A peace between the French and the western Iroquois in 1654 (Seneca, Cayuga,
Onondaga and Oneida) again opened the interior of New France to
exploration. While the Jesuits explored the upper St. Lawrence River
and the surrounding Iroquois country (lower Great Lakes area) in
the pursuit of their missionary work, Médard des Grosseillièrs
travelled west to Green Bay on Lake Michigan with some Ottawa and
Huron-Petun to promote the renewal of the fur trade. The collapse
of the Iroquoian mission in 1658, and the return of Des Groseilliers
from a second voyage in 1660, directed Jesuit efforts to the upper
Great Lakes where Des Groseilliers and Radisson had reported large
concentrations of Aboriginal peoples. In an attempt to establish
a mission on the shore of Lake Superior, Father Allouez successfully
explored and mapped Lake Superior from Sault Ste. Marie to Lake
Nipigon (1665 to 1667). In 1669 he mapped northern Lake Michigan
through Green Bay and then west up Fox River into present-day Wisconsin.
[D] Click for more information, 19 KB Radisson and Des Groseillers at Charles Fort, Hudson Bay
Following another French-Iroquois peace in 1666, the lower Great Lakes
were thoroughly explored and mapped by Dollier and Galinée. Their
orders had been to find a route to the Mississippi to begin missionary
work among the Potawatomie, but these had been curtailed when the party
lost its supplies on Lake Erie. The route explored by Dollier and Galinée
had been traversed earlier the same year by Adrien Jolliet, returning
from mining exploration with Jean Peré on the shores of Lake Superior.
The Saguenay system to Lac Saint-Jean had been explored by the Jesuits
in 1647. By 1663, missionaries and traders' agents had pushed exploration
to Lac Némiscau on the Rivière Rupert. Other missionaries,
accompanied by traders' agents explored the Rivière Saint-Maurice
and the Manicouagan rivers in the hope of instructing bands of the Montagnais.
Similarly, the Péribonka and Shipshaw rivers north of present-day
Chicoutimi were travelled by Jesuits but their routes are not known.
Voyages of Exploration
An audio description for each voyage of exploration shown on this
map can be accessed from the list below or through the map using
Get Statistics.
The descriptions of the voyages of exploration are based on research
by C.E. Heidenreich, Department of Geography, York University. An
audio version of each description can be played as the user follows
the exploration route made by the explorer on the map.
The Atlas of Canada relies on Apple’s QuickTime technology
for the delivery of multimedia content. The Atlas of Canada media
player will attempt to detect whether you have the necessary software
installed, and will give you notice if you do not. In order to play
the Atlas multimedia content, you must install the QuickTime player.
For general information on QuickTime before downloading go to:
http://www.apple.com/quicktime/products/
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