Final answer:
The French explorer who established a trading post on the Red River was La Harpe, contributing to France's North American trade expansion and colonization efforts.
Step-by-step explanation:
The French explorer who built a small trading post on the Red River was La Harpe. La Harpe's activities were part of a broader French effort to expand trade and secure territories in North America. During the period of exploration and colonization, the French were keen on establishing trade networks with local Indigenous peoples, trading goods such as firearms, cloth, and metal cooking utensils in exchange for furs like beaver, which were highly sought after in Europe.
Other notable French explorers like Samuel de Champlain and Jacques Cartier played significant roles in the early stages of French colonization in the New World. Champlain, in particular, was instrumental in fostering relationships with local tribes and founding Quebec, which became a central fur-trading outpost. The French influence can still be seen today in place names and land-use patterns in Canada and the Mississippi River Valley.