Famous French Explorers

The French realized about the precious wealth lying in the west only after a Spanish ship laden with Mexican gold and silver was captured. This incident sparked the French dream of colonization of the New World. The French kings sought the services of some famous French explorers to discover maritime routes to the New World.

Jacques Cartier
One of the greatest French explorer in French history, Jacques Cartier, was born in 1491 at St Malo in France. He was the first person to explore the Gulf of St Lawrence, and chart the St Lawrence river. He left for his first expedition on May 10, 1534 in his ship Grande Hermine. This voyage was sanctioned by the King of France to discover a western passage, around North America, to the rich markets of Asia. On this journey he discovered the Prince Edward Island. Cartier built a fort at Stadacona - the modern day Quebec. Other than Grande Hermine Cartier used ships named Petite Hermine, Emerillon, Georges and Saint Brieux for voyages throughout his life. His beautiful journey of life, finally, came to an end with his death on 1st September, 1557 in his hometown St. Malo.

Samuel de Champlain
Also known as "The Father of New France", Samuel de Champlain, was a French explorer, geographer and cartographer. He was born in 1570, in Saintonge province of France. In 1608, he guided an expedition which led to the discovery of Quebec - the first permanent French colony in North America. He played a vital role in persuading the French government for further exploration in North America as he thought, it will help in discovering the north-west passage to Asia. Champlain was assigned the duty of the Governor of Quebec in 1612, which he continued until England conquered Quebec in 1629. He returned back to Quebec as the Governor when the Treaty of Saint-Germain-en-Laye (which returned Quebec to France) was signed in 1633. Here he spent the last few years of his life, before passing away on 25th December, 1635.

Jean-François de Galaup, comte de La Pérouse
Jean-François de Galaup was a French navy officer, and an explorer. He was born on 23rd August 1741 at Albi in France. At the age of 15, Jean-François joined a naval college in Brest. In 1782, he played a significant role in the war against British by capturing two English forts; Prince of Wales Fort and York Fort in Hudson Bay. Jean-François was selected by the French authorities to lead an expedition around the world. This expedition was aimed to explore the Pacific Ocean, establish trade contacts and open maritime routes. The expedition sailed off from France on 1st August 1785 in ships named 'Astrolabe' and 'Boussole'. During this journey, Jean-François became the first European to set his foot on Maui Island of Hawaii. The expedition crossed Pacific in 100 days. They traveled from Alaska to Northeast Asia and then to Australia. After reaching Botany Bay in Australia on 26th January, 1788, he sent his journals and letters to Europe with a British ship and continued his voyage towards the southern coast of Australia but there was no sign of him or his crew thereafter. It was assumed that his ships ran into some natural calamity and everybody on board, including Jean-François, lost their lives.

Louis Hennepin
Louis Hennepin was a catholic priest, and an explorer from France. He was born on 12th May, 1626 in Hainaut province of Belgium. Though born in Belgium, Hennepin became a French national when the French army captured 'Bethune', the area in which he lived, in 1659. In 1678, he was given the orders to accompany Robert de LaSalle in an expedition to explore the western areas of New France. He is believed to be the first European to step ashore the present-day Missouri. He is also credited with the discovery of two marvelous waterfalls Niagara Falls in North America and Saint Anthony Falls in Minneapolis. Instead of returning to France again, Hennepin preferred to spent the last days of his life in Rome.

Jules Dumont d'Urville
Jules Dumont was a French explorer and a Naval officer. He was born on May 23, 1790 in Basse-Normandie region of France. In 1807, Jules joined a naval academy at Brest. He was also trained in Botany and Entomology. He had good command over multiple languages like Greek, Italian, English, Chinese, Latin, German and Russian. His first navigation was the trip to Mediterranean Sea in 1814. Later he led expeditions to southern and western parts of Pacific ocean as well as the continent of Antarctica and Australia. In 1840, Jules was promoted to a Rear Admiral. Later on he went to become the President of French Societé de géographie. Jules Dumont died on 8th May, 1842 in a tragic rail accident, well known as, the Versailles train crash.

These were some famous explorers from France who carved a special niche for themselves with their tremendous contribution to the world geography.