Jacques Marquette and Louis Jolliet : Exploration, Encounter, and the French New World

In this succinct dual biography, Laura Chmielewski demonstrates how the lives of two French explorers – Jacques Marquette, a Jesuit missionary, and Louis Jolliet, a fur trapper – reveal the diverse world of early America. Following the explorers'' epic journey through the center of the American continent, Marquette and Jolliet combines a story of discovery and encounter with the insights derived from recent historical scholarship. The story provides perspective on the different methods and goals of colonization and the role of Native Americans as active participants in this complex and uneven process.

In 1673, two French explorers - Jacques Marquette, a Jesuit missionary, and Louis Jolliet, a fur trapper and trader - embarked on a journey of exploration in the center of the American continent, becoming the first Europeans to travel the Mississippi River and its environs. A century before Lewis and Clark, their voyage took place at a time when many European countries were struggling for power in North America, and native peoples and Europeans were encountering and relating to one another in complex and varied ways.

In this concise narrative, Laura Chmielewski shows how the lives of these two very different men reveal the world of early America. Combining a fascinating story of exploration and encounter with the insights derived from recent historical scholarship, this book introduces students to the varying goals of Europeans colonists, the contributions and activities of Native Americans, and early North American history beyond the conventional narrative of the eastern British colonies.