Jacques Cartier
A painting of Jacques Cartier.
Jacques Cartier was born in 1491 in Saint-Malo, a fishing town in northern France. As a young boy, Cartier would sail with the fishermen of Saint-Malo, and he became interested in navigation. Cartier became a great navigator. The king of France heard about Cartier's abilities as a young navigator and a sailor. In 1534, the king wanted to send a group of men to the New World to find a Northwest Passage to Asia. He hoped the explorers would find gold, silver, and other treasures, and claim new lands for France. He chose Jacques Cartier to lead the expedition. On April 20, 1534 Jacques Cartier's expedition set sail from Saint-Malo, France to the New World. On May 10, the he reached the eastern coast of Canada, a place called, Newfoundland. Cartier sailed northwest, and he discovered the Gulf of St. Lawrence followed by the St. Lawrence River Valley. During his expedition, Cartier never discovered gold or silver, but he did encounter Native Americans, called the Iroquois, who traded with him fur and meat for glass beads and knives. He claimed this new land for France; he named it Canada, after the Iroquois word, "Kanata" which means village.
Source: Donaldson-Forbes, J. (2010). Jacques Cartier. New York: PowerKids Press.
Source: Donaldson-Forbes, J. (2010). Jacques Cartier. New York: PowerKids Press.