Jacques Cartier

Jacques Cartier lived during the 15th century and was known as a French explorer

throughout France during his life for his Famous voyages for France to the New world, present

day North America. Cartier was born on December 31, 1491, in Saint-Malo, France. When

Cartier was a child he heard about the great Christopher Columbus and Vasco da Gama along

with the Spanish Conquistadors who were all his inspiration. His homeland when he was young

focused on wars with Rome, England, and Spain rather than exploration. France at the time also

was a feudalistic society which met people were only noticed by their wealth and land instead of

their abilities which meant Cartier wasnt well known. During this time, King Francis, I ruled

France during the reign of Charles V in the Holy Roman Empire and Henry VIII of England.

Cartier is believed to have accompanied Giovanni da Verrazzano on his expeditions overseas to

Brazil. This is believed to be the time period of where Cartier learned how to navigate from

Giovanni da Verrazzano. After his voyages with Giovanni da Verrazzano, Cartier was still

unknown by France because of the feudal society but he started to gain attention when he

married Mary Catharine. Cartier gained attention because Mary Catharines father was a Knight

and Constable of Saint Malo who had some political power. Cartier skills became noticed and the

Bishop of Saint-Malo, Jean le Veneur, introduced Cartier to King Francis I when the king was

thinking about new trade.

In 1534, King Francis I sent Cartier on a commissioned expedition to The New World to

find gold and spices but mainly to find a route that leads to Asia for quicker trade. Cartier

accepted and on April 20, 1534, he left France with two ships and a total of 61 men. Cartier

sailed and arrived May 10 on the Prince Edward Island thinking he found an island off Asia. He

sailed off to find the Islands of Birds (On les aux Oiseaux) where Cartier and his crew shot at
least 1000 birds which included the present day extinct Auks. He later went on to find Anticosti

Island which he called Assumption. After this discovery, he found two tribes the Mikmaq and

the Iroquois; the Mikmaq didnt get involved with Cartier. The Iroquois, however, found Cartier

on July 7 in the Chaleur Bay where they came in 50 canoes around his ships. The Iroquois were

friendly and greeted Cartier, who just wanted to be friendly, and offered Cartier to meet their

leader. They traded small items of fur as a sign of friendship which became known as the very

first trade between France and the Iroquois. Cartier left but later when fog had thickened he had

to turn back and he found Cape Breton where he met the chief of the main Iroquois tribe, Chief

Donnacona. Cartier and the Iroquois got along at first on the island but when Cartier wanted to

set up a camp he put up a marker. The marker was a 30-foot wooden cross with a shield on top

that read Long Live the King of France which claimed the Island for the French. This angered

the chief, so Cartier said to the chief it was only a little marker to see the island when they come

back but the chief still wanted it gone. Cartier said he would talk it out with the chief and his

sons on his ship. When the chief agreed, Cartier captured the chiefs sons, Dom Agaya and

Taignoagny, on his ship as he was about to leave. Cartier told the chief he would return them and

the chief couldnt do anything in this situation so he had to agree to let this happen. The village

his sons were taken from was called Stadacona which is present day Quebec on the Gasp

Peninsula. The chiefs sons also told Cartier that a place called Hochelaga, which is present-day

Montral. They also told Cartier about a river that was about 2,000 miles long and this made

Cartier think it was a river to the Pacific Ocean. Cartier sailed back to France with the Chief's

sons and the items that were traded. He told the king about river which made the King send

Cartier on a second expedition to the New World.

 The King commissioned Cartier for a second expedition with three ships and around 110

men. Cartier sailed back to the New World down the newly discovered Saint Lawrence river to

Stadacona, the Iroquois capital. Cartier used the Chiefs sons as guides to find Hochelaga and he

made it but weather prevented him from moving any farther. Cartier stayed in Hochelaga for a

while to trade with the people then turned back in October back to Stadacona to set up a winter

camp again. When Cartier came back with the Chiefs sons he was happy but the chief resented

Cartier as he set up a fort. During the winter, Scurvy came and the Chief blamed Cartier and his

men for bringing it. Scurvy is a disease resulting from a lack of vitamin C that is contagious.

Cartiers men were suffering from it, most of his crew couldnt work anymore due to the scurvy,

and 25 of his men died. Cartier needed a solution fast or his second expedition would fail. Cartier

noticed the chiefs son Dom Agaya had the disease but became perfectly healthy within days.

Cartier asked how he did but the Chief was scared to make enemies of Cartier so he let his son

tell Cartier what he did. Dom Agaya got some cedar bark leaves and boiled them making a tea

which was the remedy for Scurvy. This saved Cartiers mens lives and the expedition so Cartier

was thankful of the Iroquois. In return, Cartier did try to help the Iroquois tribe and that

improved their relationship with the French. The chief and Cartier became closer as leaders and

the chief told Cartier of a place called Saguenay where there is gold, silver, copper, and spices.

Cartier wanted the chief to come with him to France so Chief can tell the King of France about

Saguenay. The Chief refused because his people needed him so Cartier decided to kidnap the

chief along with his sons and sailed back to France and arrived on July 15, 1536. Chief

Donnacona told the king about Saguenay but it wasnt enough to convince the king to go back

which meant he was stuck in France with his sons. Chief Donnacona died in France of old age in

1540 and his sons died in prison from poor treatment.

 Cartier was granted a third expedition in 1541 when the King of France decided he

wanted a colony in the New World. Cartier was ordered to use his experience to set up camp for

the colonist before they got there and make sure they arrive safely. The leader of the French

colonists name was Jean-Franois de La Rocque de Roberval who would become in the future,

the first Lieutenant General of France. In May of 1541, Cartier left France with five ships and

around 150 men to set off for Cartiers third expedition to the new world to create a colony along

the St. Lawrence river. Roberval stayed behind waiting for supplies and let Cartier set up camp.

Cartier used his self-made charts of the St. Lawrence river to find Stadacona to create the

settlement for the colony. They greeted him but Cartier didnt like how many Iroquois were in

the area of the future colony so he left. Cartier also left because when he arrived at Stadacona he

met the new chief of the Iroquois tribe, Agona. Cartier told Agona about chief Donnacona and

his death but how his sons died he lied about; Cartier said his sons got married and became rich.

The Iroquois became mad about their Chiefs death and they threatened Cartier to leave. Cartier

left to 9 miles away at Cap-Rouge River which he named Charlesbourg-Royal for the colonists.

As Cartier and his men built the settlement they found an ample amount of diamonds and gold

which would make him and France rich. The harsh winter of the New World halted construction

of Charlesbourg-Royal and started to search for Saguenay but the winter also stopped them.

Cartier and his men waited in the fort for the colonists but the winter was hurting Cartiers

mens health. Also, the Iroquois started launching raids on this fort as vengeance for their chiefs

death. One of the raids left 35 of Cartiers men dead which was the tipping point for Cartier.

Cartier had diamonds and gold loaded in his ship so he gathered the rest of his men and set sail

for France to escape the Iroquois attacks and the harsh winter. On Cartiers way, back he stopped

at Newfoundland to restock. It turns out Roberval and his colonists were waiting there for the
winter to end and saw Cartier there. Roberval urged Cartier to stay and go back to the settlement

he made to search for Saguenay and Cartier agreed he would stay. Secretly during the night,

Cartier and his men snuck off of Newfoundland with their riches to sell in France for money.

Roberval continued to the New World to Charlesbourg-Royal where for the next two years he

faced the same problems Cartier did but with less experience; eventually, Roberval left with the

colonists back to France. When the colonists came back France wouldnt have an interest in the

New world for around 50 years.

Cartier got back and many people were surprised but Cartier was confident because he

had tons of diamonds and gold. When the diamonds and gold were more closely examined it

turned out it was actually just worthless mineral depots of quartz crystals and iron pyrites which

have the appearance of diamonds and gold. This ruined Cartiers reputation and he was never

commissioned to an expedition ever again. Jacques Cartier retired in Saint-Malo where he was

hired as an interpreter of the Portuguese language. In 1557 in Saint-Malo, a typhus epidemic

broke out and Cartier died due to this epidemic. Cartier died 15 years after his last voyage to the

New World on September 1, 1557. Cartier was the first European to discover and create a map

for the St. Lawrence River. Cartier is credited with giving Canada its name when he used the

Huron-Iroquois word Kanata, meaning village or settlement. Cartier miss-pronounced the word

when he referred to Hochelaga and the term Canada started being used for the entire country.
 Works Cited

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