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==France==
[[File:Pavillon_royal_de_France.png|thumbnail|left|250px|Flag of French Royal Family]]
René-Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle, explored around the Great Lakes in the 1600s, pushing westward and establishing forts for New France. In actuality he never stopped looking for a quick passage to China. LaSalle claimed Louisiana for the French in 1682 and launched an expedition on July 24, 1684 to establish a French colony on the Gulf of New Mexico. His men constructed Fort Saint Louis on what is today Victoria County in Texas and raised the Bourbon royal standard of the Kingdom of France. LaSalle would also die on future Texas soil in 1687 when he was murdered during a mutiny. The colony collapsed shortly thereafter. <ref>Weddle, Robert S., “La Salle's Texas Settlement,” Handbook of Texas Online published by the Texas State Historical Association, October 30, 2011</ref>