Entries

Antoine Barraque (1773–1858)

Antoine Barraque established the settlement called New Gascony, one of the earliest settlements in what is now...

Jean Bernard Bossu (1720–1792)

Jean Bernard Bossu was a French captain and adventurer who explored the region of the Mississippi River while ...

Henri de Tonti (1649–1704)

aka: Henry de Tonty

Henri de Tonti helped establish the first permanent European settle...

French Explorers and Settlers

The French settlers’ experience in colonial Arkansas was vital to the history of the French presence in the ...

Jean-Baptiste Bénard de La Harpe (1683–1765)

Jean-Baptiste Bénard de La Harpe was a French officer, trader, and explorer. He was the first European explor...

René-Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle (1643–1687)

In 1682, French explorer René-Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle journeyed down the Mississippi River in sear...

Mallet Expeditions

French-Canadian brothers Pierre (1704–1751?) and Paul Mallet (1706?–1753?) participated in three expeditio...

Marquette-Joliet Expedition

In 1673, Father Jacques Marquette, a Jesuit missionary, and Louis Joliet (or Jolliet), a fur trader, undertook...

French