Jaques Cartier

Jaques Cartier, a French explorer during the sixteenth century, was born in 1491 on the granite island of St. Malo, off the coast of France. He started exploring what is now Canada and New England, and in the year 1534 he discovered the Gulf of the St. Lawrence River. He further discovered that it was a river on his second voyage in 1535. Cartier explored up in this region looking for the Northwest Passage to China, which he never found. He claimed this northern land for France, and today that area still speaks the French language. On his second voyage in 1535 he built a fort and named it Quebec, although most of the men died of scurvy. On his third voyage, in 1541, he returned to Quebec and from there he explored Canadian lands. After he returned to France, he died in 1557 on St. Malo having not received the recognition due him after what he did for his country.