Jean Nicolet (Nicollet), Sieur de Belleborne (; 159829 October 1642) was a French coureur des bois noted for exploring Lake Michigan, Mackinac Island, Green Bay, and being the first European to set foot in what is now the U.S. state of Wisconsin.

Early life

Nicolet (Nicollet) was born in Cherbourg, France, in the late 1590s, the son of Thomas Nicollet, who was "messenger ordinary of the King between Paris and Cherbourg", and Marguerite de Lamer. They were members of the Roman Catholic Church. He was a known friend of Samuel de Champlain and Étienne Brule and was attracted to Canada to participate in Champlain's plan to train young French men as explorers and traders by having them live among Native Americans at a time when the French were setting up fur trading under the Compagnie des Marchands.

Arrival at Quebec

In 1618, Nicolet immigrated to Quebec as a clerk to train as an interpreter for the Compagnie des Marchands, a trading monopoly owned by members of the French aristocracy. As an employee, Nicolet was a faithful supporter of the Ancien Régime.

To learn the language of the First Nations, Nicolet was sent to live with the Algonquins on an island, a friendly settlement located along the important Ottawa River fur trade route. Upon his return to Quebec in 1620, he was assigned to live among the Odawa and Algonquin people in the Lake Nipissing region. During his nine-year stay, he ran a store and traded with the native peoples in the area. and they had a daughter, whom he named Euphrosine-Madeleine Nicolet. When Nicolet returned to Quebec, he brought his daughter with him to educate her among the French. On July 19, 1629, when Quebec fell to the Kirke brothers who took control for England, Nicolet fled to the safety of the Huron country. He worked from there against English interests until the French were restored to power. After Canada was restored to France he married Marguerite Couillard, the daughter of leading Quebec settler Guillaume Couillard and Marie-Guillemette Hébert, also the goddaughter of Champlain. The couple were residents of Trois-Rivières in later life, where they raised children.

Exploration of Wisconsin

thumb|left|1909 plaque commemorating Nicolet's landing in Red Bank, Wisconsin.|200x200px

In July 1634, Nicolet traveled west into the Great Lakes. He was sent, likely by Champlain, to make peace in the conflict between French-allied native tribes and the Ho-Chunk. Nicolet landed on the shore of Green Bay, likely in September, the first European to do so. Stepping off the boat, he donned a silk robe and fired two pistols which he held in each hand; Barthélemy Vimont writes "the women and children fled at the sight of a man who carried thunder in both hands". Traditionally, it has been said that Nicolet's landing took place at Red Banks, a Ho-Chunk village. However, historian Patrick J. Jung points out that the Ho-Chunk village likely did not exist in 1634 and argues that Nicolet's diplomatic mission makes him more likely to have landed at Menekaunee, the main settlement of the neutral Menominee, near present-day Marinette, Wisconsin.

Death

On October 29, 1642, Nicolet drowned after his boat capsized just off of Quebec City in Saint Lawrence River. He was either 43 or 44 years old. His body was never found.

Legacy

  • Nicolet, Quebec, along with its high school L'École Secondaire Jean-Nicolet
  • Nicolet Area Technical College in Rhinelander, Wisconsin
  • Nicolet High School in suburban Milwaukee
  • In 1950, a statue of him was erected and is now located at Wequiock Falls County Park, about 10 miles northeast of Green Bay and a mile from where it is believed he landed.
  • Nicolet's landing at Red Banks is commemorated by a 1910 mural at the Neville Public Museum in Green Bay, Wisconsin.
  • In 1906, the Jean Nicolet Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution was organized.
  • Nicolet National Bank
  • Nicolet National Forest
  • Nicolet Beach in Peninsula State Park, Wisconsin
  • Nicollet Avenue in Winnipeg, Manitoba
  • Liberty ship SS Jean Nicolet, launched in October 1943.

Notes

  • Biography at the Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online
  • The Canadian Encyclopedia - Jean Nicollet de Belleborne
  • Jean Nicollet de Belleborne (French)
  • "MHS Resources: History in Winnipeg Streets"

References

  • Brook, Timothy (1998), The Confusions of Pleasure: Commerce and Culture in Ming China, Berkeley: University of California Press.

Jacques Gagnon, Jean Nicollet, Interprète et commis de traite, Montréal, Les Éditions Histoire Québec, 2022, 149 p.