Jacque Cartier Explorers Canada

Jacques Cartier was sent by Francis the King of France to explore the lands on the other side of the Atlantic. Like all the explorers before him, he was tasked with finding the elusive passage to the far east. Cartier set off for his first voyage to the New World in April 1535. On May 11th, he arrived off the coast of New Finland. He explored New Finland and claimed it for France. Before returning to France, he kidnapped two sons of a local Indian chief. His second voyage was a year later. In that voyage, he sailed up the St. Lawrence River. He first stopped at the Native American village of Stata Kona, which is now Quebec, and then headed up to Hoholaga, which is now Montreal. There, his fleet was frozen in the river for the winter. His men would have all died of disease had the local inhabitants not provided a cure. Cartier returned to France a year later. His final voyage took place in 1541. He established what he hoped would be a permanent settlement at Cap Rouge, Quebec. A year after his return to France, the settlement was abandoned. Cartier's exploration, however, allowed France to claim the area that became Canada as its own.