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In an attempt to expand west
of Louisiana, France in 1685, laid claim to eastern Texas near the Gulf
Coast. Though claimed by Spain, the nearest Spanish settlements were
hundreds of miles away. French nobleman Rene Robert Cavelier, Sieur de
la Salle, founded a colony called Fort St. Louis. But by 1690 shipwreck,
disease, famine, hostile Indians, and internal strife ending in La
Salle's murder by one of his own company doomed the colony and France's
claim. The French flag – actually the royal ensign for ships and
forts – featured Fleurs-de-lis on a white field.
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