Jacques Cartier

Jacques Cartier was born in 1491. He was a French explorer who led three expeditions to Canada, in 1534, 1535, and 1541. He was looking for a route to the Pacific Ocean through North America (a Northwest Passage), but did not find one. Cartier’s exploration gave more French explorers the chance to explore North America.

Cartier sailed 1,000 miles up the St. Lawrence River. He also tried to start a settlement in Quebec (in 1541), but it was abandoned after a terribly cold winter. Cartier was the explorer who named Canada. He used an Iroquois word “Kanata.” Kanata means village or settlement in the Iroquois language.