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was the first known European to explore and map the Texas coastline
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shipwrecked on what is believed today to be Galveston Island. After trading in the region for some six years, he later explored the Texas interior on his way to Mexico.
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colonize the region of the upper Rio Grande
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established Fort St. Louis at Matagorda Bay, and thus formed the basis for France's claim to Texas. Two years later, LaSalle was murdered by his own men.
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Sieur de LaSalle was a French explorer who most famously claimed the Mississippi Valley for France. His final expedition was to establish a French base Fort St. Louis in Matagorda Bay near Victoria,Texas.
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reached Fort St. Louis, and found it abandoned, during an expedition planned to reestablish Spanish presence in Texas
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lead several expeditions into coastal south Texas to kick out French, but discovered Fort St. Louis abandoned