{"id":13303,"date":"2023-10-19T16:20:13","date_gmt":"2023-10-19T15:20:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.aboutriver.com\/?p=13303"},"modified":"2023-10-19T16:20:13","modified_gmt":"2023-10-19T15:20:13","slug":"what-change-did-louis-jolliet-bring-to-the-mississippi-river","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.aboutriver.com\/what-change-did-louis-jolliet-bring-to-the-mississippi-river\/","title":{"rendered":"What Change Did Louis Jolliet Bring To The Mississippi River"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\nLouis Jolliet is widely known as one of the most influential American explorers, who greatly impacted the Mississippi River. His role in discovering the river and changing the way others interacted with it and viewed it was substantial. Very little is understood of his motivations or the actual feats he accomplished on the river, but it is known that he changed the course of American history with his great accomplishment. From his initial sighting of the river in 1673 to the new and improved navigation techniques that he implemented and inspired, Jolliet created a foundation for tremendous development and progress with the Mississippi river.\n

Jolliet’s discoveries<\/h2>\n

Louis Jolliet initiated one of the grandest and most important discoveries of North America by finding the Mississippi River. He mapped out the entire length of the entire Mississippi River, covering more than 2,500 miles. He was the first to show the great river crossing through five US states, including Illinois, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Iowa, and Missouri. According to the Royal Canadian Geographic Society, Jolliet made a major breakthrough because the exploration of this large waterway opened up a huge artery of trade for North America.<\/p>\n

Impact on navigation<\/h2>\n

Not only did Jolliet discover the river, but he also changed the way people travelled, fished, and navigated the Mississippi. Jolliet described the river as ‘virtually alive,’ and his determination to uncover its secrets allowed him to connect the eastern and western ends of the continent. He employed innovative navigational methods that were previously unheard of and revolutionized the way North Americans would approach the river, forever.<\/p>\n

New innovation and technology<\/h2>\n

Jolliet was also the first to use maps, including celestial navigation, to navigate the Mississippi. His new and improved navigational methods allowed him to successfully travel the length of the river in a very short time. Moreover, he was known to be a great mathematician and scientist, who used the technology available to him to refine the information that he collected.<\/p>\n

Economic development<\/h2>\n

His findings laid the groundwork for trade expansion on the Mississippi, which ultimately served to stimulate the economy. His extensive research of the river sparked a new sense of curiosity, sparking other explorers to begin to explore the river, its environment, and the cultures of the peoples surrounding it. This discovery inspired further development of the Mississippi region as a whole, with its rivers, tributaries, and bayous, for commercial use. <\/p>\n

Lifestyle changes<\/h2>\n