Warm-up: 10/3/2016 Have you ever had a rivalry with a friend, cousin, or sibling where you really wanted to win some sort of competition? Explain.

French Exploration of Texas

Robert Cavelier de La Salle Robert Cavelier de la Salle was a French explorer who sought to expand the French empire and to profit from trading furs and other goods. La Salle claimed the land that drained by the Mississippi for France and named it Louisiana after King Louis XIV. Returned to France in 1684 and requested to set up a colony in the region at the mouth of the Mississippi river.

Establishment of Ft. Saint Louis In 1684, La Salle set sail from France en route to America to establish a French colony at the mouth of the Mississippi River. They became lost and landed in Matagorda Bay, Texas in 1685 (near modern-day Houston). Set up Fort St. Louis with 300 soldiers and settlers. By July 1685, over half of the settlers were dead from hunger, disease, and attack from the Karankawa’s. La Salle decided to look for help with 17 of his soldiers and while on the journey he was murdered by his own men. In 1688-1689 the settlement was attacked by the Karankawas, they killed all the adults and took the 5 children captive. (They were later rescued by other expeditions) La Salle was blamed for the failure of this expedition.

What do you think the Spanish did in response to the French entering their territory? Would you be upset if you were Spain? (Discuss with your elbow partner)

Spanish Reaction Spain realized that France had gained control of their territory They knew they had to start settling the area to keep their power in North America This began a time of Spanish Missions….

Comic Strip Activity Sort the following events in chronological order and create a comic strip depicting each of the events. La Salle’s colony fails (Misfortune – Indians, disease, hunger) Spanish reaction to French (Missions). La Salle claims all land drained by the Mississippi and names it Louisiana. Spanish discover French in territory. In 1684, La Salle established Fort Saint Louis (Matagorda Bay).