Not to be confused with the Fort MaurepasNot to be confused with the Fort Maurepas built in 1699 by Bienville and Iberville in present-day Ocean Springs, Mississippi.Fort Maurepas was one of the first forts built by Pierre Gaultier de Varennes, sieur de La Vérendrye and his men west of Fort St. Charles on Lake of the Woods...
built in 1699 by BienvilleJean-Baptiste Le Moyne de Bienville[
pronounce] was a colonizer, born in Montreal, Quebec and an early, repeated governor of French Louisiana, appointed 4 separate times during 1701-1743. He was a younger brother of explorer Pierre Le Moyne d'Iberville...
and IbervillePierre Le Moyne d'Iberville [pronounced as described in note] ,was a soldier, ship captain, explorer, colonial administrator, knight of the order of Saint-Louis, adventurer, privateer, trader, and founder of the French colony of Louisiana. He was born at Ville-Marie, on 16...
in present-day Ocean Springs, MississippiMississippi is a state located in the Southern United States. Jackson is the state capital and largest city. The state's name comes from the Mississippi River, which flows along its western boundary, and takes its name from the Ojibwe word misi-ziibi . The state is heavily forested outside of the...
.
Fort Maurepas was one of the first forts built by
Pierre Gaultier de Varennes, sieur de La VérendryePierre Gaultier de Varennes, sieur de La Vérendrye was a French Canadian military officer, fur trader and explorer.- Early life :...
and his men west of
Fort St. CharlesFort St. Charles was a secure trading post constructed in 1732 by La Vérendrye's nephew, Christopher Dufrost de La Jemeraye and his eldest son Jean Baptiste de La Vérendrye...
on
Lake of the WoodsLake of the Woods is a lake occupying parts of the Canadian provinces of Ontario and Manitoba and the U.S. state of Minnesota. It separates a small land area of Minnesota from the rest of the United States. The Northwest Angle and the town of Angle Inlet can only be reached from the rest of...
. In 1733, two of the brothers,
Jean Baptiste de La VérendryeJean-Baptiste Gaultier de la Vérendrye was the eldest son of Pierre Gaultier de Varennes et de La Vérendrye and Marie-Anne Dandonneau Du Sablé...
,
Pierre Gaultier de La VérendryePierre Gaultier de La Vérendrye de Boumois , The second son of Pierre Gaultier de Varennes, sieur de La Vérendrye...
and their men, constructed Fort La Foret on the
Winnipeg RiverThe Winnipeg River is a Canadian river which flows from Lake of the Woods in the province of Ontario to Lake Winnipeg in the province of Manitoba and eventually empties into Hudson Bay via the Nelson River. This river is 235 km long from the Norman Dam in Kenora to its mouth at Lake Winnipeg. It...
. They also explored the southernmost part of
Lake WinnipegLake Winnipeg is a very large lake in central North America, in the province of Manitoba, Canada, about north of the city of Winnipeg. It is the largest lake within the borders of southern Canada, and it is part of the most undeveloped and pristine large watershed of southern Canada.It is the...
and the
Red RiverThe Red River or ' and Red River of the North, is a North American river. Originating at the confluence of the Bois de Sioux and Otter Tail rivers in the United States, it flows northward through the Red River Valley and forms the border between the U.S. states of Minnesota and North Dakota before...
for a number of miles south. They identified a site for the first Fort Maurepas on the west bank approximately five miles north of the present day town of
SelkirkSelkirk is a city in the western Canadian province of Manitoba, located about 22 km northeast of the provincial capital Winnipeg on the Red River, near . As of the 2006 census, Selkirk had a population of 9,515....
and in 1734 constructed the fort at that location.
There are varying accounts of this construction and the construction on the site near the mouth of the Winnipeg River.
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Not to be confused with the Fort MaurepasNot to be confused with the Fort Maurepas built in 1699 by Bienville and Iberville in present-day Ocean Springs, Mississippi.Fort Maurepas was one of the first forts built by Pierre Gaultier de Varennes, sieur de La Vérendrye and his men west of Fort St. Charles on Lake of the Woods...
built in 1699 by BienvilleJean-Baptiste Le Moyne de Bienville[
pronounce] was a colonizer, born in Montreal, Quebec and an early, repeated governor of French Louisiana, appointed 4 separate times during 1701-1743. He was a younger brother of explorer Pierre Le Moyne d'Iberville...
and IbervillePierre Le Moyne d'Iberville [pronounced as described in note] ,was a soldier, ship captain, explorer, colonial administrator, knight of the order of Saint-Louis, adventurer, privateer, trader, and founder of the French colony of Louisiana. He was born at Ville-Marie, on 16...
in present-day Ocean Springs, MississippiMississippi is a state located in the Southern United States. Jackson is the state capital and largest city. The state's name comes from the Mississippi River, which flows along its western boundary, and takes its name from the Ojibwe word misi-ziibi . The state is heavily forested outside of the...
.
Fort Maurepas was one of the first forts built by
Pierre Gaultier de Varennes, sieur de La VérendryePierre Gaultier de Varennes, sieur de La Vérendrye was a French Canadian military officer, fur trader and explorer.- Early life :...
and his men west of
Fort St. CharlesFort St. Charles was a secure trading post constructed in 1732 by La Vérendrye's nephew, Christopher Dufrost de La Jemeraye and his eldest son Jean Baptiste de La Vérendrye...
on
Lake of the WoodsLake of the Woods is a lake occupying parts of the Canadian provinces of Ontario and Manitoba and the U.S. state of Minnesota. It separates a small land area of Minnesota from the rest of the United States. The Northwest Angle and the town of Angle Inlet can only be reached from the rest of...
. In 1733, two of the brothers,
Jean Baptiste de La VérendryeJean-Baptiste Gaultier de la Vérendrye was the eldest son of Pierre Gaultier de Varennes et de La Vérendrye and Marie-Anne Dandonneau Du Sablé...
,
Pierre Gaultier de La VérendryePierre Gaultier de La Vérendrye de Boumois , The second son of Pierre Gaultier de Varennes, sieur de La Vérendrye...
and their men, constructed Fort La Foret on the
Winnipeg RiverThe Winnipeg River is a Canadian river which flows from Lake of the Woods in the province of Ontario to Lake Winnipeg in the province of Manitoba and eventually empties into Hudson Bay via the Nelson River. This river is 235 km long from the Norman Dam in Kenora to its mouth at Lake Winnipeg. It...
. They also explored the southernmost part of
Lake WinnipegLake Winnipeg is a very large lake in central North America, in the province of Manitoba, Canada, about north of the city of Winnipeg. It is the largest lake within the borders of southern Canada, and it is part of the most undeveloped and pristine large watershed of southern Canada.It is the...
and the
Red RiverThe Red River or ' and Red River of the North, is a North American river. Originating at the confluence of the Bois de Sioux and Otter Tail rivers in the United States, it flows northward through the Red River Valley and forms the border between the U.S. states of Minnesota and North Dakota before...
for a number of miles south. They identified a site for the first Fort Maurepas on the west bank approximately five miles north of the present day town of
SelkirkSelkirk is a city in the western Canadian province of Manitoba, located about 22 km northeast of the provincial capital Winnipeg on the Red River, near . As of the 2006 census, Selkirk had a population of 9,515....
and in 1734 constructed the fort at that location.
There are varying accounts of this construction and the construction on the site near the mouth of the Winnipeg River. The second site is the one which receives historical recognition today. It appears that the first site was abandoned in 1739 and the second, Fort Maurepas, was built on the Winnipeg River across from present day Pine Falls. It was moved in the interest of peace with the local natives and the establishment of
Fort RougeFort Rouge was a fort located on the Assiniboine River in Manitoba, Canada, on the site of what is now the city of Winnipeg. Its exact location is unknown. Its name in English means "red fort"....
on the
Assiniboine RiverThe Assiniboine River is a long river that runs through the prairies of Western Canada in Saskatchewan and Manitoba.It is a typical meandering river with a single main channel embanked within a flat, shallow valley at some places, and a steep valley at other places.The river takes its name from...
made the first site obsolete. The new area proved popular as a fur post location and both the
North West CompanyThe North West Company was a fur trading business headquartered in Montreal from 1779 to 1821. It competed with increasing success against the Hudson's Bay Company in what was to become Western Canada...
and the
Hudson's Bay CompanyThe Hudson's Bay Company , abbreviated HBC, is the oldest commercial corporation in North America and is one of the oldest in the world...
constructed a fort there during their
fur tradeThe fur trade is a worldwide industry dealing in the acquisition and sale of animal fur.-Russian fur trade:Before the colonization of the Americas, Russia was a major supplier of fur-pelts to Western Europe and parts of Asia. Fur was a major Russian export as trade developed in the early Middle...
expansion. (
See Fort Alexander, ManitobaFort Alexander is a community in Manitoba, Canada, located on the Sagkeeng First Nation, on the south bank of the Winnipeg River. The Sagkeeng area, or the mouth of the Winnipeg River, was originally settled with native camps used for fishing, hunting, and trade...
).
Fort Maurepas is important historically as being the first post in that area (both locations) trying to capture the fur trade and make allies of the local natives which included
OjibwaThe Ojibwe or Chippewa is the largest group of Native Americans-First Nations north of Mexico, including Métis. They are the third-largest in the United States, surpassed only by Cherokee and Navajo. They're equally divided between the United States and Canada...
,
CreeCree is one of the largest group of First Nations/Aboriginals in North America, located mainly across Canada and historically in the United States from Minnesota westward but are found today in Montana....
,
AssiniboineThe Assiniboine or Hohe, also known by the Ojibwe name Asiniibwaan "Stone Sioux", and by the endonyms Nakota-Nakoda-Nakona, are a Siouan Native American/First Nations people originally from the Northern Great Plains of the United States and Canada, centered in present-day Saskatchewan; they also...
,
MetisThe Métis peoples of Canada are descended of marriages of Cree, Ojibway, Algonquin, Saulteaux, Menominee, Mi'kmaq, Maliseet, and other First Nations to Europeans, mainly French. Along with the First Nations and Inuit, the Métis are one of the three officially recognized Aboriginal peoples in Canada...
, and other traders.
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