During the 1500 and 1600 hundreds, France and Spain were ...



FRANCE in the USA

Thousands of place names in the United States have French-related names (from early French exploration, in honor of French help during the American Revolution, and for early Americans of French, especially Huguenot, ancestry: Marion, Revere, Fremont, Lanier, Sevier, Macon).

Some places were given names by French immigrants to remind them of “home”:

Nouvelle Orléans, Louisiana (New Orleans) - named after Orléans, France

Saint-Louis, Missouri - named for King Louis IX of France “Saint Louis”

Joliet, Illinois – in honor of a French-Canadian explorer

Detroit, Michigan - étroit = the strait (the Detroit river is a strait connecting Lakes Erie and St. Clair)

New Rochelle, New York - named after La Rochelle, France

Baton Rouge - "Red Stick" (perhaps from a native American reference)

Des Moines, Iowa - perhaps for French monks (moines) who lived at the mouth of the Des Moines river

Right here in our neighborhood we can find:

in Richmond: Hugenot Road - the Hugenots were Protestant Christians persecuted in France

Bon Air - “good air” perhaps because the area south of the James River was more pleasant than in Richmond City

the Virginia towns of: Chantilly, La Crosse, and Purcellville

The suffix "-ville" is common as "ville" is the French word for "city"

Louisville, Kentucky Bienville, Louisiana

Fayetteville, Arkansas Abbeville, Georgia

Belleville, Kansas Montville, Connecticut

D'Iberville Mississippi Bonneauville, Pennsylvania

Many originally French place names were replaced with directly-translated English names once English-speaking American settlers took over:

“La Petite Roche” became Little Rock

“Baie Verte” became Green Bay

“Grandes Fourches” became Grand Forks

• FRENCH EXPLORATION in NORTH AMERICA

Beginning in the 16th century, French explorers sailed west to the Americas, a place unknown in Europe before to 1492. During the 1500 and 1600 hundreds, France and Spain were in a race to colonize the New World. The French set up colonies and settlements in many parts of North America, as trading posts. French explorers (and others from England, Portugal, Spain, and Italy) began their voyages of discovery seeking:

*Wealth - gold, silver, and spices *Increased power in Europe *Building European empires

*Increasing opportunities for trade *Spreading Christianity *Prestige

The French tried to start the first permanent European colony in North America in 1541 at Cap-Rouge, Québec but because of Indian attacks and bad weather, it was abandoned. There were unsuccessful attempts to found colonies in 1612 in Brazil at São Luís ("France Équinoxiale"), and in 1555 at Rio de Janeiro ("France Antarctique"). In 1562 the French were the first to challenge Spain in South Carolina, with Charlesfort on Parris Island (South Carolina). Fort Caroline, built in 1564 near Jacksonville, Florida, lasted only a year before the Spanish from St. Augustine overran it. In 1604, Saint Croix Island, Maine was the site of another failed colony. Many Caribbean islands such as Hispaniola, Martinique and Guadalupe were originally settled by French missionaries, but the Dutch, English, and Spain challenged France's claim to the islands. Settlement along the South American coast in what is today French Guiana began in 1624, and in 1664 the French settled Saint-Dominique a colony on the island of Hispaniola. It was France’s richest colony, until a slave revolt in 1791 freed it from French rule. Today it is called Haïti. Even Fort Saint Louis, Texas built in 1685, was gone by 1688.

French colonization also happened In Sénégal, West Africa, with coastal trading posts in 1624. Colonies were established in India in Chandernagore (1673) and Pondicherry in the Southeast (1674), and later at Yanam (1723), Mahe (1725), and Karikal (1739). Colonies were also in the Indian Ocean, on the Île de Bourbon (Réunion, 1664), Île de France (Mauritius, 1718), and the Seychelles (1756).

The French were the first to explore the Great Lakes region, the Mississippi river (from Minnesota south to the Gulf of Mexico), and first to colonize Louisiana and to take a census there. In the 1670s, exploration of "Le Pays des Illinois" (Mid-Mississippi Valley) had begun. French settlers in the Sainte Genevieve area established the first farms in Missouri around 1725. French coureurs-de-bois (woodsmen and trappers) developed the fur trade and explored the Rockies, leading the way for English traders and settlers. Acadians, or French speakers exiled from the Maritime Provinces of Canada, arrived in Louisiana mainly between 1765 and 1768. The word Cajun is a derivation of their name. In the 1700-1800s French Huguenots migrated into this country, and French-Canadians came to work in New England factories. Even Oregon (around Portland and Seattle) was explored by the French, after first being settled by Germans and Scandinavians.

The first “French” explorer of North America was Giovanni de Verazzano, an Italian who was commissioned by Francis I, King of France in 1524, to make a voyage of discovery to North America. Well-known French explorers like Jacques Cartier (1491-1557), Samuel de Champlain: (1570 -1635), Etienne Brulé (1592-1633), Jean Nicolet (1598-1642), Antoine de la Mothe Cadillac (1656-1730), Robert de LaSalle (1643-87), Jacques [Père] Marquette (1637-1675), Louis Jolliette (1645-1700) and others like them, mapped or described much of the North American continent.

• FAMOUS FRENCH EXPLORERS in the AGE of DISCOVERY

Jacques Cartier (1491-1557) led three expeditions to New France (Canada) beginning in 1531, when King Francis I of France sent Cartier, with two small ships and 61 crew members, to look for the Northwest Passage, the short route to the Pacific Ocean. Three weeks after leaving France, he was sailing off the coast of Newfoundland. He did not find a river that would take ships west from the Atlantic to the Pacific Ocean, but did discover the St. Lawrence River. When he reached its headwaters on a high hill, he named it Mont Réal or King's Mountain in honor of the King of France. Mont Réal later became Montréal. Cartier named the whole area New France and claimed it for France.

Pierre du Gua, Sieur de Monts (1560?-1630?), explorer and colonizer of the region of Acadia in Canada. King Henry IV of France made de Monts a lieutenant general and governor of Acadia. He was also given a monopoly over the fur trade in Acadia on the condition that he bring settlers there. He sailed for America in March 1604 with Jean de Biencourt de Poutrincourt and Samuel de Champlain. They explored the Bay of Fundy and settled at the mouth of the Saint Croix River. In 1605, they founded Port Royal, in the colony of Acadia in Nova Scotia.

Samuel de Champlain (1567 - 1635) is known as “The Father of New France (Canada)” and explorer of the Great Lake. He was the first to fully explore the eastern shores of Canada and the coast of New England, charting the Atlantic coast from Cape Breton Island in Canada to Martha's Vineyard in Massachusetts. In 1608, he brought a group of settlers to the area around Montreal, and founded the city of Quebec as a fur-trading post, opening up the fur trade from North American to France. He befriended the Huron Indians, bringing missionaries to live with them and build churches. He continued Cartier's expeditions of the St. Lawrence river, and explored the Ottowa River. In 1609, he became the first European to reach the lake in New York, Vermont, and Quebec that now called Lake Champlain.

Etienne Brulé (1592?-1633), an adventurer, was the first European to reach Lake Ontario, arriving there in 1615 while on a mission for Champlain. Brulé may have been the first European to see Lakes Erie, Huron, and Superior.

Jean Nicolet (1598-1642), an explorer, fur trader, and interpreter, was the first European to enter Lake Michigan and travel in Wisconsin. He came to North America in 1618 with Samuel de Champlain, and lived with the Algonquin Indians of Allumette Island on the Ottawa River for two years. Always looking for a passage to Asia, he explored Lakes Huron and Michigan, establishing friendly relations with Winnebago Indians.

Louis Hennepin (1626-1705) was a priest and missionary/explorer who traveled through much of the interior of North America. He is noted for discovering Niagra Falls and Saint Anthony Falls (the only waterfalls on the Mississippi River) at the site of what is now Minneapolis, Minnesota. In 1679, Hennepin went with La Salle's expedition near Niagara Falls. They crossed Lakes Erie, Huron, and Michigan in the Griffon, the first ship to sail these waters. The expedition reached the Illinois River and constructed Fort Crevecoeur (Fort Heartbreak) the first European settlement in what is now Illinois. In 1680, Hennepin and two others explored the upper Mississippi River Valley, were captured and held for months by Sioux Indians.

Jacques [Père] Marquette (1637-1675) is known for discovering the Mississippi River and founding Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan's first European settlement.

Louis Jolliet (1645-1700) a famous French-Canadian mapmaker, fur trader and explorer who, along with Marquette, is credited with mapping the northern most point of the Mississippi River. The Indians living around the Great Lakes region had described a great waterway flowing to the sea, calling it Mississippi, which in their language meant big river, and the French thought this river could be a trading route to the Far East. In 1673, Jolliet was ordered to find and map the Mississippi, and Marquette, who had worked with the Huron Indians as a missionary and could speak their languages, was chosen to go along. They canoed through what is now Wisconsin to the Mississippi. As they paddled down the Mississippi, they realized they were going south, not west, and guessed that the river was leading to the Gulf of Mexico. Reaching the mouth of the Arkansas River, they learned that white people were living farther south, and assumed they were Spaniards who had settled near the Gulf of Mexico. Fearing attacks by them and by unfriendly Indians, they turned back. Today there is a statue of Marquette in the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C. representing the State of Wisconsin.

Robert LaSalle (1643-1687) led an expedition down the Illinois River in 1682, beginning near Peoria, Illinois, and traveling to the mouth of the Mississippi at the Gulf of Mexico. Along the way he built a chain of trading posts., claimed the whole region drained by the Mississippi River for France, and named it Louisiana in honor of King Louis XIV. He finished the trip that Marquette and Jolliet had started. He explored the Great Lakes region, as well as the Gulf of Mexico, but on his last trip to set up a settlement in the Gulf of Mexico, his crew mutinied and killed him.

Antoine de Lamothe Cadillac (1658-1730), a colonizer and fur trader, founded Detroit and was governor of the French colony of Louisiana. In 1683, he arrived in Nova Scotia, on a privateer (private warship) and traded for furs. He founded Fort Pontchartrain at the site of Detroit in 1701.

Pierre François-Xavier de Charlevoix (1682-1761) was a priest, explorer, teacher (he taught grammar in Quebec), and writer (essays on North America life). Sent from France to explore Canada, partly to look for a route to the Pacific Ocean, in 1719-1729 he traveled to the St. Lawrence River area, the Great Lakes region, and the Mississippi River. He saw that the land where the Mississippi met the Ohio River would be a good place for settlement and fortification. He also visited the Caribbean island of Santo Domingo and survived a shipwreck in the Gulf of Mexico.

Pierre Gaultier de Varennes, Sieur de La Verendrye (1685-1749) was a French-Canadian fur trader and explorer, who along with three sons and a nephew, left from Montreal in 1731, looking for an overland route to the Pacific Ocean. By 1738 they had traveled as far west as Saskatchewan and the Dakotas. In 1742-1743, two of the sons, Louis-Joseph and Francois, traveled as far as Montana and Wyoming, and may have reached the Rocky Mountains. During the trip they established outposts used as forts and fur trading stations, and claimed the land for the French king.

Jean François de Galaup, Comte de La Pérouse (1741-1788) was a French explorer and naval officer known to have explored the coasts of California, Japan, Russia, and Alaska. He met his death on the coral reefs of a Pacific island. La Chaussee Spit, at the entrance of Lituya Bay (a fjord in Alaska), is named after charts prepared for him.

Most of the French settlements in North America (except those in Québec and a few others in Canada), did not survive. The last of the French colonies was sold to the United States in the Louisiana Purchase in 1804.

Today there are more than 20 million native French-speaking people living in the Americas: Martinique, Guadeloupe, St-Pierre-et-Miquelon, Guyane, Québec, Haiti, French-speaking parts of the US (especially Louisiana), and French areas of Central, South America and the Caribbean.

• FRENCH EXPLORERS 16th – 21st CENTURIES

There have been many explorers who sailed under the colors of France:

|Date |Explorer |Nationality |Area of exploration |

|16th century |Jacques Cartier |French |St. Lawrence River |

|1534-1542 | | | |

|15th/16th century |Giovanni da Verrazzano |Italian / French|explored the NE coast of North America from Cape Fear, North |

|1485-1528 | | |Carolina to Maine |

|17th century |Samuel de Champlain |French |Quebec, Great Lakes, eastern coast of North America and the |

|1603-1616 | | |coast of the St. Lawrence River to Lake Huron-Reached Lake |

| | | |Champlain |

|17th century 1672 |Father Marquette and Louis Jolliet |French |Northern Mississippi River |

|17th century1682 |Robert LaSalle |French |To the mouth of the Mississippi River - claimed it for France |

|17th century |Charles Albanel |French |Canada |

|17th century |Jean Chardin |French |Persia, India |

|17th century |Étienne Brûlé |French |Canada |

|17th century |René-Robert Cavelier |French |Mississippi embayment |

|17th century |Jean Nicolet |French |Northwest Territory (United States) |

|17th century |Jean-Baptiste Tavernier |French |Persia, India |

|18th century |Pierre Gaultier de Varennes |French Canadian |western Canada |

|18th century |Bougainville |French |Tuamotus, Society Islands, Samoa |

|1766-1769 | | | |

|18th century 1769-1770 |Surville |French |New Zealand |

|18th century 1771-1773 |Marion de Fresne, Crozet |French |New Zealand |

|18th century 1785-1788 |Jean-François de Galaup, comte de La Pérouse|French |Pacific Rim, Hawaii, Easter, Tonga, Samoa |

|18th century 1790-1792 |Marchand |French |Marquesas, Hawaii |

|18th century 1791-1793 |D'Entrecasteaux |French |New Zealand, Tonga |

|19th century |Joseph René Bellot |French |Arctic |

|19th century |Pierre Savorgan de Brazza |Italian/ |Congo |

| | |French | |

|19th century |Louis de Freycinet |French |western Australia, Oceania |

|19th century |Francis Garnier |French |Mekong River |

|19th century |Henri Mouhot |French |South East Asia |

|19th century |Joseph Nicollet |French |Mississippi and Missouri Rivers |

| | |American | |

|19th/20th century |Paul Pelliot |French |central Asia |

|19th century |Jean-Frédéric Waldeck |French |Mesoamerica (Mayan remains) |

|19th/20th century |Harry de Windt |French |Eurasia |

|20th century |Jacques-Yves Cousteau |French |the deep seas |

• SOME FRENCH-NAMED CITIES IN THE USA

1. Alabama - Abbeville, Bay Minette, Bayou La Batre, Belle Fontaine, Bon Secour, Citronelle, Dauphin Island, Luverne

2. Alaska – Juneau

3. Arkansas - Labouchere Bay, Bois D’arc, Dumas, Fayetteville, Gravette, LaGrange, Maumelle, Petit Jean, Paris, Terre Rouge, Tollette

4. California – Artois, Bel Air, Beaumont, Lafayette, Le Grand, Montclair

5. Colorado – Laporte, Louisville

6. Connecticut – Montville

7. Florida – La Belle, La Crosse, Tavernier

8. Georgia - Abbeville, Fayetteville, Girard, LaGrange, Louisville

9. Hawaii – Fort DeRussy

10. Idaho - Boise, Coeur d’Alene, Dubois, Nez percé

11. Illinois - Bartonville, Beaucoup, Belle Prairie, Belle Rive, Belleville, Bellevue, Carondelet, Du Bois, Fort Crevecoeur, Fort De Chartres, Des Plaines, Girard, La Fayette, La Grange, La Harpe, La Salle, Louisville, Lyons, Maquon, Marcelline, Marquette Heights, Marseilles, Maunie, Modoc, Prairie du Rocher, Renault, St. Anne, Ste. Marie,Terre Haute, Vergennes, Versailles

12. Indiana - Busseron, Dupont, Dupont, La Fontaine, Lagrange, La Porte, Metz, Napoleon, Orleans, Terre Haute, Vincennes

13. Iowa - Belle Plaine, Bellevue, Des Moines, Dubuque, Fontanelle, La Motte, La Porte, Le Claire, Le Grand, Le Mars, Leon, Le Roy, Marne, Marquette

14. Kansas - Belle Plaine, Belleville, Belpre, Belvue, La Crosse, La Cygne, La Harpe, Le Roy, Lyons, Marquette

15. Kentucky - Auxier, Bellefonte, Bellevue, LaFayette, La Grange, Paris, Versailles

16. Louisiana - Abbeville, Anse-aux-Pailles, Arnaudville, Baie Côte Blanche, Baton Rouge, Bayou Bourbeux, Bayou Cane, Bayou Cocodrie, Bayou Coteau, Bayou des Allemands, Bayou des Glaises, Bayou Gauche, Bayou Grand Caillou, Bayou Maurice, Bayou Noir, Bayou Petit Caillou, Bayou Terrebonne, Belle Chasse, Belle Rose, Bienville, Bossier, Boutte, Broussard, Butte Rose, Côte Gelée, Cortableau, Chataignier, Chauvin, Choudrant, Dos Gris, Coulee Croche, Goudeau, Grand Cane, Grand Coteau, Grosse Tete, Isles Dernières, Jeanfitte, Lac des Allemands, Lafayette, Lebeau, Le Blanc, Le Moyen, Loreauville, Marais Bouleurs, Marais Castille, Maringouin, Meraux, Mermentau, Mer Rouge, Napoleonville, Paincourtville, Plaquemine, Plaucheville, Pointe-aux-Chênes, Pointe Noir, Port Barre, Provencal, Theriot, Thibodaux

17. Maine - Belanger, Belmont, Bernard, Calais, Caribou, Cape Rosier, Carriveau, Castine, Chamberlain, Charlotte, Costigan, Crouseville, Daigle, Deblois, Detroit, Dufour, Fayette, Fournier, Frenchville, Grand Isle, Guerette, Isle au Haut, Frontiere, Lagrange, Larone, Levant, Lille, Masardis, Merepoint, Minot, Ouellette, Plourde, Portage, Presque Isle, Rosemont, St. Croix, Sebec, Seboeis, Solon, Violette, Tarantine, Tulouse

18. Maryland - Havre de Grace, La Vale, Montpelier

19. Massachusetts - Barre, Gibertville, Orleans, Pocasset, Touisset

20. Michigan - Alma, Au Sable, Bois Blanc, Cadillac, Calumet, Charlevoix, De Tour, Detroit, Eau Claire, Grand Blanc, Grandville, Grosse Ile, Grosse Pointe, L'Anse, Lyons, Marquette, Menominee, Montague, Napoleon, Sault Ste. Marie, St. Ignace

21. Minnesota - Claudette, Belair, Belle Plaine, Champlain, Grand Marais, La Crescent, Lac Qui Parle, Lafayette, Laporte, La Prairie, La Salle, Le Roy, Le Sueur, Luverne, Lyon, Mille Lacs, Marine on St. Croix, Nicolette, Ranier, Roseau

22. Mississippi - Benoit, Bourbon, D'Iberville, D'Lo, Dumas, Ecru, Fayette, Gautier, Le Tourneau, Louisville

23. Missouri - Alma, Belgique, Belle, Bellefontaine Neighbors, Bellerive, Bourbon, Cape Girardeau, Chamois, Champ, Creve Coeur, Dardenne Prairie, Des Peres, Des Arc, Desloge, Laclede, La Due, Florissant, Frontenac, Ladue, La Grange, Noel, Olivette, Peruque, St Louis, Stainte Genevieve

24. Montana - Bainville, Butte, Havre

25. Nebraska - Chadron, Du Bois, Louisville, Marquette, Orleans, Papillon

26. Nevada – Lamoille, Pioche

27. New Hampshire – Fremont, Pinardville

28. New Jersey - Bayonne, Dumont, Lambertville, Montclair

29. New Mexico – Bayard, Clovis (named for Clovis, first king of the Franks, the name later became Louis)

30. New York - Au Sable Forks, Cape Vincent, Centre Island, Champlain, Le Roy, Massena, New Rochelle, Roessleville, Rouses Point, Valatie

31. North Carolina - Beaufort, Cape Carteret, La Grange, Lenoir

32. North Dakota - Des Lacs, Bottineau, Souris, Belcourt, Napoleon, Rolette, La moure

33. Ohio - Alliance, Bellefontaine, Champaign, Fayette, Fayetteville, Gambier, Lafayette, Lagrange, La Rue, Lorrain, Louisville, Mariemont, Marietta (for Marie Antoinette), Montpelier, Petitsville, Racine, Strasburg, Terre Haute, Versailles

34. Oklahoma - Chouteau, Poteau, Prue, Le flore

35. Oregon - Lafayette, La Grande, Lyons, Terrebonne, La PIne

36. Pennsylvania - Bellefonte, Belleville, Bellevue, Bonneauville, Charleroi, Conneautville, DuBois, North Versailles, Volant

37. South Carolina - Abbeville, Beaufort, Bonneau, Eau Claire, La France

38. South Dakota - Belle Fourche, Pierre

39. Tennessee - Enville, Fayetteville, Heloise, Lafayette, La Follette, La Grange, La Vergne, Sevierville

40. Texas – Beaumont, Bellaire, Bellevue, Bellville, Dumas, Estelline, Grand Prairie, LaCoste, La Grange, La Marque, La Porte

41. Utah - Duchesne, Fayette

42. Vermont - Calais, E. & N. Calais, Barre, Grand Isle, Isle La Motte, Lamoille, Montpelier, Orleans, Vergennes

43. Virginia - Chantilly, La Crosse, Montpelier, Purcellville

44. Washington - Beaux Arts Village, Bellevue, La Crosse, Palouse

45. West Virginia – Despard, Montcalm, Ronceverte

46. Wisconsin - Allouez, Alma, Belleville, Bellevue, Blanchardville, De Pere, Lac du Flambeau, Lac La Belle, La Crosse, Lake Butte des Morts, Lac Courte Oreilles, Eau Claire, La Farge, Fond du Lac, Grand Coulee, Lafayette County, La Valle, Marquette, Portage, Poynette, Prairie du Chien, Prairie du Sac, Racine, Trempealeau

47. Wyoming - La Grange, Sublette

• TIMELINE 1450-2010 FRENCH EXPLORERS IN NORTH AMERICA

• CREDITS – all of the information above was taken from these sources:

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• World Book Encyclopedia

Nom _____________________________

Équipe _____________ Heure _____

Many US cities and geographical locations were named by French explorers who entered North America beginning in the 1500s.

A. Identify these French-named states and print their name in the space provided:

1. ___________________

its name is French for “green mountain”

2. ___________________

named in honor of a king of France known as “the Sun King”

3. ___________________

probably named for a region in France

4. ___________________

named for an early governor of Virginia, whose name was originally French

5. _____________________

the name came from French settlers' spelling and pronunciation of the Indian name Iliniwek (superior men)

B. See if you can name these:

6. ____________________ = A street in Richmond, Virginia named for the French nobleman who helped George Washington during the Revolutionary War.

7. ____________________ = cities in Colorado, Georgia and Mississippi named for France’s most famous king known as the “Sun King”.

8. ____________________ = an Illinois city named for Père Marquette’s traveling partner.

9. ____________________ = an area south of Richmond named for its delightful atmosphere.

10. ____________________ = one of the Great Lakes named for a French explorer.

11. ____________________ = a Michigan city whose name means “strait”.

12. ____________________ = a town in northern Virginia named for a town in France, and also a type of soft French whipped cream.

13. ____________________ = towns in South Carolina and Wisconsin, whose name means “clear water”.

14. ____________________ = a Kansas town whose name means “the swan”.

15. ____________________ = in Ohio, this town’s name is a short version of “Marie Antoinette”.

16. ____________________, ____________________ = two states with a city named for the capital of France.

17. ____________________ = a road and a bridge in Richmond named for a group of Protestants who were persecuted in, and fled from, France.

18. ____________________ = a city in Indiana whose name means “high ground”.

19. ____________________ = a city in Idaho whose name means “Alene’s heart”.

20. ____________________ = a cities in Illinois, Kentucky, Ohio and Pennsylvania named for Louis XIV’s grand palace outside of Paris.

21. ____________________ = a Pennsylvania town whose name means “Charles the king”, it is also the name of a breed of cow.

22. ____________________ = a city in Oregon named for the French city located where the Saône and Rhône rivers meet.

23. ____________________ = the Minnesota city whose name means “1000 lakes”.

C. Prove your general knowledge:

24. __________________, __________________, __________________ = three of the United States not found on the list of states with French-named cities

25. __________________ = the U.S. president who made the Louisiana Purchase

26. __________________ = the island shared by Haïti and the Dominican Republic

27. __________________ = the today’s name for La Nouvelle France

28. __________________ = the French explorer whose statue is in the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C.

29. __________________ = the French term for “woods runners” (they were fur trappers and traders)

30. __________________ = the famous French oceanographer and explorer (he invented the aqua-lung for breathing oxygen while deep-sea diving)

31. __________________ = a make of automobile named for the 17th century French explorer who founded Detroit

32. __________________ = the

century when there was the

greatest amount of French

exploration into North America

Nom _____________________________

Équipe _____________ Heure _____

Many US cities and geographical locations were named by French explorers who entered North America beginning in the 1500s.

A. Identify these French-named states and print their name in the space provided:

1. _Vermont__

its name is French for “green mountain”

2. __Louisiana__

named in honor of a king of France known as “the Sun King”

3. __Maine___

probably named for a region in France

4. __Delaware__

named for an early governor of Virginia, whose name was originally French

5. __Illinois___

the name came from French settlers' spelling and pronunciation of the Indian name Iliniwek (superior men)

B. See if you can identify these places:

6. ___Lafayette___ = A street in Richmond, Virginia named for the French nobleman who helped George Washington during the Revolutionary War.

7. __Louisville____ = cities in Colorado, Georgia and Mississippi named for France’s most famous king known as the “Sun King”.

8. __Joliet___ = an Illinois city named for Père Marquette’s traveling partner.

9. ___Bon Air__ = an area south of Richmond named for its delightful atmosphere.

10. __Champlain___ = one of the Great Lakes named for a French explorer.

11. __Detriot___ = a Michigan city whose name means “strait”.

12. __Chantilly___ = a town in northern Virginia named for a town in France, and also a type of soft French whipped cream.

13. __Eau Claire__ = towns in South Carolina and Wisconsin, whose name means “clear water”.

14. __La Cygne___ = a Kansas town whose name means “the swan”.

15. __Marietta__ = in Ohio, this town’s name is a short version of “Marie Antoinette”.

16. ___Arkansas__, ___ Kentucky___ = two states with a city named for the capital of France.

17. ___Hugenot___ = a road and a bridge in Richmond named for a group of Protestants who were persecuted in, and fled from, France.

18. __Terre Haute___ = a city in Indiana whose name means “high ground”.

19. ___Coeur d’Alene___ = a city in Idaho whose name means “Alene’s heart”.

20. ___Versailles___ = a cities in Illinois, Kentucky, Ohio and Pennsylvania named for Louis XIV’s grand palace outside of Paris.

21. ___Charleroi___ = a Pennsylvania town whose name means “Charles the king”, it is also the name of a breed of cow.

22. __Lyons___ = a city in Oregon named for the French city located where the Saône and Rhône rivers meet.

23. __Mille Lacs___ = the Minnesota city whose name means “1000 lakes”.

C. Test your general knowledge:

24. __Delaware___, __New Mexico__, __Rhode Island___ = three of the United States not found on the list of states with French-named cities

25. __Jefferson____ = the U.S. president who made the Louisiana Purchase

26. __Hispaniola___ = the island shared by Haïti and the Dominican Republic

27. ___Canada____ = the today’s name for La Nouvelle France

28. __Marquette__ = the French explorer whose statue is in the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C.

29. __coureurs de bois___ = the French term for “woods runners”

30. ___Cousteau___ = the famous French oceanographer and explorer (he invented the aqua-lung for breathing oxygen while deep-sea diving)

31. __Cadillac___ = a make of automobile named for the 17th century French explorer who founded Detroit

32. __17th century (1600s)__ = the century when there was the greatest amount of French exploration into North America

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FRENCH in the USA

ANSWERs

FRENCH in the USA

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