Jacques Cartier

Jacques Cartier (born 1491, Saint-Malo, Brittany, France—died September 1, 1557, near Saint-Malo) was a French mariner whose explorations of the Canadian coast and the St. Lawrence River (1534, 1535, 1541–42) laid the basis for later French claims to North America (see New France). Cartier also is credited with naming Canada, though he used the name—derived from the Huron-Iroquois kanata, meaning a village or settlement—to refer only to the area around what is now Quebec city.

Cartier appears to have voyaged to the Americas, particularly Brazil, prior to his three major North American voyages. When King Francis I of France decided in 1534 to send an expedition to explore the northern lands in the hope of discovering gold, spices, and a passage to Asia, Cartier received the commission. He sailed from Saint-Malo on April 20, 1534, with two ships and 61 men. Reaching North America a few weeks later, Cartier traveled along the west coast of Newfoundland, discovered Prince Edward Island, and explored the Gulf of St. Lawrence as far as Anticosti Island. Having seized two First Nations persons at the Gaspé Peninsula, he sailed back to France.

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His report piqued the curiosity of Francis I sufficiently for him to send Cartier back the following year, with three ships and 110 men, to explore further. Guided by the two First Nations persons he had brought back, he sailed up the St. Lawrence as far as Quebec and established a base near an Iroquois village. In September he proceeded with a small party as far as the island of Montreal, where navigation was barred by rapids. He was warmly welcomed by the resident Iroquois, but he spent only a few hours among them before returning to winter at his base. He had, however, learned from the Iroquois that two rivers led farther west to lands where gold, silver, copper, and spices abounded.

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Exploration and Discovery

The severity of the winter came as a terrible shock; no Europeans since the Vikings had wintered that far north on the American continent, and a mild winter was expected because Quebec lay at a lower latitude than Paris. Scurvy claimed 25 of Cartier’s men. To make matters worse, the explorers earned the enmity of the Iroquois. Thus, in May, as soon as the river was free of ice, they treacherously seized some of the Iroquois chiefs and sailed for France. Cartier was able to report only that great riches lay farther in the interior and that a great river, said to be 800 leagues (about 2,000 miles [3,200 km]) long, possibly led to Asia.

War in Europe prevented Francis I from sending another expedition until 1541. This time, to secure French title against the counterclaims of Spain, he commissioned a nobleman, Jean-François de La Rocque de Roberval, to establish a colony in the lands discovered by Cartier, who was appointed Roberval’s subaltern. Cartier sailed first, arriving at Quebec on August 23; Roberval was delayed until the following year. Cartier again visited Montreal, but as before he remained only a few hours and failed to go even the few miles necessary to get beyond the rapids. The subsequent maps based on the knowledge he provided fail to indicate that he had reached a large island at the confluence of the Ottawa and St. Lawrence rivers.

The winter at his new base above Quebec proved as severe as the earlier one. Cartier appears to have been unable to maintain discipline among his men, and their actions again aroused the hostility of the local First Nations people. But what were thought to be gold and diamonds were found in abundance. In the spring, not waiting for Roberval to arrive with the main body of colonists, Cartier abandoned the base and sailed for France. En route he stopped at Newfoundland, where he encountered Roberval, who ordered him back to Quebec. Cartier, however, stole away during the night and continued back to France. There, his mineral specimens were found to be valueless. Roberval enjoyed no better success. After one winter he abandoned the plan to found a colony and returned to France. The disappointment at these meagre results was very great. Not for more than half a century did France again show interest in these new lands.

Cartier received no new commissions from the crown. He apparently spent his remaining years attending to his business affairs at his estate near Saint-Malo. His claim to fame rests on his exploration of the St. Lawrence River to the height of navigation. Yet his failure to proceed any farther (when it would have been easy to do so), his treacherous dealings with the Iroquois, and his leaving Roberval in the lurch detract somewhat from his stature.

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