Jacques Cartier

Lore & Background

Jacques Cartier was born in 1491 in Saint-Malo, a port on the north-east coast of Brittany. He improved his social status in 1520 by marrying Mary Catherine des Granches, a member of a leading aristocratic family. His good name in Saint-Malo is recognized by its frequent appearance in baptismal registers as godfather or witness. In 1534, two years after the Duchy of Brittany was formally united with the French crown, Cartier was introduced to King Francis I by Jean Le Veneur, bishop of Saint-Malo and abbot of Mont Saint-Michel. Le Veneur cited voyages to Newfoundland and Brazil as proof of Cartier's ability to 'lead ships to the discovery of new lands in the New World.'

On 20 April 1534, Cartier set sail under a commission from the king, hoping to discover a western passage to the wealthy markets of the East Indies. He explored parts of Newfoundland, the Strait of Belle Isle, the southern shore of the Labrador Peninsula, the Gaspé and North Shore coastlines on the Gulf of St. Lawrence, and some parts of the coasts of the Gulf's main islands. During one stop at Îles aux Oiseaux, his crew slaughtered around 1000 birds, most of them great auks. On 24 July, on the shores of Gaspé Bay, he planted a cross to claim the land for France and kidnapped the two sons of Chief Donnacona. Cartier returned to France in September 1534, sure that he had reached an Asian land.

For his second voyage (1535–1536), Cartier set sail on May 19 with three ships, 110 men, and his two Iroquoian captives. He reached Stadacona and later Hochelaga (now Montreal) on October 2, 1535. The expedition could proceed no further because the river was blocked by rapids, which Cartier named after the French word for China, La Chine: the Lachine Rapids. He and his men wintered at Stadacona, where scurvy broke out; a remedy from a tree called annedda, probably Spruce beer or arbor vitae, saved the expedition. In early May 1536, Cartier kidnapped Chief Donnacona and took him to France. On his third voyage (1541–1542), Cartier departed on May 23, 1541, with five ships, tasked with finding the 'Kingdom of Saguenay' and establishing a permanent settlement. He built a fortified settlement named Charlesbourg-Royal at Cap-Rouge, Quebec. The men collected what they believed to be diamonds and gold, later discovered to be quartz crystals and iron pyrites.

Reader's Guide

Jacques Cartier's significance lies in his role as the first European to systematically describe and map the Gulf of Saint Lawrence and the Saint Lawrence River, laying the geographical foundation for French claims in North America. His naming of 'Canada' from Iroquoian terms for the settlements at Stadacona and Hochelaga gave the region its enduring name. Cartier's voyages, though they failed to find a western passage to Asia or the fabled riches of the 'Kingdom of Saguenay,' established early French contact with the St. Lawrence Iroquoians and other Indigenous peoples. His now-lost maps and accounts were the first European records of the area's geography and inhabitants. However, France paid little attention to the colony for 60 years after Cartier's claim; not until King Henry IV sent Samuel de Champlain in 1608 was a permanent settlement built. Cartier's legacy includes the Lachine Rapids and the town of Lachine, Quebec, named from his mistaken belief that the river was the Northwest Passage to China. His expeditions also introduced the scurvy remedy annedda, which saved his crew, and the phrase 'faux comme les diamants du Canada' arose from the false gems collected on his third voyage.

Did You Know?

• Cartier's crew slaughtered around 1000 great auks at Îles aux Oiseaux during his first voyage; the species has been extinct since 1852.
• The Lachine Rapids and the town of Lachine, Quebec, are named after the French word for China, because Cartier believed the river was the Northwest Passage to China.
• Cartier kidnapped Chief Donnacona and his two sons during his voyages, taking them to France.
• The remedy for scurvy that saved Cartier's expedition was a concoction from a tree called annedda, probably Spruce beer or arbor vitae.