Étienne Brûlé (c. 1592 – c. June 1633)
was a
French explorer and
coureur des bois in
Canada in the 17th century. A rugged outdoorsman, he took to the lifestyle of the
First Nations.
Early life
Brule was born c. 1592 in
Champigny-sur-Marne,
France.
Life in New France
Brûlé travelled to
New France in 1608. He became a sort of 'exchange student' when he was sent by
Samuel de Champlain to live with the
Hurons in 1610, and Champlain in turn accepted the company of a
Huron youth named Savignon. Brûlé traveled with the
Huron and their chief (Iroquet) to the shores of southern
Georgian Bay. There he spent a year in their village, learning their language and customs. He became a scout for Champlain and explored much of what is now
Quebec,
Ontario, and
Michigan.
He was probably the first European to see all the Great Lakes:
Lake Huron,
Lake Ontario,
Lake Erie,
Lake Michigan and
Lake Superior, and one of the first Europeans to set foot in the future states of
Pennsylvania and
Michigan. He travelled widely, going as far south as the
Chesapeake Bay, and as far west as the site of
Duluth,
Minnesota. On the way back to Quebec, he was tortured by the
Iroquois.
Champlain and the
Jesuits often spoke out against Brûlé's adoption of Huron customs, as well as his association with the
fur traders, who were beyond the control of the colonial government. Brûlé left Quebec to live with the natives in the 1620s and became the first European to travel up what would be named the
St. Marys River and into
Lake Superior. Brûlé was later confined in Québec for a year, where he taught the Jesuits the natives' language. He was then sent back to Europe and prohibited from coming back to New France. Brûlé set out for England and helped the
English capture Champlain and
Quebec City in 1629 (though the colony was returned to France in 1632).
Brûlé continued to live with the natives, acting as an interpreter in their dealings with the French traders. Though the circumstances of his death are unclear, it is most thought that he was captured by the
Seneca Iroquois in battle and left for dead by his Huron group. He managed to escape death by torture, but when he returned home, the Hurons did not believe his story and suspected him of trading with the Senecas. Treated as an enemy, Brûlé was tortured to death by his allies. He died at Toanche, on the
Penetanguishene peninsula,
Ontario, and was buried by the Hurons, who interred only those who met death by
violence.
See also
