Jean Nicolet (Nicollet), Sieur de Belleborne (October 1642) was a French ''
coureur des bois
A coureur des bois (; ) or coureur de bois (; plural: coureurs de(s) bois) was an independent entrepreneurial French-Canadian trader who travelled in New France and the interior of North America, usually to trade with First Nations peoples by ...
'' noted for exploring
Lake Michigan
Lake Michigan is one of the five Great Lakes of North America. It is the second-largest of the Great Lakes by volume () and the third-largest by surface area (), after Lake Superior and Lake Huron. To the east, its basin is conjoined with that o ...
,
Mackinac Island
Mackinac Island ( ; french: Île Mackinac; oj, Mishimikinaak ᒥᔑᒥᑭᓈᒃ; otw, Michilimackinac) is an island and resort area, covering in land area, in the U.S. state of Michigan. The name of the island in Odawa is Michilimackinac ...
,
Green Bay, and being the first European to set foot in what is now the U.S. state of
Wisconsin
Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...
.
Early life
Nicolet (Nicollet) was born in
Cherbourg
Cherbourg (; , , ), nrf, Chèrbourg, ) is a former commune and subprefecture located at the northern end of the Cotentin peninsula in the northwestern French department of Manche. It was merged into the commune of Cherbourg-Octeville on 28 Feb ...
, France, in the late 1590s, the son of Thomas Nicollet, who was "messenger ordinary of the King between Paris and Cherbourg", and Marguerite de Lamer. They were members of the
Roman Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
. He was a known friend of
Samuel de Champlain
Samuel de Champlain (; Fichier OrigineFor a detailed analysis of his baptismal record, see RitchThe baptism act does not contain information about the age of Samuel, neither his birth date nor his place of birth. – 25 December 1635) was a Fr ...
and
Étienne Brule, and was attracted to Canada to participate in Champlain's plan to train young French men as explorers and traders by having them live among Native Americans, at a time when the French were setting up fur trading under the ''Compagnie des Marchands.''
[Andreas, Alfred Theodore (1884; 1975 rprt)]
''History of Chicago''
Vol. I, p. 39. Arno Press, Inc.
Arrival at Quebec
In 1618, Nicolet immigrated to
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 thirte ...
as a clerk to train as an interpreter for the ''
Compagnie des Marchands'', a trading monopoly owned by members of the French aristocracy. As an employee, Jean Nicolet was a faithful supporter of the ''
Ancien Régime
''Ancien'' may refer to
* the French word for " ancient, old"
** Société des anciens textes français
* the French for "former, senior"
** Virelai ancien
** Ancien Régime
** Ancien Régime in France
{{disambig ...
''.
To learn the language of the First Nations, Nicolet was sent to live with the
Algonquins
The Algonquin people are an Indigenous people who now live in Eastern Canada. They speak the Algonquin language, which is part of the Algonquian language family. Culturally and linguistically, they are closely related to the Odawa, Potawatomi ...
on Allumette Island, a friendly settlement located along the important
Ottawa River
The Ottawa River (french: Rivière des Outaouais, Algonquin: ''Kichi-Sìbì/Kitchissippi'') is a river in the Canadian provinces of Ontario and Quebec. It is named after the Algonquin word 'to trade', as it was the major trade route of Eastern ...
fur trade
The fur trade is a worldwide industry dealing in the acquisition and sale of animal fur. Since the establishment of a world fur market in the early modern period, furs of boreal ecosystem, boreal, polar and cold temperate mammalian animals h ...
route. Upon his return to Quebec in 1620, he was assigned to live among the
Odawa and Algonquin people in the
Lake Nipissing
Lake Nipissing (; french: lac Nipissing, oj, Gichi-nibiinsing-zaaga’igan) is a lake in the Canadian province of Ontario. It has a surface area of , a mean elevation of above sea level, and is located between the Ottawa River and Georgian Bay ...
region. During his nine-year stay, he ran a store and traded with the native peoples in the area.
He had a relationship with a Nipissing woman, and they had a daughter, whom he named Euphrosine-Madeleine Nicolet. When Nicolet returned to Quebec, he brought his daughter Euphrosine with him to educate her among the French. On July 19, 1629, when Quebec fell to the
Kirke brothers who took control for England, Jean Nicolet fled with to the safety of the
Huron
Huron may refer to:
People
* Wyandot people (or Wendat), indigenous to North America
* Wyandot language, spoken by them
* Huron-Wendat Nation, a Huron-Wendat First Nation with a community in Wendake, Quebec
* Nottawaseppi Huron Band of Potawato ...
country. He worked from there against English interests until the French were restored to power. After Canada was restored to France he married Marguerite Couillard. Marguerite, the daughter of leading Quebec settler
Guillaume Couillard and his wife Marie-Guillemette
Hébert
Hébert or Hebert may refer to:
People Surname
* Anne Hébert, Canadian author and poet
* Ashley Hebert, subject of ''The Bachelorette'' (season 7)
* Bobby Hebert, National Football League player
* Chantal Hébert, Canadian political commentato ...
, was also the goddaughter of Champlain. The couple were residents of Trois-Rivières in later life, where they raised children.
Exploration of Wisconsin
Since 1852, following the historian John Gilmary Shea, Nicolet is noted for being the first European to explore
Lake Michigan
Lake Michigan is one of the five Great Lakes of North America. It is the second-largest of the Great Lakes by volume () and the third-largest by surface area (), after Lake Superior and Lake Huron. To the east, its basin is conjoined with that o ...
. In 1634 he became the first European to explore what would become
Wisconsin
Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...
. Jean Nicolet landed at
Red Banks, near modern-day
Green Bay, Wisconsin
Green Bay is a city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. The county seat of Brown County, it is at the head of Green Bay (known locally as "the bay of Green Bay"), a sub-basin of Lake Michigan, at the mouth of the Fox River. It is above sea le ...
, in search of a passage to the Orient. He and other French explorers had learned from their native contacts that the people who lived along these shores were called ''
Ho-Chunk
The Ho-Chunk, also known as Hoocągra or Winnebago (referred to as ''Hotúŋe'' in the neighboring indigenous Iowa-Otoe language), are a Siouan-speaking Native American people whose historic territory includes parts of Wisconsin, Minnesota, Iow ...
,'' which some French mistakenly translated as "People of the Sea". In the Ho Chunk language, it means people of the big voice, because they believe their language was the original language of their family of tribal languages. However, the Ojibwe had a less appealing name for them, Winnebago, or "people of the fragrant waters," translated to French as, Puants or Puans. This exonym was derogatory, however, not knowing that, Nicolet concluded that the people must be from or near the
Pacific Ocean
The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the conti ...
, and would provide a direct contact with China.
Nicolet became the French ambassador to the Ho-Chunk people. He wore brightly colored robes and carried two pistols, to convey his authority. The Ho-Chunk people appreciated his ritual display. With some Ho-Chunk guides, Nicolet ascended the
Fox River, portaged to the
Wisconsin
Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...
, and travelled down it until it began to widen. So sure was he that he was near the ocean, that he stopped and went back to Quebec to report his discovery of a passage to the "South Sea," unaware that he had just missed finding the upper
Mississippi River
The Mississippi River is the List of longest rivers of the United States (by main stem), second-longest river and chief river of the second-largest Drainage system (geomorphology), drainage system in North America, second only to the Hudson B ...
.
Recent controversy
In the last couple decades, some have questioned the traditional account of Nicolet's arrival in Green Bay, saying that Nicolet was not looking for a route to China, did not wear a Chinese robe, and did not meet the Puans at Red Banks. Ronald Stiebe proposed that Nicolet did not even go to Lake Michigan but that the Puants were actually
Algonquin people
The Algonquin people are an Indigenous people who now live in Eastern Canada. They speak the Algonquin language, which is part of the Algonquian language family. Culturally and linguistically, they are closely related to the Odawa, Potawatomi ...
and Nicolet met them at
Keweenaw Bay, Michigan. Nancy Oestreich Lurie, of the
Milwaukee Public Museum—followed by Patrick J. Jung, of the
Milwaukee School of Engineering
The Milwaukee School of Engineering (MSOE) is a private university in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The campus is in the List of neighborhoods of Milwaukee, East Town neighborhood of downtown Milwaukee. The school's enrollment of 2,820 includes 224 g ...
br>
(PBS video, "Rethinking Jean Nicolet's Journey to Wisconsin," 2014)��concluded that Nicolet actually met the Puans near
Menominee, Michigan
Menominee ( ) is a city in the Upper Peninsula of the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 8,599 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Menominee County. Menominee is the fourth-largest city in the Upper Peninsula, behind Marquett ...
. Although the
Menominee people and the Puants were different tribes, they were allies who jointly controlled access to
Green Bay. Also, the Menominee would have been able to serve as interpreters for Nicolet in negotiations with the Puans. Lurie and Jung propose that the main purpose of Nicolet's mission was to establish peace between New France and the Puants and an alliance against the
Iroquois people
The Iroquois ( or ), officially the Haudenosaunee ( meaning "people of the longhouse"), are an Iroquoian-speaking confederacy of First Nations peoples in northeast North America/ Turtle Island. They were known during the colonial years t ...
.
Death
Jean Nicolet drowned after his boat capsized during using it in the ocean travelling and exploring.
Legacy
* Town of
Nicolet, Quebec
Nicolet () is the county seat of Nicolet-Yamaska Regional County Municipality, Quebec, Canada. The population as of the Canada 2016 Census was 8,169. It is the seat of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Nicolet.
The residents of the town pronounce the ...
was named after him.
*
Nicolet Area Technical College
Nicolet College is a public 2-year technical college whose main campus is in Rhinelander, Wisconsin. It has outreach centers in Carter, Crandon, Eagle River, the Forest County Potawatomi Community, Lac du Flambeau, Minocqua, Mole Lake, an ...
in
Rhinelander, Wisconsin
Rhinelander is a city in and the county seat of Oneida County, Wisconsin, Oneida County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 8,285 at the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census.
History
The area that eventually became the city of Rhine ...
bears his name.
*
Nicolet High School
Nicolet High School is a public secondary school located in Glendale, Wisconsin. It is the only school in the Nicolet Unified School District, which serves Glendale, Fox Point, Bayside, and River Hills. Primary schooling is administered by thr ...
in suburban Milwaukee was named after him.
* In 1950, a statue of him was erected and is now located at Wequiock Falls County Park, about 10 miles northeast of Green Bay and a mile from where it is believed he landed.
* Nicolet's landing at Red Banks is commemorated by a 1910 mural at the Neville Public Museum in
Green Bay, Wisconsin
Green Bay is a city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. The county seat of Brown County, it is at the head of Green Bay (known locally as "the bay of Green Bay"), a sub-basin of Lake Michigan, at the mouth of the Fox River. It is above sea le ...
.
* In 1906, the Jean Nicolet Chapter of the
Daughters of the American Revolution
The Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) is a lineage-based membership service organization for women who are directly descended from a person involved in the United States' efforts towards independence.
A non-profit group, they promote ...
was organized.
Jean Nicolet Chapter, National Society Daughters of the American Revolution
* Nicolet National Bank bears his name.
* Nicolet National Forest
Nicollet or Nicolet may refer to:
Canada
*Nicolet, Quebec, the county seat of Nicolet-Yamaska Regional County Municipality
*Nicolet River, Quebec, Canada
People
*Aurèle Nicolet (1926–2016), Swiss flautist
*Hercule Nicolet (1801–1872), Swiss ...
in northern Wisconsin bears his name.
* Nicolet Beach in Peninsula State Park, Wisconsin, bears his name.
* Nicollet Avenue in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, bears his name.
* There is a high school named after him in Nicolet, Quebec
Nicolet () is the county seat of Nicolet-Yamaska Regional County Municipality, Quebec, Canada. The population as of the Canada 2016 Census was 8,169. It is the seat of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Nicolet.
The residents of the town pronounce the ...
. L' École Secondaire Jean-Nicolet opened in 1968.
* A Liberty ship
Liberty ships were a class of cargo ship built in the United States during World War II under the Emergency Shipbuilding Program. Though British in concept, the design was adopted by the United States for its simple, low-cost construction. Ma ...
was launched and named after Jean Nicolet in 1943.
Important Notes
External links
Biography at the ''Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online''
''The Canadian Encyclopedia - Jean Nicollet de Belleborne''
''Jean Nicollet de Belleborne'' (French)
"MHS Resources: History in Winnipeg Streets"
References
* Brook, Timothy (1998), '' The Confusions of Pleasure: Commerce and Culture in Ming China'', Berkeley: University of California Press
The University of California Press, otherwise known as UC Press, is a publishing house associated with the University of California that engages in academic publishing. It was founded in 1893 to publish scholarly and scientific works by facul ...
.
Jacques Gagnon, Jean Nicollet, Interprète et commis de traite, Montréal, Les Éditions Histoire Québec, 2022, 149 p.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Nicolet, Jean
1598 births
1642 deaths
Explorers of Canada
French explorers of North America
17th-century explorers
Nicolet, Quebec
People of New France
People of pre-statehood Michigan
People of pre-statehood Wisconsin
Explorers of the United States