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Explorers of Canada, Part XVI: Louis Jolliet

© David Newman

Louis Jolliet was one of the first truly Canadian explorers as he was born on Canadian soil (the first in this series to be Canadian-born). He was born and baptized at Québec, September 21st, 1645, the son of Jean Jolliet, a Frenchman who worked with the Compagnie de la Nouvelle-France. He started, early on, at only 11 to begin training in the classics at the Collège des Jésuites and then went on to the Séminaire, in 1662. He was a very successful student writing brilliant work, yet in 1667 he left the ecclesiastic state and left for France where he did specialised studies in hydrography. He returned to Québec in 1668.

It wasn't long after his return that he was asked by the Intendant of New France, Jean Talon, to find out about a copper mine at the northern shore of Lake Superior and to negotiate trade with the natives. He and his associate Jean Péré left on four canoes, averted a battle between the Ottawa and the Iroquois and split, Péré looking for the mine, and Jolliet returning to Québec. On his way back he met, at Sault Sainte Marie, Father Marquette.

A year later, in 1670, Jolliet returned to the Great Lakes to trade with the Algonquins. In 1672 he participated in official takeover of Western lands for the King of France.

In 1673, Jolliet was named head of an expedition with Father Marquette to discover the Grande Rivière: the Mississippi. They sailed for days until they thought it unsafe to move any further south. On his return to the Great Lakes, Father Marquette and Louis Jolliet split up. Marquette stayed in the region while Jolliet went out to Sault Sainte Marie where he drew charts and studied the flora and fauna of the region.

In 1674 while on his way to Montreal (Ville-Marie), Jolliet's canoe tipped over and he lost all his documents including his journals on the discovery of the Mississippi. Although he rewrote much of it by memory, Marquette's documents are held as the truer version.

In 1675 he got married with Françoise Bissot with whom he had seven children. He served the King as a Seigneur on the Saint Lawrence and was given the Island of Anticosti, in 1680. He also became the King's hydrographer.

In 1694 he left to explore the Labrador. He discovered a number of islands and points which he named and claimed for France. He returned the next year. In 1697 he was named professor of hydrography of Québec.