Jean-Baptiste Gaultier de la Vérendrye (September 3, 1713 – June 6, 1736) was the eldest son of

Pierre Gaultier de Varennes et de La Vérendrye Pierre is a masculine given name. It is a French form of the name Peter. Pierre originally meant "rock" or "stone" in French (derived from the Greek word πέτρος (''petros'') meaning "stone, rock", via Latin "petra"). It is a translation ...

and Marie-Anne Dandonneau Du Sablé. He was born on Île Dupas near Sorel,

New France New France (french: Nouvelle-France) was the area colonized by France in North America, beginning with the exploration of the Gulf of Saint Lawrence by Jacques Cartier in 1534 and ending with the cession of New France to Great Britain and Spai ...

Jean Baptiste, with three brothers,

Pierre Gaultier de La Vérendrye Pierre Gaultier de La Vérendrye de Boumois (December 1, 1714 – September 13, 1755) was the second son of Pierre Gaultier de Varennes, sieur de La Vérendrye. An explorer and fur trader who served many years under the command of his father, ...

, François de La Vérendrye, and

Louis-Joseph Gaultier de La Vérendrye Louis-Joseph Gaultier de La Vérendrye (November 9, 1717 – November 15, 1761) was a French Canadian fur trader and explorer. He, his three brothers, and his father Pierre La Vérendrye pushed trade and exploration west from the Great Lakes. He, h ...

, served in the expedition his father led west in 1731. When they arrived at

Fort Kaministiquia Fort Kaministiquia (former spellings include Fort Camanistigoyan, Fort Kanastigoya, Fort Kamanastigoya and others), was a French fort in North America. It was located on the north shore of Lake Superior at the mouth of the Kaministiquia River, in ...

some of the ''

engagé Engagés in Canada From the 18th century, an engagé (; also spelled '' engagee'') was a French-Canadian man employed to canoe in the fur trade as an indentured servant. He was expected to handle all transportation aspects of frontier river a ...

s'' (indentured employees), exhausted by the long journey by canoe from Montreal and discouraged by the difficult portages facing them, refused to go on. His father's second in command,

Christopher Dufrost de La Jemeraye Christopher Dufrost de La Jemeraye (also known as Christophe Dufrost de La Jemerais with various variations on the last name),(b. December 6, 1708 – d. May 10, 1736), was the lieutenant and nephew of Pierre Gaultier de Varennes et de La Vére ...

and Jean Baptiste led a smaller advance party west to

Rainy Lake Rainy Lake ( French: '; Ojibwe: ') is a freshwater lake with a surface area of that straddles the border between the United States and Canada. The Rainy River issues from the west side of the lake and is harnessed to make hydroelectricity for ...

and established a fort they named Fort St. Pierre (after the parish church where Jean Baptiste was baptised). The following year Jean Baptiste was instrumental in founding

Fort St. Charles Fort Saint Charles (1732) on Lake of the Woods was the second post built by La Vérendrye during his expansion of trade and exploration west of Lake Superior. It was located on Magnuson's Island on the Northwest Angle of Minnesota, 3.5 miles ea ...

Lake of the Woods Lake of the Woods (french: Lac des Bois, oj, Pikwedina Sagainan) is a lake occupying parts of the Canadian provinces of Ontario and Manitoba and the U.S. state of Minnesota. Lake of the Woods is over long and wide, containing more than 14,55 ...

and in 1734 he established

Fort Maurepas Fort Maurepas, later known as Old Biloxi, "Pierre Le Moyne, Sieur d'Iberville" (biography), ''Catholic Encyclopedia'', 1907, webpage: gives dates: 13 Feb. 1699, went to the mainland Biloxi, with fort completion May 1, 1699; sailed f ...

on the Red River. On June 6, 1736, Sioux Indians ambushed a party led by Jean Baptiste soon after they left

. They were headed for

to fetch provisions. Jean Baptiste, Father

Jean-Pierre Aulneau Jean-Pierre Aulneau de la Touche (21 April 1705 – 8 June 1736) was a Jesuit missionary priest who was briefly active in New France and killed before he could take part in his first major assignment which was to be an expedition to the Mandan. H ...

and 19 other men were massacred. Their bodies were later transported to Fort Saint-Charles and buried in the chapel. Jean-Baptiste de La Vérendrye's share in the construction of Fort Maurepas makes him one of the founders of the present province of Manitoba.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:La Verendrye, Jean Baptiste De 1713 births 1736 deaths Explorers of Canada Explorers of the United States French explorers of North America Canadian explorers People of New France

See also

References