page_title: Pierre Gaultier de Varennes, sieur de La Vérendrye
section_title: Explorations
hierarchical_section_title: Pierre Gaultier de Varennes, sieur de La Vérendrye / Explorations
caption_attribution_description: Deutsch: Physische Positionskarte von Ontario, Kanada Quadratische Plattkarte, N-S-Streckung 155&#160;%. Geographische Begrenzung der Karte: N: 57.1° N S: 41.3° N W: 95.5° W O: 74.0° W English: Physical location map of Ontario, Canada Equirectangular projection, N/S stretching 155&#160;%. Geographic limits of the map: N: 57.1° N S: 41.3° N W: 95.5° W E: 74.0° W
context_page_description: Pierre Gaultier de Varennes, sieur de La Vérendrye was a French Canadian military officer, fur trader and explorer. In the 1730s, he and his four sons explored the area west of Lake Superior and established trading posts there. They were part of a process that added Western Canada to the original New France territory that was centred along the Saint Lawrence basin.
  He was the first known European to reach present-day North Dakota and the upper Missouri River in the United States. In the 1740s, two of his sons crossed the prairie as far as present-day Wyoming, United States and were the first Europeans to see the Rocky Mountains north of New Mexico.
context_section_description: In 1726 his fortunes changed when his brother Jacques-René was appointed the commander of the poste du Nord. This was the north shore of Lake Superior with three main posts: Fort Kaministiquia, which was a terminus for the main route west; a post at the mouth of the Nipigon River; and one near Wawa, Ontario, which had river connections to James Bay. La Vérendrye began trading in the area and in 1728 was appointed as commandant when his brother left to fight the Fox Indians.
  He became involved with the quest to find a route to the Pacific, what was known as the Northwest Passage. Under the 1713 Treaty of Utrecht, the English had taken control of Hudson Bay and thereby blocked the French from using that area. At this time people thought that not far to the west was an inlet from the Pacific called the mer du couchant, similar to the equally mythical Strait of Annian. They thought also that travelers could cross the height of land and find a River of the West that flowed all the way to the Pacific. (For the area to be explored see Early Canadian canoe routes, Nelson River Basin).
  In 1688 Jacques de Noyon had reached Rainy Lake. In 1717 Zacharie Robutel de La Noue tried to reach Rainy Lake but succeeded only in establishing Fort Kaministiquia.  The English on Hudson Bay heard reports of coureurs des bois west of Lake Superior, but they left no records in the French archives. Morton thinks they may have gotten as far as Lake Winnipeg. In 1716 a memoir drawn up by Governor Vaudreuil showed lakes and portages as far as Lake of the Woods, from which flowed a river to the "Sea of the West". This implies that Frenchmen had explored west of Lake Superior before Vérendrye did so.
  La Vérendrye questioned the Indians who came to trade. He learned of the Mandan country on upper Missouri. These people were described as white men who lived in big houses. Auchagah, aCree guide, made a map of the canoe routes between Lake Superior and Lake Winnipeg based on his and other Cree experience. La Vérendrye judged correctly that Lake Winnipeg was the geographic key which had to be reached to allow further exploration.
  In 1730 he met Governor Beauharnois at Quebec and worked out a plan. La Vérendrye would build a post on Lake Winnipeg. The expedition would be paid for by Quebec merchants who hoped to profit from the resulting fur trade. This financing was fragile because the merchants lacked the capital and organization to efficiently move supplies so far to the west. An additional goal was to divert furs from being traded to the English on Hudson Bay. In the absence of government funds, exploration was dependent on financing from the fur trade. It is not clear whether La Verendrye was genuinely interested in exploration or whether exploration was a pretext for expansion of the fur trade. Maurepas, the French Minister of Marine, was very interested in exploration, but would not provide funds. The French-Canadians were interested in the fur trade.
  In 1731 La Verendrye, three of his sons and 50 engagés left Montreal. That autumn his son Jean-Baptiste built Fort St. Pierre on Rainy Lake. Next year they built Fort St. Charles on Lake of the Woods, which became his headquarters for the next several years. In 1733 Jean-Baptiste got within 20 miles of Lake Winnipeg but was blocked by ice and lack of supplies. In 1734 their party reached Lake Winnipeg. Jean-Baptiste built Fort Maurepas near the mouth of the Red River at the southern end of the lake. In 1734 La Verendrye went to Quebec to reorganize the finances and returned to the western post the following spring. In 1734 more than half the beaver pelts reaching Quebec came from La Verendrye's posts. But by 1736 it was clear that the supply system was not working, and Jean-Baptiste was forced to go to Lake Superior for supplies. He and eighteen other Frenchmen were killed by the Sioux at a place called Massacre Island on Lake of the Woods. La Verendrye restrained the local Cree from a war of revenge in order to protect the fur trade. In 1737 La Verendrye returned to Quebec on business.
  In Paris, Maurepas
caption: Yellow: Founded by Verendrye and his sons
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