Jaquet d'Artais

Jaquet d'Artais was a legendary explorer and navigator. He founded the colony of Aradie and the city of Sherbourg. Born in 1494 into a family of shipbuilders and mariners from Saronne, d'Artais was raised on ships and exploring the boundaries of the newly discovered continent of Everique. He mapped the length of the Grande Vire River and discovered Lake Chambenac. In 1521, he purchased the monopoly on the fur trade for the explored lands from King Marcelet III of Saronne. His first two attempts at colonization met with disaster, either due to the weather or hostile natives. While he was attempting to found Sherbourg, d'Artais lost his monopoly on the fur trade to other explorers. He brought in other investors and co-founded the Aradie Trading Company which regained the fur trade monopoly. Then his third attempt at founding a settlement in 1548 was successful, after the unexplained disappearance of the hostile Odaneois. He assured the prosperity of his new colony by aligning with the Elakanois against the Liranequois to the south.

Jaquet d'Artais married for political reasons, but he and his wife Ysabel were never a well-matched couple. She refused to relocate to the colony and eventually their marriage was annulled. d'Artais married Clouds-to-Rain, the daughter of the Elakanois chieftain and had several children with her. Jaquet d'Artais died of natural causes in 1561. He was buried in a small chapel in Sherbourg. The chapel was destroyed when an army from Kleef sacked and occupied the town. The exact location of the chapel was lost, and his grave's location is still unknown.