page_title: Louisiana (New France)
section_title: Coureurs des bois
hierarchical_section_title: Louisiana (New France) / Colonial society / Colonists / Coureurs des bois
caption_attribution_description: English: Coureur de Bois in typical dress. These Frenchmen became involved in the 1650s in the fur trade. Woodcut by Arthur Heming (1870 - 1940). Français&#160;: Coureur de bois en habit typique. Ces Français se sont impliqués dans les années 1650 dans le commerce de la fourrure. Gravure sur bois de Arthur Heming (1870 - 1940).
context_page_description: Louisiana or French Louisiana was an administrative district of New France. Under French control 1682 to 1762 and 1801 to 1803, the area was named in honor of King Louis XIV, by French explorer René-Robert Cavelier, Sieur de la Salle. It originally covered an expansive territory that included most of the drainage basin of the Mississippi River and stretched from the Great Lakes to the Gulf of Mexico and from the Appalachian Mountains to the Rocky Mountains.
  Louisiana included two regions, now known as Upper Louisiana, which began north of the Arkansas River, and Lower Louisiana. The U.S. state of Louisiana is named for the historical region, although it is only a small part of the vast lands claimed by France.
  French exploration of the area began during the reign of Louis XIV, but French Louisiana was not greatly developed, due to a lack of human and financial resources. As a result of its defeat in the Seven Years' War, France was forced to cede the east part of the territory in 1763 to the victorious British, and the west part to Spain as compensation for Spain losing Florida.
context_section_description: The coureurs des bois (literally "runners of the woods") played an important part, though not well documented, in the expansion of French influence in North America. By the end of the 17th century, these adventurers had journeyed the length of the Mississippi River. They were motivated by the hope of finding gold or of carrying out a profitable fur trade with the Indians. The fur trade, often practiced without authorization, was a difficult activity, carried on most of the time by young unmarried men. Many ultimately wished to go on to more sedentary agricultural activities. Meanwhile, a good number of them were integrated into native communities, learned the languages, and took native wives. A well-known example is the French Canadian Toussaint Charbonneau, husband to Sacagawea, who gave birth to Jean-Baptiste. They took part in the Lewis and Clark Expedition in 1804–1806.
caption: A coureur des bois
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