La Salle's Expedition to the Gulf of Mexico
- When
- 1684–1688
- Where
- France; Texas
- Episodes
- 3
In 1684, La Salle departed France to establish a colony at the Mississippi mouth. The expedition landed in Texas, where he was assassinated in 1687, and the settlement was destroyed by 1688.
Episodes
- Departure from France
La Salle departed France on July 24, 1684, leading a large expedition to establish a colony at the Mississippi mouth.
- Assassination of La Salle
La Salle was slain by Pierre Duhaut during an ambush on March 19, 1687, while speaking with a decoy.
- Destruction of the Colony
The colony lasted until 1688, when Karankawa-speaking Natives killed the remaining adults and took five children captive.
Background and detail
Background. La Salle, a French explorer, claimed the Mississippi basin for France in 1682. He returned to France to plan a large expedition to establish a permanent colony at the river's mouth, aiming to secure French claims in the region.
Outcome and Legacy. The expedition ended in tragedy. La Salle was assassinated by Pierre Duhaut in 1687. The colony survived until 1688, when Karankawa-speaking Natives killed the remaining adults and took children captive. Historians later debated the exact site of this settlement.
People involved
- René-Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle · Expedition Leader
- Pierre Duhaut · Assassin
Sources
- René-Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle Wikipedia, revision of 2026-09-22
Machine-drafted from the cited Wikipedia passages and checked by a reviewing model, not by a human editor. Every passage cites the revision it was written from; dates and places follow those passages.