Étienne Brûlé, a figure often relegated to the footnotes of North American history, stands as a pivotal, albeit enigmatic, explorer whose audacious journeys pushed the boundaries of European knowledge in the early 17th century. Born around 1592 in Champigny-sur-Marne, France, Brûlé arrived in New France in 1608 as a youth, quickly distinguishing himself through his remarkable adaptability and willingness to integrate with Indigenous communities. He became the quintessential coureur de bois, a French woodsman and adventurer who lived among Native peoples, mastering their languages and customs. While Samuel de Champlain is often credited with the founding of New France and significant explorations, it was Brûlé, his interpreter and protégé, who ventured into the vast, unknown interior, charting a course that would eventually lead to the discovery of the Great Lakes. Among his many feats, the question of whether Brûlé was the first European to set eyes on the Upper Peninsula (UP) of Michigan remains a compelling subject of historical debate, with strong evidence suggesting he indeed achieved this momentous milestone.
Brûlé's career as an explorer began in earnest in 1610 when, at his own request, Champlain sent him to live among the Algonquin people. This immersion was not merely for linguistic training; it was a profound cultural exchange that would shape Brûlé's life and define his unique role in early colonial history. He learned the Algonquin language "very well," according to Champlain, and quickly became an indispensable intermediary and interpreter between the French and various Indigenous nations. This early period of his life is shrouded in a certain mystery, as Brûlé left no written accounts of his own. Our understanding of his movements and discoveries relies primarily on the journals of Champlain and the reports of missionaries like Gabriel Sagard and Jean de Brébeuf, who often viewed Brûlé's embrace of Indigenous customs with a mixture of admiration and disapproval.
By 1615, Brûlé's explorations had led him deep into the continent. He is widely credited as the first European to see Lake Huron, a freshwater sea of immense proportions, after traveling up the Ottawa River, through Lake Nipissing, and down the French River to Georgian Bay. This route became a crucial artery for the burgeoning fur trade and French expansion. But Brûlé's wanderlust did not end there. He continued to push westward, driven by a combination of personal curiosity, the dictates of the fur trade, and Champlain's desire to find a westward passage to Asia.
The critical period for assessing Brûlé's claim to being the first European to see the Upper Peninsula lies in his movements between 1621 and 1622. Historical sources, though lacking direct first-person narratives from Brûlé himself, strongly indicate that he undertook an expedition northward from Huron country. During this journey, he reported the presence of rapids at Sault Ste. Marie. This detail is crucial. Sault Ste. Marie, located at the narrow strait connecting Lake Superior and Lake Huron, serves as the geographical gateway to the Upper Peninsula. To observe and report on these rapids implies a direct encounter with, or at least a very close proximity to, the landmass that now forms the eastern end of the Upper Peninsula.
Furthermore, accounts from the time, particularly those by Gabriel Sagard, mention Brûlé and another interpreter, Grenolle, returning from a voyage to a "neighboring nation" and showing an ingot of copper from a mine located "about 80 or 100 leagues from the Hurons, on the north shore of what is known today as the North Channel." The North Channel is an arm of Lake Huron, situated north of Manitoulin Island and immediately south of the eastern Upper Peninsula. The presence of copper mines in this region, which Indigenous peoples had long worked, provides further circumstantial evidence that Brûlé had ventured into or along the shores of what is now the Upper Peninsula. The region of Keweenaw Peninsula, in the western Upper Peninsula, is particularly rich in native copper and was a significant source for Indigenous trade networks. While Sagard's account doesn't pinpoint the exact location of the mine, its description aligns with the geography of the Upper Peninsula and its mineral resources.
It is generally accepted among historians that Brûlé was the first European to see Lakes Ontario, Huron, and Superior. His journey to Lake Superior, which necessitated passing through the Sault Ste. Marie area, places him firmly in the vicinity of the Upper Peninsula. The fact that he was "more than likely the first European to complete these expeditions across North America," as stated in one source, reinforces his pioneering role in exploring the vast interior.
Brûlé's life, however, was not without controversy. His deep immersion in Indigenous culture, including adopting their customs and possibly their morals, drew criticism from some French missionaries who saw it as a "degradation" of a European. He was also accused of treason by Champlain for allying with the Kirke brothers when they captured Quebec in 1629. These accusations, combined with the lack of his own written records, have contributed to his relative obscurity compared to other early explorers. His death in 1633, reportedly at the hands of the Huron people he had lived among for so long, further complicates his legacy, with some accounts suggesting he was ritually tortured and eaten, while others propose political motivations related to his dealings with rival tribes.
Despite the controversies and the unfortunate absence of his own narrative, Étienne Brûlé's accomplishments are undeniable. He was a trailblazer, a bridge between two worlds, whose courage and adaptability enabled him to venture where no European had gone before. His journey to Sault Ste. Marie and the documented evidence of his discovery of copper mines in the vicinity strongly support the claim that he was, indeed, the first European to lay eyes on the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. His life, marked by exploration, cultural exchange, and ultimately, a tragic end, remains a testament to the adventurous spirit of the early French presence in North America and the enduring mysteries of its vast, unexplored landscapes.
