Editing Pierre-Esprit Radisson (section)

===In French service===

After leaving Britain, Radisson was unpopular in the royal court. In 1677 he decided to join the navy and to fund [[Marshal of France]], [[Jean II d'Estrées]]'s expedition in the [[Franco-Dutch War]] to conquer the island of [[Tobago]], winning the man's favor. Following his involvement in the war, he borrowed 100 [[Louis d'or]] from the Marshal in a failed attempt to pay to arrange his wife's passage  from Britain. He also failed to regain a position in the [[Hudson's Bay Company]], as a further result of anti-French prejudice.{{sfnp|Fournier|2002|p=218}}

In 1681 Radisson headed out to found a fort on the [[Nelson River]] under a French flag, albeit against the wishes of the French state. He did so as a means of capturing the market, fearing the construction of a British fort on the same river and thus further dominance of the bay by the Hudson's Bay Company. He recruited Grosseilliers the following year to build a more permanent base.{{sfnp|Ray|1996|p=280}}

In the winter of 1683 he and Groseilliers went to France to deal with their legal problems. (They had seized two English parties in time of peace and paid Québec tax on furs from Hudson Bay from their Nelson River fort, which may not have been part of [[Canada (New France)|New France]].) Here they found themselves pawns in the events that led up to the [[Glorious Revolution]]. The English ambassador, [[Richard Graham, 1st Viscount Preston|Lord Preston]], asked that they be punished. Compromise plans were made to send Radisson back to the Bay to pick up the remaining furs and divide the profits fairly. Lord Preston recruited Radisson back into the English service and Groseilliers returned to Québec.