Jacques Cartier

Jacques Cartier was a French maritime explorer from Brittany. He lived from 31 December 1491 to 1 September 1557. Cartier became famous for being the first European to describe and map the Gulf of Saint Lawrence and the shores of the Saint Lawrence River.

During his journeys, Cartier named the area “Canada” after the Iroquoian names for two big settlements he saw at Stadacona (Quebec City) and Hochelaga (Montreal Island). His work helped Europeans learn about this new region, even though Spanish settlers had already established places in the Caribbean, Mexico, Central America, and were starting to explore Peru.

Early life

Jacques Cartier was born in 1491 in Saint-Malo, a port city in Brittany. He was a skilled mariner. In 1520, Cartier married Mary Catherine des Granches. She came from an important family, which helped him gain respect in the community. His good reputation is shown by how often he appeared in church records.

First voyage (1534)

In 1534, explorer Jacques Cartier met with King Francis I. The king wanted Cartier to find new lands across the ocean. Cartier sailed on April 20, 1534, looking for a sea route to faraway places.

It took twenty days to cross the ocean. Starting in May, Cartier explored parts of Newfoundland, the Strait of Belle Isle, and the coastlines around the Gulf of St. Lawrence. He also visited islands like Prince Edward Island, Anticosti Island, and the Magdalen Islands. During one stop, his team found many birds. Cartier met local people and traded with them. On July 24, he put up a big cross to show that France claimed this land. He also took two boys from a local leader’s family back to France, promising they would return with trade goods.

Second voyage (1535–1536)

Jacques Cartier began his second voyage on May 19 with three ships and 110 men. He reached the St. Lawrence River and arrived at the Iroquoian capital of Stadacona, where Chief Donnacona lived. Cartier left his larger ships nearby and took a smaller ship to Hochelaga, now Montreal, on October 2, 1535. The people there welcomed the French explorers.

The winter was very harsh, and many people got very sick. They found that a special tree could help cure the sickness, and this saved many lives. In the spring, Cartier took Chief Donnacona back to France to share stories of a northern land called the "Kingdom of Saguenay".

Third voyage (1541–1542)

In 1540, King Francis asked the navigator Jacques Cartier to go back to Canada to help with a plan to start a new settlement. Cartier was to lead this trip. But in early 1541, another leader named Jean-François de La Rocque de Roberval took charge of the expedition.

Cartier left Saint-Malo on May 23, 1541, with five ships. This time, they wanted to find the "Kingdom of Saguenay" and its riches, and to build a permanent settlement along the St. Lawrence River.

Cartier and his team landed near present-day Cap-Rouge, Quebec, and built a settlement called Charlesbourg-Royal. They also built another fort to stay safe. The settlers tried to grow food, planting cabbage, turnip, and lettuce.

They collected materials they thought were valuable, like diamonds and gold, but these turned out to be ordinary stones when they returned to France.

Cartier searched for the Saguenay Kingdom but had to deal with hard weather and difficult rapids. When he returned to the settlement, he found things were not easy with the local people. Many settlers had a tough time during the winter of 1541–1542.

Cartier left for France in June 1542 and arrived there in October. This was his last voyage. Meanwhile, Roberval took over the settlement, but it was eventually abandoned in 1543 because of disease, bad weather, and problems with the local people.

Later life

Jacques Cartier spent his later years in Saint-Malo and nearby areas, sometimes helping to translate for people who spoke Portuguese. He died at age 65 on September 1, 1557, during an illness, though the exact cause of his death is not known. He is buried in Saint-Malo Cathedral.

No lasting European settlements were created in Canada until 1605, when Pierre Dugua and Samuel Champlain started Port Royal in Acadia.

Legacy

Jacques Cartier was the first European to explore and map the Gulf of Saint Lawrence and the Saint Lawrence River. He was also the first to use the name Canada for this area. This name came from the Huron–Iroquois word for "village." His trips helped France learn about and claim this land. This land later became part of New France.

Although some of his actions toward the local people were unfair, Cartier tried to make friends with them. This was important for French settlers who came later. Cartier’s careful navigation made him one of the most skilled explorers of his time. He was also among the first to recognize that the New World was a separate land from Europe and Asia.

Rediscovery of Cartier's first colony

In August 2006, leaders in Quebec announced great news. Archaeologists had found the exact spot of Cartier’s first colony, called Charlesbourg-Royal. They found burnt wood and a special plate from Faenza, Italy. This showed it was a place for important French people. This colony, led by the Sieur de Roberval, was the first European settlement in Canada after a very old village from around the year 1000, found in northern Newfoundland. Finding this place is very important for learning about Canada’s history.

Ships

• Grande Hermine
  • Built in France in 1534; given to Cartier by the King of France in 1535; used in the voyages of 1535–1536 and 1541–1542; a replica was built in 1967 for Expo 67 in Montréal; it was left in the Saint-Charles River near Québec City
• Petite Hermine
  • Built in France; used in the 1535–1536 voyage and left in the Saint-Charles River in 1536 because many sailors were unwell during the winter in Québec City
• Émérillon
  • Built in France; used in the 1535–1536 and 1541–1542 voyages
• Georges (1541–1542)
  • Built in France; used in the 1541–1542 voyage
• Saint-Brieux
  • Built in France; used in the 1541–1542 voyage

Monuments, remembrances and other art

Jacques Cartier Island is located at the tip of the Great Northern Peninsula in Newfoundland and Labrador, near the town of Quirpon. It is said that Jacques Cartier named the island himself during one of his trips through the Strait of Belle Isle in the 1530s.

Many places and artworks honor Jacques Cartier, including the Jacques-Cartier River in Donnacona, Quebec, Jacques-Cartier Park in Gatineau, Quebec, and the Jacques Cartier Bridge between Montreal and Longueil, Quebec. Other sites include Jacques Cartier Provincial Park near Alberton, PEI and Jacques-Cartier State Park in St. Lawrence County, New York. There is also a square named Place Jacques-Cartier in Old Montreal.

Statues and paintings of Cartier can be found in many places, such as his birthplace in Rothéneuf, Quebec City, Paris, and Montreal. These artworks celebrate his trips and discoveries.

Popular references

The Banque Jacques-Cartier printed money from 1861 to 1899 in Lower Canada, now Quebec. It later became part of the Banque provinciale du Canada and then the National Bank of Canada.

In 2005, Cartier's book Bref récit et succincte narration de la navigation faite en MDXXXV et MDXXXVI was chosen as one of the most important books in Canadian history by the Literary Review of Canada.

The Canadian rock band The Tragically Hip mentioned Jacques Cartier in their 1992 song "Looking for a Place to Happen." The song talks about Europeans arriving in the New World and taking lands that belonged to Indigenous peoples.