Origins & Early Life

Louis Jolliet (French pronunciation: [lwi ʒɔljɛ]; September 21, 1645 – after May 1700) was a French-Canadian explorer known for his discoveries in North America. In 1673, Jolliet and Jacques Marquette, a Jesuit Catholic priest and missionary, were the first non-Natives to explore and map the Upper Mississippi River. Jolliet was born in 1645 in Beaupré, a French settlement near Quebec City, to Jean Jolliet and Marie D'Abancourt. When he was six, his father died; his mother married a successful merchant, Geoffroy Guillot dit Lavalle; he died in 1665.

Pivotal Works & Achievements

Shortly after the passing of his mother's second husband, she married Martin Prevost. She died in 1678. Jolliet's stepfather owned land on the Ile d'Orleans, an island in the Saint Lawrence River in Quebec that was home to First Nations. Jolliet spent much time on Ile d'Orleans, so he likely began speaking Indigenous languages of the Americas at a young age. Besides French, he also learned English and Spanish.

Enduring Legacy & Impact

During his childhood, Quebec was the center of the French fur trade. The Natives were part of daily life in Quebec, and Jolliet grew up knowing much about them. Jolliet entered a Jesuit school in Quebec as a child and...

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