JACQUES CARTIER
Jacques Cartier was born in 1491, going on to become a powerful, French navigator. Cartier’s first exploration was that of the Gulf of St. Lawrence where the St. Lawrence River was discovered. In all, Cartier made three voyages to this region. His first voyage was made in 1534, the second from 1535 to 1536, and then the third voyage from 1541 to 1541. While on the first and second voyage, Cartier was under the command of King Francis I. Then for the third voyage, his commander was none other than sieur de Roverval who had created a scheme for colonization, which failed miserably.
In 1534 during his first voyage, Cartier sailed into the Strait of Belle Isle, heading to the north coast for a quite a ways. From there, his fleet sailed along the west shoreline of Newfoundland, heading toward Cape Anguille. Shortly thereafter, Cartier made a great discovery - Magdalen Islands, as well as the Prince Edward Island. He continued his voyage to New Brunswick coast where another discovery was made - Chaleur Bay.
Cartier’s voyage continued around the Gaspe Peninsula, finally landing at Gaspe where possession was taken for France. The next stop was Anticosti Island at which time his fleet headed back to France. Interesting, this region had long been considered cold and barren. The only thing that attracted any interest was the fisheries located in Newfoundland and Labrador. However, people were surprised when Cartier reported the region to be warm and fertile.
With new interest, Cartier was sent on a second voyage, which ascended the St. Lawrence on its way to Quebec. There, some of the men were left to prepare for the winter months. However, Cartier headed on to Hochelaga, which is where today’s Montreal is located. Once there, he made his way up Mt. Royal so he could get a better view of the fertile land below. While at this vantage point, Cartier also overlooked the Ottawa River and Lachine Rapids.
Returning on this voyage, Cartier took time to explore the Cabot Strait. From there, he determined that Newfoundland was actually an island. In fact, his 1545 publication entitled Brief Recit et succincte narration provided an in-depth description of this second voyage. Finally, Cartier headed into the area of the Lachine Rapids where he settled down for the winter. Although he found the area beautiful, he discovered little else from a geographical perspective.
Cartier did not see Roverval until he finally headed home but at this time, refused to accompany him. Cartier had made some great discoveries that have proven to be of huge geographical importance. However, he never accomplished his one goal of making a discovery of the Northwest Passage, as well as natural resources. In fact, this particular region remained untouched until the early 17th century.