Louis Jolliet | |
|---|---|
 Alfred Laliberté's Louis Jolliet sculpture in front ofParliament Building (Quebec) | |
| Born | (1645-09-21)September 21, 1645 nearQuebec,New France |
| Died | 1700 (aged 54–55) en route from Quebec toAnticosti Island |
| Allegiance | New France (Canada) |
| Awards | Jolliet was granted land south of Quebec in return for his favours |
| Relations | Jean Jolliet: Father |
| Other work | Canadian explorer |
| Signature |  |
Louis Jolliet (French pronunciation:[lwiʒɔljɛ]; September 21, 1645 – after May 1700) was aFrench-Canadian explorer known for his discoveries in North America.[1][2] In 1673, Jolliet andJacques Marquette, aJesuitCatholic priest andmissionary, were the first non-Natives to explore and map the UpperMississippi River.
Jolliet was born in 1645 inBeaupré, aFrench settlement nearQuebec City,[3] to Jean Jolliet and Marie D'Abancourt. When he was six, his father died; his mother married a successful merchant, Geoffroy Guillot dit Lavalle, until he died in 1665. Shortly after the passing of his mother's second husband, she was married to Martin Prevost until she died in 1678.[4] Jolliet's stepfather owned land on theIle d'Orleans, an island in theSaint Lawrence River in Quebec that was home toFirst Nations. Jolliet spent much time on Ile d'Orleans, so he likely began speakingIndigenous languages of the Americas at a young age. BesidesFrench, he also learned English and Spanish. During his childhood, Quebec was the center of the Frenchfur trade. The Natives were part of daily life in Quebec, and Jolliet grew up knowing much about them. Jolliet entered a Jesuit school in Quebec as a child and focused on philosophical and religious studies, aiming for the priesthood. He also studied music, becoming a skilledharpsichordist and church organist. He receivedHoly Orders in 1662 but abandoned his plans to become a priest, leaving the seminary in 1667 to pursue fur trading.[5]
WhileHernando de Soto was the first European to make an official note of the Mississippi River by discovering its southern entrance in 1541, Jolliet and Marquette were the first to locate its upper reaches and travel most of its length, about 130 years later. De Soto had named the river Rio del Espiritu Santo, but tribes along its length called it variations of "Mississippi," meaning "Great River" in theAlgonquian languages.
On May 17, 1673, Jolliet and Marquette departed fromSt. Ignace, Michigan, with two canoes and five othervoyageurs of French-Indian ancestry. The group sailed toGreen Bay. They paddled upstream (southward) on theFox River to the site now known asPortage, Wisconsin. There, theyportaged a distance of slightly less than two miles through marsh and oak forest to theWisconsin River. Europeans eventually built a trading post at that shortest convenient portage between the Great Lakes and Mississippi River basins. On June 17, the canoeists ventured onto the Mississippi River near present-dayPrairie du Chien, Wisconsin.
The Jolliet-Marquette expedition paddled along the west bank of the Mississippi until mid-July. When they passed the mouth of theArkansas River, they became satisfied that they had established that the Mississippi flowed into the Gulf of Mexico. By this point, they had encountered natives carrying European goods and worried about a possible hostile encounter with explorers or colonists from Spain.[6][7] The voyageurs followed the Mississippi back to the mouth of theIllinois River, which friendly natives told them was a shorter route back to the Great Lakes. Following the Illinois river upstream, they turned up its tributary, theDes Plaines River near modern-dayJoliet, Illinois. They continued up the Des Plaines River and portaged their canoes and gear at theChicago Portage. They followed theChicago River downstream until they reached Lake Michigan near modern-dayChicago. Father Marquette stayed at the mission of St. Francis Xavier at the southern end of Green Bay, which they reached in August. Jolliet returned to Quebec to relate the news of their discoveries. On his way through theLachine Rapids, Jolliet's canoe overturned, and his records were lost. His brief narrative, written from memory, is in essential agreement with Marquette's, the chief account of the journey.[8]
Jolliet married Claire-Françoise Byssot de la Valtrie. Like Jolliet, she was Canadian-born, a daughter of Francois Byssot de la Riviere and his wife Marie Couillard. Claire Francoise was also a sister of Louise Byssot de la Valtrie, wife of Seraphin de Margane, Seigneur de la Valtrie. In 1680, Jolliet was granted theIsland of Antwhere byLouis XIV as a reward, where he created a fort and maintained soldiers. In 1693, he was appointed "Royal Hydrographer," and on April 30, 1697, he was granted aseigneury southwest ofQuebec City, which he named Jolliest.
In 1694, he sailed from the Gulf of St. Lawrence north along the coast ofLabrador as far north asZoar, a voyage of five and a half months. He recorded details of the country, navigation, theInuit and their customs. His journal ("Journal de Louis Jolliet allant à la decouverte de Labrador, 1694") is the earliest known detailed survey of the Labrador coast from theStrait of Belle Isle to Zoar.
In May 1700, Louis Jolliet left forAnticosti Island in theGulf of St. Lawrence. He then disappears from the historical record. There is no record of his death or burial place, and the sole record of his fate is the notation that a Mass for his soul was said in Quebec on September 15, 1700.[9]
Jolliet's main legacy is most tangible in theMidwestern United States and Quebec, mostly through geographical names, including the cities ofJoliet, Illinois;Joliet, Montana; andJoliette,Quebec (founded by one of Jolliet's descendants,Barthélemy Joliette).
The several variations in the spelling of the name "Jolliet" reflect a time when illiteracy or poor literacy was common and spelling was unstandardized.[10] Jolliet's descendants live throughout eastern Canada and the United States.
The Jolliet Squadron of cadets at theRoyal Military College Saint-Jean in theProvince of Quebec was named in Jolliet's honor. A street in Montreal, Quebec, is named after him.[11] The Louis Jollietrose, developed byAgriculture and Agri-Food Canada, was named in his honor.[12]Joliet Junior College in Joliet, Illinois, is named after the explorer, and numeroushigh schools in North America. TheLouis Joliet Mall in Joliet, Illinois, is named for the explorer. A cruise ship sailing out of Quebec City is also named in his honour.
Jolliet appears with Jacques Marquette on a 1968 United States postage stamp honoring their exploratory voyage.
This article incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain: Herbermann, Charles, ed. (1913). "Louis Joliet".Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company.
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