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Jean
Nicollet
(c. 1598-1642):
The Peace Maker
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Jean Nicollet
was born in France. At the age of 19 he moved to Quebec and became
a coureur
de bois. He went to live among the Huron,
Algonquin
and Nippising
people in order to learn their languages and customs.
In 1634 he
went into the wilderness in search of fur. He traveled until
he reached an enormous lake that had not yet been discovered by
Europeans. It was Lake Michigan, one of the Great Lakes.
Jean Nicollet
also worked for the missionaries.
Since he knew several First Nations languages, he acted as an interpreter.
He was often sent to make peace between groups of Europeans and
First Nations peoples or between various First Nations groups.
Nicollet
dreamed of finding the Northwest Passage to Asia. He was sure
that he would eventually find it. So sure that he always carried
a Chinese robe with him so that he would be properly dressed
when he arrived in China. Unfortunately, he never got to wear it.
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What
do you think Nicollet's most important accomplishment was?
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