the fur trade existed already, but Frontenac expanded it
he frequently used his military excursions as excuses to pursue trading
Louis Jolliet and father Jacques Marquette explored the Mississippi River as far south as the Arkansas River and set up forts built from the south to the west of the river starting at Frontenac
explorer Robert LaSalle was funded by Frontenac and he set up posts for fur trading beyond Lake Ontario & into the Ohio River valley but Frontenac was anxious to prevent the English moving into the area
in 1687, LaSalle was killed by members of his own crew when he tried to set up a French colony at the mouth of the Mississippi River