Louis Hennepin
Louis Hennepin (born May 12, 1626 in Ath , Hainaut , † around 1705 in Rome ) was a Franciscan recollect , missionary and explorer.
Although he was born in today's Belgian Hainaut (then the Spanish Netherlands ), he became a French citizen in 1659 after his place of residence Béthune was occupied by the troops of Louis XIV and France was awarded in the Peace of the Pyrenees .
On behalf of Louis XIV, the Franciscans sent missionaries to New France , among them Hennepin, who set out for the New World in May 1675. From 1678 Hennepin accompanied René-Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle . In the course of this expedition, the Niagara Falls were discovered, and the two of them also navigated Lake Erie , Lake Huron and Lake Michigan , exploring the Great Lakes region for the first time . The aim of this expedition was the mapping of this area and the salvation of souls (for this reason he even carried a small altar on his back).
In 1680 there were disagreements with La Salle, members of the expedition mutinied. Hennepin also separated from the group and followed the Illinois to the Mississippi River , which he followed upstream to what is now Minneapolis . He discovered the Saint Anthony Falls , the only waterfalls on the Mississippi.
On April 11, 1680, Hennepin was captured by Sioux near the mouth of the Illinois, but released in July. Hennepin managed to return to the mouth of the Mississippi, he returned to France in 1681.
In 1683 he published his first work Description de la Louisiane, nouvellement découverte au Sud'Oüest de la Nouvelle France . This book contains the first map of Louisiana . His second work followed in 1698, it was published in London with the title A New Discovery of a Vast Country in America .
Since he was accused of fraud in France and refused to return, Hennepin went into exile in Rome, where he died around 1705.
literature
- Voyage ou nouvelle découverte d'un très-grand pays, dans l'Amérique, entre le Nouveau Mexique et la mer glaciale . Amsterdam 1704
Web links
- Literature by and about Louis Hennepin in the catalog of the German National Library
- Louis Hennepin . In: Dictionary of Canadian Biography . 24 volumes, 1966–2018. University of Toronto Press, Toronto ( English , French ).
- Hennepin in the Musée canadien de l'histoire , detailed curriculum vitae, animated map of his many expeditions 1678–1680; optional English or French
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Hennepin, Louis |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Belgian Franciscan, missionary and explorer of North America |
| DATE OF BIRTH | May 12, 1626 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Ath , Hainaut |
| DATE OF DEATH | around 1705 |
| Place of death | Rome |