French Explorer And Navigator

Early Career.

Born in 1491, Jacques Cartier was a French mariner who sailed out of the port city of St. Malo. His early life remains a mystery, although we know he undertook voyages of exploration to Newfoundland and Brazil during the early decades of the sixteenth century. His success on those trips brought him to the attention King Francis I of France, who hoped to discover either New World wealth or a passage to the Far East. Francis consequently subsidized two exploratory trips by Cartier to North America in the mid 1530s.

First Voyage.

Cartier's first voyage to mainland North America took place in 1534. After crossing the Atlantic and charting the western shore of Newfoundland, he sailed into Chaleur Bay, where he met a party of Micmac Indians in canoes. Already experienced in the fur trade, the Micmacs eagerly swapped their beaver...