Peter Esprit Radisson

Voyages of Peter Esprit Radisson (Dodo Press)

Peter Esprit Radisson (1636-1710) was a French-born explorer and fur trader. His exploits in 1668 were instrumental in 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-inlaw 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.