The French thorn: rival explorers in the Spanish Sea, 1682-1762

Abstract

For almost two centuries following Columbus's discovery of America, Spain held undisputed mastery in the Gulf of Mexico, an exclusive sea into which few foreigners dared venture. In 1682, that mastery was challenged by the French explorer La Salle, reaching the Gulf from Canada via the Mississippi River. La Salle's encroachment served on the Spaniards a twofold notice: exploration of the northern Gulf region had been too long neglected, and claims to unoccupied territory would not be honored. There followed eighty years of territorial rivalry during which Spain and France alternated from symbiotic alliance to actual warfare. French presence served repeatedly as a spur to exploration and settlement of the coastal region from Tampico to peninsular Florida. France, meanwhile, sought expansion on either side of its Mississippi wedge, deftly driven between the claims east and west, until a third rival, the English, terminated the French tenure in America. The French Thorn--sequel to Weddle's Spanish Sea--is more than a history of exploration rivalry. In artful prose the author recreates the drama and pathos of La Salle; the vitality of Iberville and Escandon; and the dash and daring of Saint-Denis. He takes the reader on venturesome sea voyages in wooden ships; across the coastal plains with colorful entradas; and up pristine rivers with the French voyageurs. Reproductions of twenty French and maps from the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries enhance Weddle's information. Well-documented and readable, The French Thorn will appeal to anyone interested in this time and place in history, from the formal historian to the exploration enthusiast.