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Unlike the Spanish explorers who came through Oklahoma two centuries earlier, the French weren’t as interested in conquering the Indians as they were in trading with them.
La Harpe hoped to trade with members of the Caddo tribe who lived in the area, and on August 11, 1718, he left with a group of nine men, including three Caddo guides and 22 horses carrying items he hoped to trade with the Indians.
Translated, annotated, and edited by Samuel Dorris Dickinson. By 1718, he had established a trading post along the Red River near Texarkana, Texas. After him are François Marie Daudin, Arthur Guinness, Christoph Bartholomäus Anton Migazzi, Abdulaziz bin Muhammad Al Saud, Nicolas Baudin, and Peter Woulfe.
Others Born in 1739
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Go to all RankingsIn France
Among people born in France, Jean-François de La Harpe ranks 3,089 out of 6,770.
Journal Historique de l’Etablissement des Français à la Louisiane. He was the first European explorer to record the existence of a large rocky bluff on the north bank of the Arkansas River." It was just upstream of a smaller rock, aka Little Rock. You will find a good at his life and accomplishments.
His wife died three years later, and La Harpe became involved in lawsuits with her family for her fortune; these lasted until 1715, when he lost all claims.
La Harpe married Jeanne-Françoise Prigent in 1710; she is believed to have died a few years later.
Fayetteville: University of Arkansas Press, 1991.
Hempstead, Fay. A Pictorial History of Arkansas. His father’s family had lived in the area for nearly a century and had earned a reputation for commanding the finest ships of the seaport.
In his early career, La Harpe served briefly in Madrid, Spain, as a cavalry officer in the regiment of Philip V of Spain.
French and Spanish rivalries in the area prevented the success of the post, and he continued his exploration of the Red and Sulphur rivers, and possibly a branch of the Canadian River in Oklahoma. Jean-François de La Harpe is the 2,893rd most popular writer (down from 2,686th in 2024), the 3,089th most popular biography from France (down from 2,926th in 2019) and the 392nd most popular French Writer.
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Among WRITERS
Among writers, Jean-François de La Harpe ranks 2,893 out of 7,302.
Because many French trappers married women from different tribes, many Oklahomans of Native American descent also have French ancestors as well.
With their strength, reliance and courage, the French enriched themselves from their travels in the United States and Oklahoma, but they also enriched us as well.
Watch the video to learn more:
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Jean-François de La Harpe
WRITER
1739 - 1803
Jean-François de La Harpe
Jean-François de La Harpe (20 November 1739 – 11 February 1803) was a French playwright, writer and literary critic.
He sailed with Beranger, landing by mistake in present-day Galveston Bay, where hostile Indians prevented him from establishing a settlement. Read more on Wikipedia
His biography is available in 19 different languages on Wikipedia (up from 18 in 2024). Before him are Guiraut Riquier (1230), Jules Vallès (1832), Catulle Mendès (1841), Hilaire Belloc (1870), Bernard Werber (1961), and Robert Garnier (1534).
But scholars are convinced that the French accomplished that task because of the large number of mountains, hills, creeks, and rivers that still bear French names.
French Explorers in America - Bernard de La Harpe
As early as 1714, French explorers reached the southeastern portion of Oklahoma. They likely lived together so they could ward off attacks from the Osage and Apache, who would raid their village and take off captives to use as slaves.
When La Harpe left for home, the two Indians traveling with him were killed by Apaches.
Before him are George Clinton, Duchess Anna Amalia of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel, Charles-François Lebrun, Jean Chalgrin, François Claude Amour, marquis de Bouillé, and Christian Friedrich Daniel Schubart.
The French Fur Trade in Oklahoma
The French fur trade in Oklahoma has always been important, and it started with the French explorers in America, who included the fur trappers and traders who found their ventures along the Mississippi River and into southeastern Oklahoma profitable.
While Spanish explorers came into the Western portion of Oklahoma and the Oklahoma panhandle using horses and pack mules, French explorers traveled along the rivers, especially the Mississippi River.
The first of these intrepid explorers was a Frenchman named Bernard de La Harpe. Archives in St. Malo suggest they had a son, Guillaume, and later one grandson. According to his journal, he named this point “Le Rocher Français” (“French Rock”) and took possession of it on April 9 by carving the coat of arms of the French king on a tree trunk on its summit.
Although La Harpe made no mention of the smaller rock downstream on the south bank, this point of the river was well known to local Quapaw Indians.