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The French colonization of Texas began with Fort Saint Louis, established in 1685 near Arenosa Creek and Matagorda Bay by explorer Robert Cavelier de La Salle. He intended to found the colony at the mouth of the Mississippi River, but inaccurate maps and navigational errors caused his ships to anchor instead to the west, off the coast of Texas. The colony survived until 1688. Present-day Inez, Texas, later developed there. The colony faced numerous difficulties during its brief existence, including hostile Native Americans, epidemics, and harsh conditions. From that base, La Salle led several expeditions to find the Mississippi River. These did not succeed; but La Salle did explore much of the Rio Grande and parts of east Texas. During one of his absences in 1686, the colony's last ship was wrecked, leaving the colonists unable to obtain resources from the French colonies of the Caribbean. As conditions deteriorated, La Salle realized the colony could survive only with help from the French settlements in Illinois Country to the north, along the Mississippi and Illinois Rivers. His last expedition ended along the Brazos River in early 1687, when La Salle and five of his men were murdered during a mutiny. Although a handful of men reached Illinois Country, help never made it to Fort St. Louis. Most of the remaining members of the colony were killed during a Karankawa raid in late 1688; four children survived after being adopted as captives. Although the colony lasted only three years, it established France's claim to possession of the region that is now Texas. The United States later claimed, unsuccessfully, this region as part of the Louisiana Purchase because of the early French colony. Spain learned of La Salle's mission in 1686. Concerned that the French colony could threaten Spain's control over New Spain and the southern part of North America, the Crown funded multiple expeditions to locate and eliminate the settlement. The unsuccessful expeditions helped Spain to better understand the geography of the Gulf Coast region. When the Spanish finally discovered the remains of the French colony in 1689, they buried the cannons and burned the buildings. Years later, Spanish authorities built a ''presidio'' at the same location. When the ''presidio'' was abandoned, the site of the French settlement was lost to history. It was rediscovered by historians and excavated in 1996, and the area is now an archaeological site. In 1995, researchers located the ship ''La Belle'' in Matagorda Bay, with several sections of the hull remaining virtually intact. They constructed a cofferdam, the first to be used in North America, to excavate the ship as if in dry conditions. In 2000, excavations revealed three of the original structures of the fort, as well as three graves of Frenchmen. ==Expedition== By the late 17th century, much of North America had been claimed by European countries. Spain had claimed Florida as well as modern-day Mexico and much of the southwestern part of the continent. The northern and central Atlantic coast was claimed by Britain, and New France comprised much of what is now Canada as well as the central Illinois Country. The French feared that their territory was vulnerable to the expansionist aims of its neighbors. In 1681, French nobleman Robert Cavelier de La Salle launched an expedition down the Mississippi River from New France, at first believing he would find a path to the Pacific Ocean. Instead, La Salle found a route to the Gulf of Mexico. Although Hernando De Soto had explored and claimed this area for Spain 140 years before, on April 9, 1682, La Salle claimed the Mississippi River valley for French king Louis XIV, naming the territory Louisiana in his honor. Unless France established a base at the mouth of the Mississippi, Spain would have an opportunity to control the entire Gulf of Mexico and potentially pose a threat to New France's southern borders. La Salle believed that the Mississippi River was near the eastern edge of New Spain. On his return to France in 1684, he proposed to the Crown establishing a colony at the mouth of the river. The colony could provide a base for promoting Christianity among the native peoples as well as a convenient location for attacking the Spanish province of Nueva Vizcaya and gaining control of its lucrative silver mines.〔 He argued that a small number of Frenchmen could successfully invade New Spain by allying themselves with some of the more than 15,000 Native Americans who were angry over Spanish enslavement.〔 After Spain declared war on France in October 1667, King Louis agreed to support La Salle's plan.〔 He was to return to North America and confirm "the Indians' allegiance to the crown, leading them to the true faith, and maintaining intertribal peace".〔 La Salle originally planned to sail to New France, journey overland to the south and Illinois Country, and then travel down the Mississippi River to its mouth. To spite Spain, Louis XIV insisted that La Salle sail through the Gulf of Mexico, which Spain considered its exclusive property. Although La Salle had requested only one ship, on July 24, 1684, he left La Rochelle, France with four: the 36-gun man of war ''Le Joly'', the 300-ton storeship ''L'Aimable'', the barque ''La Belle'', and the ketch ''St. François''.〔 *〕〔 Although Louis XIV had provided both ''Le Joly'' and ''La Belle'', La Salle desired more cargo space and leased ''L'Aimable'' and ''St. François'' from French merchants. Louis also provided 100 soldiers and full crews for the ships, as well as funds to hire skilled workers to join the expedition. La Salle was forced to purchase trade goods himself for expected encounters with Native Americans. . The ships carried a total of nearly 300 people, including soldiers, artisans and craftsmen, six Catholic missionaries, eight merchants, and over a dozen women and children.〔 Shortly after their departure, France and Spain ceased hostilities, and Louis was no longer interested in sending La Salle further assistance. Details of the voyage were kept secret so that Spain would not learn about it. La Salle's naval commander, the Sieur de Beaujeu, resented La Salle's keeping their destination until the party was well underway. The discord between the two intensified when they reached the island of Santo Domingo and quarreled over where to anchor. Beaujeu sailed to another part of the island, allowing Spanish privateers to capture the ''St. François'', which had been fully loaded with supplies, provisions, and tools for the colony.〔 During the 58-day voyage, two people died of illness and one woman gave birth to a child.〔 The voyage to Santo Domingo had lasted longer than expected, and provisions ran low, especially after the loss of the ''St. François''. La Salle had little money with which to replenish supplies, and finally two of the merchants aboard the expedition sold some of their trade goods to the islanders, and lent their profits to La Salle. To fill the gaps left after several men deserted, La Salle recruited a few islanders to join the expedition. In late November 1684, when La Salle had fully recovered from a severe illness, the three remaining ships continued their search for the Mississippi River delta. Before they left Santo Domingo, local sailors warned that strong Gulf currents flowed east and would tug the ships toward the Florida straits unless they corrected for it.〔 On December 18, the ships reached the Gulf of Mexico and entered waters that Spain claimed as its territory. None of the members of the expedition had ever been in the Gulf of Mexico or knew how to navigate it. Due to a combination of inaccurate maps, La Salle's previous miscalculation of the latitude of the mouth of the Mississippi River, and overcorrection for the currents, the expedition failed to find the Mississippi. Instead, they landed at Matagorda Bay in early 1685, west of the Mississippi.〔 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「French colonization of Texas」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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