Jacques Cartier

France 1535 - 1543

Jacques Cartier was born in 1492, the same year that Christopher Columbus made his first voyage for Spain. Since Jacques was fifteen years old, he had dreamed of exploring the new lands. He saw the coast of Newfoundland while sailing on his father’s ship. None of the other sailors wanted to go ashore to see the island. For years Jacques and his father spent theirs springs and summers fishing off the Newfoundland coast, and they spent their autumns and winters in France.

Jacques had a reputation as a good sea captain. Sailors under his command told others that Jacques could find his way through the foggiest seas. Count Brion Chalot was a rich man who played tennis and hunted with the king of France. Count Brion Chalot decided to finance Jacques’ first expedition. The Count wanted him to find a quicker sea passage between the Atlantic and Pacific to the Spice Islands. Count Brion also wanted Cartier to claim lands in North America for France. That area had lots of fur and timber.

Cartier’s two little ships left St. Malo in the spring of 1534. They were small ships but quick and easy to handle. He sailed into a wide river called the river of Canada. Today it is called the St. Lawrence River. He sailed past what is now called the city of Montreal, Canada. He claimed this area for France. When they reached Newfoundland, Cartier went ashore for the first time. Sailors shot guillemots, puffins, and auks to eat. One day a canoe made of birch tree bark came near Cartier’s little ships. Two young men with their heads shaved and fur around their waistbands (belts) stared up at them. These two men came aboard Cartier’s small ships with their canoe. They sailed down the channel together.

They sailed past forests, They ate wild strawberries and gooseberries. The two men took Cartier to meet their chief Donnacona and to eat in their village. They decided to sail back to France with Cartier. They liked France and learned to speak French. They told Cartier about provinces called Saguenay, Canada, and Hochelaga. Cartier took the men to those provinces quickly so they could all explore!

These two men were interpreters. Cartier did not find a passage to the Spice Islands as Count Brion Chalot wanted him to, but Cartier did find that these new provinces were a good place to build a colony. They built a fort there and stayed for the winter. That was a very hard winter, when it was over, Cartier kidnapped Chief Donnacona and took him back to France. Then in 1541 Cartier came back, but he did not bring their chief back with him! The Native people said they would attack. So Cartier explored the area and sailed back to France in 1542.

Information taken from:

Explorers Cooperative Learning Activities

by Mary Strohl and Susan Schneck

Scholastic 1999

Back to Geography and Explorers