Pierre-Esprit Radisson

Pierre-Esprit Radisson was a French explorer and fur trader in North America whose report on the wealth in furs prompted the establishment of the Hudson’s Bay Company.

Short after his arrival in New France in 1651 Radisson was captured by Iroquois Indians and he voluntarily stayed with them for years. After 1654 he joined the company of his brother-in-law, Médard Chouart des Groseilliers and participated in several trading expeditions to the West. In 1658 they set out for Lake Nipissing (then known as Lac des Castors), crossing what is now Wisconsin and the upper Mississippi River valley. Since they didn’t have a government license, the French authorities confiscated their furs and fined them.

That event encouraged them to offer their services to the English at Port-Royal, present day Annapolis Royal, Nova Scotia. In English service they sailed to Hudson Strait and discovered copper deposits near Lake Superior. Their report on the wealth in furs was motivation for the establishment of the Hudson’s Bay Company in 1670. Radisson also undertook a trading expedition in 1668 in search of a Northwest Passage.

In 1674 Radisson and Groseilliers have reconciled with the French and joined the French fleet in Guinea and Tobago. Radisson became settled at Quebec in 1681. However, later he again entered the service of the Hudson’s Bay Company, and was eventually pensioned by the company.

He retired with his family to Westminster, London where he completed the narrative of his voyages.