French Texas was the period of Texas history from 1685 until 1689.
During this time, a French colony, Fort Saint Louis, existed near what
is now Inez, Texas. Explorer Robert de La Salle intended to found the
colony at the mouth of the Mississippi River, but inaccurate maps and
navigational errors caused his ships to instead anchor 400 miles
(644 km) west, off the coast of Texas near Matagorda Bay. The colony
faced numerous difficulties during its brief existence, including
hostile Native Americans, epidemics, and harsh conditions. Mindful of
his original mission, La Salle led several expeditions to find the
Mississippi River; instead, he explored much of the Rio Grande and
parts of East Texas. During one of his absences in 1686 the colony's
last ship was wrecked, leaving the colonists unable to obtain supplies
from the French colonies in the Caribbean Sea. As conditions
deteriorated, La Salle realized the colony could only survive with help
from French settlements in Illinois Country. His last expedition ended
along the Brazos River in early 1687 when La Salle and five of his men
were murdered by rivals in the group. Although a handful of men reached
Illinois, help never arrived. The remaining members of the colony were
killed or captured during a Karankawa raid in late 1688. Although the
colony lasted only three years, its existence established France's
claim to possession of the region that is now Texas, and later
supported the claim by the United States to the region as part of the
Louisiana Purchase.
Read the rest of this article:
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/French_Texas>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1777:
An expedition led by English explorer James Cook reached Christmas
Island, the largest coral atoll in the world.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kiritimati>
1814:
The Treaty of Ghent was signed in Ghent, present-day Belgium, ending
the War of 1812 between the United Kingdom and the United States.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Treaty_of_Ghent>
1865:
Six Confederate veterans of the American Civil War founded the Ku Klux
Klan, which would later become a white supremacist group.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ku_Klux_Klan>
1964:
The Vietcong bomb the Brinks Hotel in Saigon, killing two US Army
officers, raising fears of an escalation in the Vietnam War.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1964_Brinks_Hotel_bombing>
1968:
Astronaut William Anders of the NASA spacecraft Apollo 8, the first
manned voyage to orbit the Moon, took the famous photograph known as
"Earthrise" , showing the Earth rising above the lunar surface.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Earthrise>
1974:
Cyclone Tracy struck Darwin, Australia, eventually destroying more than
70 percent of the city.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cyclone_Tracy>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
unobtrusively (adv):
In an unobtrusive manner; in a manner that is not noticeable or blatant
<http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/unobtrusively>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
Nature is ever at work building and pulling down, creating and
destroying, keeping everything whirling and flowing, allowing no rest
but in rhythmical motion, chasing everything in endless song out of one
beautiful form into another.
--John Muir
<http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/John_Muir>