Antoine de la Mothe Cadillac
| Antoine Laumet de La Mothe, sieur de Cadillac | |
|---|---|
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| Born |
Antoine Laumet March 5, 1658 Saint-Nicolas-de-la-Grave, France |
| Died | October 16, 1730 (aged 72) Castelsarrasin |
| Resting place | Vault of Carmelite Fathers' church |
| Nationality | French |
| Occupation | Governor, explorer, adventurer |
| Known for | Founder of Detroit Governor of French Louisiana |
| Spouse(s) | Marie-Thérèse |
Antoine Laumet de La Mothe, sieur de Cadillac (/ˈkædᵻlæk/; [kadijak]; March 5, 1658 – October 16, 1730), usually referred to as Antoine de la Mothe Cadillac (aka de la Motte), was a French explorer and adventurer in New France, an area of North America that stretched from present-day Eastern Canada in the north to Louisiana on the Gulf of Mexico in the south. Rising from a modest beginning in Acadia in 1683 as an explorer, trapper, and a trader of alcohol and furs, he achieved various positions of political importance in the colony. He was the commander of Fort de Buade, modern-day St. Ignace, Michigan, in 1694. In 1701, he founded Fort Pontchartrain du Détroit, the future city of Detroit, which he commanded until 1710. Between 1710 and 1716 he was the governor of Louisiana, although he did not arrive in that territory until 1713.
His knowledge of the coasts of New England and the Great Lakes area was appreciated by Frontenac, governor of New France, and Pontchartrain, Secretary of State for the Navy. This earned him various favors, including the Order of Saint Louis from King Louis XIV. The Jesuits in Canada, however, criticized his perceived perversion of the Indigenous peoples of Turtle Island, also known as North America, with his alcohol trading. La Mothe was imprisoned for a few months in Quebec in 1704, and again in the Bastille on his return to France in 1717.
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