soldiers Why Establish a Colony?

La Salle encounters problems along the way that prevent him from finding the mouth of the Mississippi from the Gulf. - Once in the West Indies, one of the ships was attacked and captured by a Spanish buccaneer, therefore now the Spanish would be aware of the expedition - La Salle had also failed to record the exact location of the Mississippi River during his first voyage. Instead he reaches the Galveston Bay in 1685, one of his ships, La Belle, ran aground on a sandbar, losing supplies but La Salle continued on. He sailed inland on the Lavaca River and built Fort St. Louis near present-day Garcitas Creek. La Salle Misses the Mississippi Delta

Colonists made contact with the Karankawas. They were friendly until the French discovered that they had some of their supplies, and tried to recover their goods. Fighting broke out and from then on the French regarded the Karankawas as hostile. -without native help, conditions were more difficult La Salle soon needed supplies badly and decides to take a small party to seek a land route to the Mississippi. - Traveled down the Lavaca River and then eastward on foot, but was unsuccessful and returned to Ft. St. Louis- without most of his men. - Tried again in April with 20 men, made it east to the Sabine River before returning with 8 men. By 1686, only 45 French colonists were still alive. In 1687, La Salle decided to make another journey in search of a way home. - On the trip, several of the men plotted to kill him and he was shot a few months later. “He had a capacity and talent to make his enterprise successful… Had not all those excellent qualities been counterbalanced by too haughty a behavior… and by a rigidness towards those who were under his command, which at last drew on him implacable hatred, and was the occasion of his death.” –Henri Joutel Problems Settling

One of La Salle’s followers, Henri Joutel, and seven of the remaining survivors made their way to Canada. Joutel then leaves for France to report to the king and ask him to send an expedition to rescue the colonists left behind at Ft. St. Louis. -King Louis XIV says no, too much had been spent on exploring the gulf. -Most remaining settlers died, with the exception of 6 French children that were taken in by natives until the Spanish discovered them and took them to Mexico City. -The colony ultimately fails The Colony Fails

Even though the colony did not achieve any great success, it was still important For the development of Texas. - Played upon Spanish fears of the French claiming the Americas. - The Spanish now began working to settle Texas - Thousands of Texas Natives died by 1700 due to European exploration Importance of Fort St. Louis