Lamothe, Antoine Laumet de, Sieur de Cadillac, << lah mawt, an twahn loh meh duh syur duh kah dee yahk >> (1658-1730), was a French colonizer, administrator, and fur trader who founded Detroit. He also served as governor of the French colony of Louisiana.
Lamothe was born Antoine Laumet at Les Laumets, France, on March 5, 1658. He falsely claimed to belong to the nobility, and he awarded himself a coat of arms and the title “de Lamothe Cadillac.” In 1683, Lamothe arrived in Nova Scotia, where he served on a privateer (private warship) and traded for furs. From 1694 to 1697, he commanded Fort Michilimackinac (in what is now Michigan), the most important French outpost in the West.
In 1701, Lamothe founded Fort Pontchartrain at the site of present-day Detroit. He served as commandant there until 1710, when he was dismissed for incompetence and corruption. Lamothe was governor of Louisiana from 1711 until 1716, when he was recalled to France. He died at Castelsarrasin, France, on Oct. 15, 1730.
