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Jean Nicolet landing at Green Bay
Jean Nicolet (Nicollet) de Belleborne (born 1598 - died November 1, 1642) was a French voyager noted for exploring the Northwest Territory.
In 1618 he came to Quebec as a clerk and to train as an interpreter for the Compagnie des Marchands, a trading monopoly owned by members of the French aristocracy. As an employee, Jean Nicolet was a devotee of the Roman Catholic Church and a faithful supporter of the Ancien Régime. On his arrival in Quebec, in order that he learn their language, he was sent to live with the Algonquins on Allumette Island, a friendly First Nation settlement on the important fur trade route on the Ottawa River. Nicolet returned to Quebec in 1620. then was directed to go to the Lake Nipissing area where he spent more than eight years among the Nipissing nation, running a store and trading with the various indigenous peoples in the area. From a relationship with a native woman he had a daughter whom he later brought back with him to the colony. On July 19, 1629, when Quebec fell to the Kirke brothers who took control for England, Jean Nicolet fled back into the safety of the Huron country and worked against English interests until the French were restored to power.
