<P> Samuel de Champlain founded Quebec ( 1608 ) and explored the Great Lakes . In 1634 , Jean Nicolet founded La Baye des Puants ( present - day Green Bay ) , which is one of the oldest permanent European settlements in America . In 1634 , Sieur de Laviolette founded Trois - Rivières . In 1642 , Paul de Chomedey , Sieur de Maisonneuve , founded Fort Ville - Marie which is now known as Montreal . Louis Jolliet and Jacques Marquette founded Sault Sainte Marie ( 1668 ) and Saint Ignace ( 1671 ) and explored the Mississippi River . At the end of the 17th century , René - Robert Cavelier , Sieur de La Salle established a network of forts going from the Gulf of Mexico to the Great Lakes and the Saint Lawrence River . Fort Saint Louis was established in Texas in 1685 , but was gone by 1688 . Antoine de la Mothe Cadillac founded Fort Pontchartrain du Détroit ( modern - day Detroit ) in 1701 and Jean - Baptiste Le Moyne , Sieur de Bienville founded La Nouvelle Orléans ( New Orleans ) in 1718 . Pierre Le Moyne d'Iberville founded Baton Rouge in 1719 . </P>
<P> Samuel de Champlain founded Quebec ( 1608 ) and explored the Great Lakes . In 1634 , Jean Nicolet founded La Baye des Puants ( present - day Green Bay ) , which is one of the oldest permanent European settlements in America . In 1634 , Sieur de Laviolette founded Trois - Rivières . In 1642 , Paul de Chomedey , Sieur de Maisonneuve , founded Fort Ville - Marie which is now known as Montreal . Louis Jolliet and Jacques Marquette founded Sault Sainte Marie ( 1668 ) and Saint Ignace ( 1671 ) and explored the Mississippi River . At the end of the 17th century , René - Robert Cavelier , Sieur de La Salle established a network of forts going from the Gulf of Mexico to the Great Lakes and the Saint Lawrence River . Fort Saint Louis was established in Texas in 1685 , but was gone by 1688 . Antoine de la Mothe Cadillac founded Fort Pontchartrain du Détroit ( modern - day Detroit ) in 1701 and Jean - Baptiste Le Moyne , Sieur de Bienville founded La Nouvelle Orléans ( New Orleans ) in 1718 . Pierre Le Moyne d'Iberville founded Baton Rouge in 1719 . </P>
who established the first permanent french settlement in north america
who established the first permanent french settlement in north america
Jean Nicolet
Jean Nicolet