Radisson, Pierre Esprit, c.1632-1710, French explorer and fur trader in North America. He arrived in Canada in 1651. His journals, first published as the Voyages of Peter Esprit Radisson (1885), are confusing documents, often leaving great doubt as to the location of places and the time of events. The first journal tells of his capture (1652-53) by the Iroquois. Another asserts that he made (1655-56) a trip to the West with his brother-in-law, Médard Chouart, sieur des Groseilliers, his companion on the later trips; it is probable, however, that only Groseilliers undertook the journey mentioned in this journal. On the second trip (1659-60) the two men entered Lake Superior and went as far west as the Sioux villages near Isanti Lake, the first white men to enter the region that is now Minnesota. They returned with an immense cargo of furs, which were confiscated at Montreal because they had traded without a license. This episode led Radisson and Groseilliers to transfer their allegiance to the English, and, backed by Prince Rupert, they set sail in 1668 for Hudson Bay. Radisson's ship was turned back but Groseillers's continued, and he established Fort Charles at the mouth of Rupert River in James Bay. He returned to England with furs, and in 1670 both men were back at Hudson Bay, Radisson establishing Port Nelson on the Nelson River. It was thus largely because of their efforts and Radisson's stories of the wealth of the north in furs that the Hudson's Bay Company was formed. Later Radisson returned to the French and led a plundering expedition against the English forts on Hudson Bay. He finally (1684) joined the English again and after a long lawsuit was pensioned by the Hudson's Bay Company in his old age.

Pierre-Esprit Radisson (1636 – 1710) was a French-born explorer and mapper, whose exploration of 1668 led to the formation of the Hudson's Bay Company.

He came to New France as a teenager and was captured in an Iroquois raid circa 1652, but was adopted by his captors and became accustomed to their way of life. Radisson escaped once but he was recaptured and tortured. After two years of living with the Iroquois he fled and returned to Trois-Rivières in New France from where he journeyed to the fur-trading regions of Lake Michigan and Lake Superior with his brother-in-law Médard des Groseilliers. However, as they did not have a license to trade furs, the officials in New France confiscated their furs and fined them when they returned in 1660.

This voyage had however enabled them to discover the "salted sea", Hudson Bay, of which the natives spoke. They sought to start a trade company but did not receive any support from New-France. The two explorers left for Boston to interest the authorities of New England in this venture. They met English colonel George Cartwright there who took them to England and presented them to the court of King Charles II.

In June 1668, they finally left England, sailing two merchant vessels chartered by Prince Rupert, the Eaglet and Nonsuch, into Hudson Bay from the north. This new shorter route eliminated the need for passing by the St. Lawrence River controlled by the French. Only the Nonsuch arrived in the bay, with Des Groseilliers on board, because the Eaglet, damaged in a storm, had to return to England with Radisson. Fort Rupert was founded at the mouth of the Rupert River. Overall, the mission was successful and in 1670 the English founded the Hudson's Bay Company (HBC).

At the time of a voyage to London in 1674, Radisson and Des Groseilliers, dissatisfied by their treatment by the new company, were convinced by the Jesuit Charles Albanel to return to New-France. However, they were coldly received by the governor Frontenac, and Radisson soon returned to France and entered the Navy. In 1682 he took part in a campaign to reconquer Hudson Bay for France. Always frustrated by the French, who returned to the English a ship that he had captured, he again entered in the service of the HBC in 1684 and carried out expeditions against the French in the bay. In particular he forced his nephew to return Fort Bourbon (the French name for York Factory, Manitoba) to the HBC. From 1685 to 1687 he directed the trade at the nearby Fort Nelson, on the Nelson River.

Becoming an English citizen in 1687, Radisson returned to England where he finished writing the accounts of his voyages. He retired on a small pension and dividends from the HBC and died in 1710 in poverty.

Cultural references

The towns Radisson, Quebec, Radisson, Saskatchewan, and Radisson, Wisconsin, as well as a street and Metro station in Montreal and the Radisson provincial electoral district in Manitoba are named after him.

The Radisson Hotels group, starting with the Radisson hotel in Minneapolis in 1909, is also named after him.

The Canadian Coast Guard also has a vessel named the CCGS Pierre Radisson.

See also

• Coureur des bois
• Timeline of Quebec history (1663 to 1759)
• Pierre Allemand

External links

• Biography at the Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online
• Works by Pierre-Esprit Radisson at Project Gutenberg
• Voyages Of Peter Esprit Radisson; The narratives of Pierre Espirit Radisson; Project Gutenberg edition.
• CBC Television Series "Radisson" (1957-58)