Montreal History: The story of Jacques Cartier

Right across Montreal’s Notre-Dame Basilica stands just one of many statues of Jacques Cartier, a renowned French explorer and the voyager who discovered Canada. However, unlike other European explorers who made their way west, Cartier wasn’t born a noble nor was he gifted with a family that built ships. According to Montreal history buff Rick Andreoli, Cartier first gained a good social status by marrying a member of the leading family, Mary Catherine des Granches in 1520. Since then, Cartier was able to join and aid expeditions that led to new lands like Newfoundland and Brazil.

It’s these two successful expeditions which led to him having King Francis I’s favor. And on the 20th of April, 1534, Cartier set out on his first of three voyages that he would command. Originally, he was set off to explore the northern parts of the Americas in order to bring back gold, spices, and to chart the long-sought route towards Asia from the west. According to Rick Andreoli, this expedition went as far as modern day Quebec.

Touting a successful first expedition, Cartier described the lush lands he discovered which enthralled King Francis I to colonize the lands Cartier described, pushing him to proceed with a secondary, and tertiary expedition which were much larger than the first. And along the route taken in the secondary expedition came the discovery of what is now modern day Montreal. In the third expedition, Cartier would leave a contingent to build and found the French city of Quebec while he set out to find the rumored gold out in the wilderness.

Unsuccessful with his hunt for gold, Cartier would sail back to France, never to return to the land he had discovered. Rick Andreoli believes that Cartier served as a navigation advisor in Saint-Malo and spent the rest of his days in the city until his death in the first of September, 1557.