Jacques Cartier Biography

Jacques Cartier

Jacques Cartier was a French explorer and is viewed as important for he was the first European to describe and map the shores, and gulf of the Saint Lawrence river, and most importantly for giving the country it’s name. Jacques Cartier was born in 1491 in Saint-Male a small port on the coast of Brittany. Cartier was a respectable mariner and greatly improved his social status by marrying Mary Catherine, a member of a leading family.

In 1534 Jean le Veneur, a bishop and abbot of Saint-Malo, introduced Cartier to King Francis I. Jean le Veneur also gave Cartier a good name and was commissioned by the king on April 20, 1534 to find a western passage to Asia.

Ten days later Cartier sets off on his first voyage to the “new world” with only two ships. Within three weeks of smooth sailing, Cartier and his crew arrive in what is now Newfoundland and Labrador. He has been given two missions by the king. First, find a route to the Orient, also know as East Asia, and find precious gems and metals to profit France. He recognizes Newfoundland, as there have been previous explorers to set foot here. From there he chooses to go further and sails around the north side of the island and then down west towards the Gulf of St. Lawrence. They end up spending the summer exploring the new land and searching for the route to Asia. In June they discover Prince Edward Island and by July they stumble upon the Gaspe Peninsula. It was here that Cartier raised a cross, claimed the land for France, and most importantly met the Iroquois. The Iroquois tribe had come to fish and the chief, Donnacona, happened to be present. Cartier and Donnacona traded many goods; Cartier gave the Iroquois knives, glass, beads, combs and rings. In turn, Donnacona gave the French food from his village. Cartier and his crew stayed in the area over the summer months, come winter they had began already arrived back in France. Before leaving however, Cartier took captive Donnacona’s two sons to show the king. He arrived in September 1534, believing that he had indeed discovered Asia.

The following year Cartier set sail once more on May 19th this time with three ships, 110 men and Donnacona’s two sons.  The two Iroquois men guided Cartier to their village, Stadacona. After a short stop Cartier started sailing even further up the Saint Lawrence River and met another group of Aboriginal people living on a island with the name of, Hochelaga. Hochelaga was far more impressive than the small village of Stadacona; over a thousand men came to greet the Frenchmen. There Cartier climbed a nearby hill and named it Mount Royal, or Montreal. When trying to sail further upstream fast rapids stopped him. He was so sure that he had reached China that he named the rapids La Chine. He then returned back to Stadacona and spent the winter there with his crew. When he set sail for France in the spring he decided to bring Donnacona, and his two sons. Unfortunately, all three men died in France.

In 1541 Cartier set sail one last time. This time, any thought of finding a passage to Asia was forgotten and instead replaced by goals of finding the “Kingdom of Saguenay”, a legendary place filled with gold, and to establish a permanent settlement along the St. Lawrence River. On May 23 Cartier leaves the docks with 5 ships and an impressive crew of 1500. Whilst building a small camp a few kilometers upriver from Stadacona, now Quebec, Cartier decided to head back upriver to Hochelaga and then onto China and the Kingdom of Saguenay. The men also began collecting what they thought to be gold and diamonds, but happened only to be quartz and iron. When Cartier returned back to his settlement he found 35 of his men dead from an attack by the natives. They no longer made friendly visits and were always prowling about. Cartier finally set sail for France in early June 1542 believing he had a boatload of diamonds and gold. After arriving in France on October he never set sail again. Nor did any other Frenchmen for nearly 70 years.