French-Canadian explorer, founder of Louisiana, born in Montreal, Canada, on the 16th of July 1661. He entered the French navy as midshipman when fourteen years old. In 1690 he was one of the leaders in the retaliatory expedition against Schenectady. In October 1694, he captured Fort Nelson, on Hudson Bay. In 1696 he took nearly all of Newfoundland from the British, whom he defeated in the naval fights of 1697. In March 1699, he entered the Mississippi River and ascended it as far as the mouth of the Red River. He then built old Fort Biloxi at the head of Biloxi Bay. This was the first post established in Louisiana.
