Description

Jacques Cartier (1491–1557) was a Breton explorer who claimed what is now Canada for France. Jacques Cartier was the first European to describe and map the Gulf of Saint Lawrence and the shores of the Saint Lawrence River, which he named "The Country of Canadas" after the Iroquois names for the two big settlements he saw at Stadacona (Quebec City) and at Hochelaga (Montreal Island).

On April 20, 1534, Cartier set sail under a commission from King Francis I, hoping to discover a western passage to the wealthy markets of Asia. It took him twenty days to sail across the ocean. Starting on May 10 of that year, he explored parts of Newfoundland, the Strait of Belle Isle and 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, including Prince Edward Island, Anticosti Island and the Magdalen Islands.

Cartier's first two encounters with aboriginal peoples in Canada on the north side of Chaleur Bay, most likely the Mi'kmaq, were brief; some trading occurred. His third encounter took place on the shores of Gaspé Bay with a party of St. Lawrence Iroquoians, where on July 24 he planted a cross to claim the land for France. The 10-metre cross bearing the words "Long Live the King of France" claimed possession of the territory in the King's name. Cartier returned to France in September 1534, sure that he had reached an Asian land.