Revisiting the Legacy of the Marquette and Jolliet Expedition 350 Years On

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On May 17, 1673—350 years ago—Louis Jolliet and Father Jacques Marquette began an epic trip from the Great Lakes through Wisconsin and down the Mississippi River, one that would prove to be enormously consequential for European colonial ambitions and for the lives of indigenous people in the region. In this episode, I talk with Michael Douglass, an enthusiastic historian and former director of Villa Louis Historic Site in Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin, who has a deep and abiding interest in the expedition. 

We cover a lot of ground in this discussion, beginning with the context in which the expedition occurred, mainly New France’s ambitions to advance their economic and colonial interests and the status of many indigenous communities after decades of losses from disease and war. We then get into the progress of the trip itself, the indigenous communities impacted by the trip, and discuss recent concerns about the reliability of the documents that we’ve been using to understand the trip. 

In the Mississippi Minute, l describe a few of the events happening in Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin, this summer to mark the 350th anniversary of this trip and a few ways folks can visit sites associated with the expedition.