La Salle: The French Explorer Who Claimed Louisiana for France

René-Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle (1643–1687) completed the Mississippi's first full-length European descent in 1682, claiming the entire watershed for Louis XIV.

The Expedition

• 1682: Departed Fort Crevecoeur (Illinois) with 23 French, 18 Native Americans.
• Route: Illinois River → Mississippi → Gulf of Mexico.
• April 9, 1682: At mouth (near modern Venice, LA), buried lead plate, raised cross, proclaimed "Louisiane" — all lands drained by the Mississippi and its tributaries.

Aftermath & Legacy

• 1684: Returned with 4 ships, 300 colonists to establish Gulf coast colony—missed Mississippi by 400 mi, landed at Matagorda Bay, TX.
• 1687: Mutineers murdered him near Navasota, TX.
• Claim held until 1762 (ceded to Spain), returned 1800, sold to US 1803 (Louisiana Purchase — 828,000 mi²).

La Salle's vision—French empire from Quebec to New Orleans—shaped North America's geopolitical map. The Mississippi became the spine of a continental claim that ultimately became America's heartland.