Jean Baptiste Bissot, Sieur de Vincennes, (19 January 1668 – 1719) was a

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

soldier, explorer, and friend to the Miami Nation. He spent a number of years at the end of his life as an agent of New France among the Miami. Vincennes was born in

Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...

on 19 January 1668. His father, tanner François Byssot de la Rivière, was granted a

seigniory In English law, seignory or seigniory, spelled ''signiory'' in Early Modern English (; french: seigneur, lit=lord; la, senior, lit=elder), is the lordship (authority) remaining to a grantor after the grant of an estate in fee simple. ''Nulle terre ...

for his

tannery Tanning may refer to: *Tanning (leather), treating animal skins to produce leather *Sun tanning, using the sun to darken pale skin **Indoor tanning, the use of artificial light in place of the sun **Sunless tanning, application of a stain or dye t ...

on the

St. Lawrence River The St. Lawrence River (french: Fleuve Saint-Laurent, ) is a large river in the middle latitudes of North America. Its headwaters begin flowing from Lake Ontario in a (roughly) northeasterly direction, into the Gulf of St. Lawrence, connecting ...

in 1672. Later, he became a ward of his brother-in-law,

Louis Joliet Louis Jolliet (September 21, 1645after May 1700) was a French-Canadian explorer known for his discoveries in North America. In 1673, Jolliet and Jacques Marquette, a Jesuit Catholic priest and missionary, were the first non-Natives to explore and ...

, who entered him in the seminary at Quebec. Vincennes married Marguerite Forestier in

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple ...

in 1696. They had four daughters and three sons, including François-Marie. Through the efforts of his godfather, Jean Baptiste Talon, he secured a commission as ensign in the French marine. In 1696, the Comte de Frontenac appointed him as commander of the French outposts southeast of Lake Michigan (in present-day northeastern

Indiana Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th s ...

). Here he became good friends with the Miami people, settling first at the St. Joseph River, and, in 1704, establishing a trading post and fort at

Kekionga Kekionga (meaning "blackberry bush"), also known as KiskakonCharles R. Poinsatte, ''Fort Wayne During the Canal Era 1828-1855,'' Indianapolis: Indiana Historical Bureau, 1969, p. 1 or Pacan's Village, was the capital of the Miami tribe. It was ...

, the location of present-day

Fort Wayne, Indiana Fort Wayne is a city in and the county seat of Allen County, Indiana, United States. Located in northeastern Indiana, the city is west of the Ohio border and south of the Michigan border. The city's population was 263,886 as of the 2020 Censu ...

. The same year, the current governor-general of New France,

Philippe de Rigaud de Vaudreuil Philippe de Rigaud, Marquis de Vaudreuil (; c. 1643 – 10 October 1725) was a French military officer who served as Governor General of New France (now Canada and U.S. states of the Mississippi Valley) from 1703 to 1725, throughout Queen A ...

, wrote the French court to emphasize the importance of Bissot's services to New France among the Miami people. In 1712, Vincennes served as second in command at

Fort Detroit Fort Pontchartrain du Détroit or Fort Detroit (1701–1796) was a fort established on the north bank of the Detroit River by the French officer Antoine de la Mothe Cadillac and the Italian Alphonse de Tonty in 1701. In the 18th century, Fre ...

. In this position, he resided with the Miami to keep them from falling under the control of the British. He helped defeat the forces of the Fox Nation and acquired a young Fox slave, whom he named François-Michel. This slave eventually was owned by his son, François-Marie Bissot. He died in 1719 at Kekionga and was succeeded by his son as commander of the French in Miami country. After his death, a permanent garrison was established in the Maumee River area by

Jacques-Charles Renaud Dubuisson Jacques-Charles Renaud Dubuisson (1666–1739) was born in France and came to Canada in 1685. Renaud was a career soldier and, aside from a dueling incident, was consistently praised for his military and administrative work. His most important ...

Notes

References

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Bissot, Jean Baptiste 1668 births 1719 deaths Canadian explorers French Quebecers People of New France