Classic Cadillac

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French trader and explorer Antoine de la Mothe Cadillac settled in what is now Detroit in 1701, figuring it would make a good base from which to send furs to Canada. The Coupe de Ville came later.

Cadillac had no cars, but he was definitely a salesman. He was actually born Antoine Laumet, the son of simple middle class parents. Upon his marriage to Marie Therese Guyon, he glorified his origins, claiming his title was "Antoine de la Mothe, squire, Sieur de Cadillac, aged about 26 years, son of Jean de la Mothe, Seigneur (Lord) of Cadillac, Launay and Montet, consultant to the parliament of Toulouse and of Jeanne de Malenfant." His parents, however, were not nobility. A simple magistrate, his father was called Jean Laumet and was Lord of nothing. From that point forward, Antoine Laumet would be known as Cadillac.

Cadillac was also known to be a military hero, but some thought even that reputation was as glorified as his name. He was given control of Fort Michilimackinac in 1694. However, as the British became a bigger threat to take over the area, Cadillac went back to France to convince King Louis to allow him to create a new settlement in the lower Great Lakes area, which he felt would offer a better strategic position than Fort Michilimackinac.

There were those who had doubts as to Cadillac's ability to carry it out successfully. Cadillac responded in these terms to King Louis's Marine Minister Ponchartrain: "Either the plan is good or bad. If it is good, then it should be carried out. Choose a man of thought and action to execute it, and you can be assured that it will succeed, despite the secret difficulties that people want to make of it."

With Montreal as his base, Cadillac set sail on June 4, 1701. Thirty-six days later, he arrived at the area now known as Hart Plaza and named the settlement Fort Ponchartrain du Detroit in honor of the man whose trust he had gained.

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