1682 - LaSalle expedition maps the Mississippi

        LaSalle, the intrepid 17th century French explorer, was murdered by his own men in 1687 during his fifth mapping expedition on the lower Mississippi River.  His contribution to expanding French territories in the New World were extensive on both sides of the Mississippi River and across the American South.

        On this map, LaSalle claims the western region of the continent for Louis XIV of France.  LaSalle's claims, combined with those of Sieur de La Verendrye in the 1740s, would comprise almost 1 million square miles of France's territorial claims in the 'New World'.

     A detailed 18th century map of French territories in the New World.

http://www.personal.psu.edu/gal4/LaSalleExpedition2.html