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In 1683, explorer Rene Le Salle (1643-1687) completed a journey from the Great Lakes to the mouth of the Mississippi. Le Salle claimed the area for France, naming it Louisiana in honour of his King, Louis XIV. How did Louis reply?

Answer: Rather ungratefully. He wrote, “I am convinced that the discovery of Sieur de la Salle is very useless, and such enterprises ought to be prevented in future.”

Source: History Without the Boring Bits by Ian Crofton

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