By Wheelz,
An Introduction to the Explorer Jacques Cartier was one of the wonders who was placed among the few to be one of the greatest explorers in the history of the founding of America… St. Malo, a town not far from the coast of France was an open church for sea captains of any kind, including the snug granite island’s array of tides. This was where Jacques Cartier was born in 1491. As a young boy Cartier’s early life is lost at sea or whereas lost in memory. It was the moment in time where men had the definite and strong urge to look to the West and navigate through the rough Atlantic to then arrive in the East, a place where the land was blessed with rich silks and wonderful spices, then to abandon the dangerous journey East. You might rather say that the great early explorers succeeded in finding a route to the East or rather not. That is a question I will leave for you to ponder both before and after this presentation. In Cabot, Columbus, Da Gama, and Magellan’s Galleon You’ll probably also wonder why I chose this title for the first chapter in Cartier’s history. As you can see further in to this section, he was quite after these great explorers. However, he only knew it until he was the age of forty-three. At this time of his life, Cartier immediately entered what you might call the Great Explorer Official Hall of Fame when he layed eyes on a commission from the King, his king, the King of France, Francis the First. The commission authorized Cartier to sail beyond and to Newfoundland for a search for the Northwest Passage to China. There is one question, however, how did Cartier win the King’s authority? His records bring an unfinished path because it is not known and it might never be. By now it was very difficult to get a crew or boat to use for the journey for the reason that almost all navigation experts who traveled in the North to Newfoundland had disappeared at that time and there was an amazingly small chance that he would ever get beyond, but for now, you may not know if he succeeded. MEETING HIS FIRST JOURNEY: Calling out to the Sea
Jacques Cartier was at sea and many things could stop him from reaching his goal now. He had purchased two small wooden ships and a handful of about sixty to 120 men as a crew. It seems unnecessary to have such a large quantity of crew men although you will never know what might lie ahead of you. Far off was his dream, everyone’s dream at the time it seems; a long way west lay a land that was more than worth finding. So Cartier let the winds push him up on the waves on the day of the twentieth of April in 1534 as he took on the most suspenseful and most dangerous profession of his day. Time passed and the strong gusts of wind that blew Cartier’s ships forward paid off and they were finally near Newfoundland’s gates. Cartier sighted the Isle of Birds and described it with these words written down in his logbook:
The birds are there in such great numbers and it is unbelievable unless you have seen it. Although the island is about a league in circumference, it is so very much filled with birds that they look as if they had been stowed there. Roundabout and in the air there are a hundred times as many as on the island. Some are as big as geese, black and white, with beaks like a crow’s, and they are always at sea, without ever being able to fly, for they have small wings, about half a hand in length, with which they skim as quickly through the water as other birds do through the air. And these birds are so fat that it is a marvelous thing. We call them apponats (Which means great auks), and in less than half an hour we loaded our two longboats with them as if they were stones. On each ship four or five casks of them were salted down, aside from those we could eat fresh. There is also another kind of bird which goes both in the air and sea. These are smaller and called godez (Which means tinkers), and they place themselves under the protection of larger birds. There are others even larger, and they are white and stay by themselves in another part of the island, and they are vicious to attack for they bite like dogs, and are called margaulx (Which means gannets).
As you can see, Cartier has expanded his logbook into the most in depth description, you can also see that Cartier has not met these uncharted parts before, but he has only crossed the Atlantic. Where will he take himself and his crew next?
INTO HIS FIRST JOURNEY: Sailing Rapidly Into the Bay
In the vessel Cartier looked out into the waters. This is when Cartier passed Newfoundland and entered what he thought was a large bay. He was actually in the gulf of the great river, the St. Lawrence. Daily work on board was forgotten over the hundreds of years that have passed since but there was evidence of a surprising bear chase that awakened everyone’s thoughts. Apparently the sailors hunted it down and Cartier’s account tells us that when they ate it, it was yummy! Cartier followed a fine path down into the bay and saw many icebergs, beautiful at a glance but also acting as Cartier’s rival. He wrote this to express the Labrador coast: “I should say this is the land God gave to Cain.” at the sight of the crooked trees and crumpled rocks. A handful of natives Cartier met seemed to have such a horrible life in these parts. He said that they have fine enough bodies but they are a hideous and savage lot and they knot there hair like a handful of twisted hay with a nail or some other thing passed through the middle. Finally, Cartier sailed through the Strait of Bonne Esperance. He then departed once again and entered the Gulf of the St. Lawrence. A thick mist covered the horizon and Cartier’s instruments: the compass, the cross-staff and the astrolabe, some of the most unreliable instruments to Cartier which were the cross-staff and the astrolabe which sometimes caused errors.
IN HIS FIRST JOURNEY: Sailing Rapidly in the Bay
Cartier had reached the southwest coast of Newfoundland and turned west where he found a marvelous island which he named Brion Island. He had said it being fantastic; worth more than all of Newfoundland. He describes it with the plentiful and splendid trees and much of great luxury resources. To their amusement sailors found many of the animals familiar to Europeans but there was one unknown kind that puzzled them: the walrus. They did try to catch one but it slipped out into the sea. On the fourth of July Cartier arrived in what he named Cape Hope. A place where you could hope you’d make it to China, but right now he was in Canada. Did you know that during his journeys he met a Mohawk Indian that made the land Canada? The Indian said to Cartier, “Kanata”, which means village. Unfortunately Cartier thought the Indian was describing the village, not the country. So the land became Canada. Cartier saw flat land near the Gaspé Peninsula where he traded much with the natives living there. He collected as much as Native American words possible. On July twenty-four Cartier erected a huge cross that stretched out its long arms and hanging from it was a shield that had engraved on it: LONG LIVE THE KING OF FRANCE. The Indians were impressed it was a symbol of religion when Cartier and the sailors knelt down in prayer. The chief paddled with his canoe to Cartier and said these words; “This land belongs to me. You have no right to plant the cross without my permission.” Cartier took no notice of the protests. He was focusing more about thinking of a plan to bring the chief’s two sons to France. Cartier said, “Come nearer, we would like to trade this hatchet for the old bearskin you are wearing.” The soldiers grabbed them when they came into the ship. The Indians were trapped but Cartier was very friendly. He persuaded the chief to bring his sons to France while they ate and drank. Cartier gave the chief’s two sons, Taignoagny and Dom Agaya each a French shirt trimmed with ribbons with a bright red cap and a shining necklace. The chief and the two sons were delighted.
ENDING HIS FIRST JOURNEY: Sailing Rapidly Out the Bay
Cartier sailed north, up into the opening of the St. Lawrence river. It was a surely vast expanse for Cartier for he must have not seen a river this large in size. Time was running out, Cartier could not be in North America for long now. The King’s commission forced him to return to France within the year. He reached Anticosti Island and found a strait. Jacques Cartier Strait. The winds were so terribly harsh and thirteen sailors rowed to the last of their strength to make it westward. There lied the end of Anticosti, Cartier was at North Point. The St. Lawrence looked like a sea. Time was running out however so Cartier let the sailors vote whether to go back to France or keep exploring the land. Eventually they were turning around and heading away to France. That, is his first journey.
MEETING HIS SECOND JOURNEY: Calling out to the Sea
Back in France, Cartier considered the conversion of Indians to Catholicism. The idea appealed to King Francis so Cartier worked hard on it on his second voyage. Cartier purchased three ships; the Grande Hermine, the Petite Hermine, and the Emerillon. The Grande Hermine was the largest of the three ships, the Petite Hermine was the ship in the middle of the three comparing by sizes and the Emerillon was the smallest and its lack of size paid off for its faster pace. Cartier hired a crew of about 100 sailors and other people that he thought would be the most ideal for the trip. Also we should not be forgetting Dom Agaya and Taignoagny. Cartier departed and by the looks of it, you could probably say it was fair weather. During his journey across the Atlantic his ships started to wander far apart from each other. On the day of his arrival at Canada the sea calmed and the ships remained together for the rest of the way.
INTO HIS SECOND JOURNEY: Sailing Rapidly Into the St. Lawrence
In this section: Sailing Rapidly Into the Bay, progress in the bay was rapid for the reason that Cartier was not here to explore it, but to go into a great river leading into it. Therefore he would be traveling into the St. Lawrence. Actually, Cartier thought the river was a sea that lead to the Northwest Passage to China. He asked Taignoagny and Dom Agaya if it were a sea, they said, “It is not a sea, it is a river. Farther up it grows narrower and the waters become fresh (Because the waters were salty where they were at the time). You can go so far up it that we have never heard of anyone coming to its source.” Cartier realized that China could be still so far away. Fortunately and unfortunately, China was still his goal. Cartier called the river, the River more simply, the River of Hochelaga, or the River of Canada. Cartier explored more of the mouth of the river before venturing inside. The fantastic scene along the shores was amusing to the sailors. Many animals of these parts were familiar to the Europeans but a quantity of them were unique and unknown. One of them the beluga whale, which Cartier had never seen before. They were plentiful in these areas and were tasty for the Indians. There they came, hidden in the wilderness. They were frightened at first when they sighted the three vessels but Taignoagny and Dom Agaya assured them that they meant to them no harm. All of the Indians presented presents for the people on the ships. They celebrated and sang songs. A day later the chief of the surrounding tribes, Donnacona, came to the ships with 12 canoes filled with warriors and welcomed Cartier with a speech of friendship. Previously in his first great voyage, Cartier had met the same tribe off the Gaspé Peninsula, the Indians explained to him that their real village was Stadacona. Cartier sailed to Stadacona. IN HIS SECOND JOURNEY: Sailing Rapidly In the St. Lawrence
Cartier reached the St. Charles River, the location of Stadacona. The Atlantic Ocean was more than 800 miles away. The Indians here were happy to have Cartier and his crew in the village. Presents were given to each other. Dom Agaya and Taignoagny however began to turn against Cartier. Taignoagny’s personality was unveiled. He refused to go to Hochelaga with Cartier. He could not change Taignoagny’s mind about going to Montreal, or Hochelaga. Chief Donnacona insisted giving Cartier three children so he would not go to Montreal. Cartier refused the children because he was willingly planning to go. Later, Cartier gave presents to Donnacona. The chief was so pleased that he started a party. He begged Cartier to fire the cannons on the ships. Cartier granted the request and the shots were fired. Taignoagny, however, ruined the moment. “Guns on the Emerillon were also fired,” he lied, “and two of our tribe have just been killed.” It wasn’t true but the Indians got frightened and ran away. So it came to be, on the nineteenth of September, 1535, Cartier left without Taignoagny and Dom Agaya. Cartier continued to Montreal as the river grew thin and tight. At the shores however, he saw and recognized the signs of autumn. Longhouses also painted the land. Cartier took one of the first glimpses at the Indians and the Indians took one of their first glimpses of a faraway explorer. Along the way, Cartier met the Chief of Achelacy who offered to give him a boy and girl. Unfortunately the boy was too young so Cartier only took the girl. Again the ship continued to roll to Montreal. Then he arrived. At Hochelaga or Montreal, Cartier was a god to the Indians and their festive continued all day. It was when he stepped ashore that more than a thousand of the natives looked at him and asked him to bless their babies. Some even gave speeches to Cartier. After all of the celebrating among the Indians, guides took him up a mountain Cartier called Mount Royal. Today we combine Mount and Royal into Montreal. Later, he left Montreal and turned around sailing out of the St. Lawrence.
ENDING HIS SECOND JOURNEY: Sailing Rapidly Out the St. Lawrence
By October 11 Cartier had reached the St. Charles river, near the place where Dom Agaya and Taignoagny lived. Cartier built a fort and visited Chief Donnacona very often. The Chief of Achelacy visited and warned Cartier to watch out for Dom Agaya, Taignoagny and even Chief Donnacona. After time past, Cartier became more cautious and upgraded the defenses of his fort. Unluckily, men died from scurvy but Cartier was a lucky survivor. More and more lost hope in ever seeing France again. Philippe Rougemont died and his body was investigated but it seemed there were no possible cures. The scurvy stopped spreading when Cartier discovered the cure from the Indians. They used a herb. Cartier had a dream to colonize Canada but it would be hard to convince the King of France. So he planned to bring Chief Donnacona and half a dozen Indians to France. On the 3rd of May Cartier’s crew erected a large cross in the fort. It read: Long Live Francis the First, by God’s Grace, The King of France. Later, Cartier persuaded Donnacona to come to the fort. Donnacona, Taignoagny, Dom Agaya and six headmen to come into the fort but were captured. Other Indians by the fort ran away. On the beach that day, the Indians were shouting, howling and crying for Donnacona. Cartier told Donnacona to go and he greeted the Indians saying, “I am going with the captain to see his King, I shall be given a fine present and in ten or twelve moons I shall return.” The natives were very happy and Cartier again gave them gifts. Agona, another chieftain, ruled the tribe while Donnacona was away. Finally, Cartier left Canada quickly on a new route south of Newfoundland. That, is his 2nd journey.
MEETING HIS THIRD JOURNEY: Calling out to France
Mysteriously it seems, not Donnacona, Taignoagny, Dom Agaya, or the six headmen ever saw Canada again. Actually, they were treated kindly in St. Malo. Many of the French stopped to look at the new visitors. Many of the Indians died from germs because they were not used to civilization. Only the daughter of the Chief of Achelacy survived because she was young enough to adapt to the new environment. Along the days hours and minutes, Cartier set up a plan to colonize Canada. It would take a dream but it was so very possible. He asked the King for the supplies to set out on the journey. However the King couldn’t decide to send out the expedition so rapidly. Also with everything going on, Portugal and Spain were irritated that French were planning to colonize Canada. After all, it should have been rightfully theirs since Columbus had discovered it first. Why would some other country steal the loot? Now the Spaniards and Portuguese were the police, chasing after the robbers. The Pope at Rome agreed. Also, Portugal sent a spy. He visited King Francis and got much information from him about Canada. There was not much left out when he told Lagarto, the spy. So the spy reported to the King of Portugal, King John, that the French had not found the Northwest passage to China.
INTO HIS THIRD JOURNEY: Sailing Rapidly Into the St. Lawrence
The Spanish leader, Emperor Charles visited France for two reasons. To end a revolt in Flanders, having to cut through France to get there and to take advantage of the time and bring Francis away from Canadian business. Emperor Charles took the time to be with the King of France which made Francis forget all about Cartier’s expedition. It was only long after Emperor Charles’ visit that Cartier received a commission for the colonial expedition. A Lord, Jean-Francois de La Rocque de Roberval was named Lieutenant general of the colony. Cartier set sail and the winds carried him to Quebec. Agona who was the temporary chief of the tribe greeted Cartier. He asked where the Indians that went to France were. Cartier told Agona that Donnacona was dead and Agona seemed happy that he could continue being the chief of the tribe. Hurriedly, Cartier sailed once again deeper into the St. Lawrence. Cartier stopped at the junction of the Cap Rouge River as a location for the colony and found a nugget that Cartier thought was gold. Cartier also found stones that looked like diamonds and he was amazed. He did not continue his journey now however, because he would have to build the colony before he would go. The buildings in the structure made two forts. One was at the top of the cliff and the other was nestled at its foot. He named the colony Charlesbourg Royal in honor of the King of France’s son. IN HIS THIRD JOURNEY: Sailing Rapidly In the St. Lawrence
Cartier visited the Chief of Achelacy on the way to the Kingdom of Saguenay, which he had a desire to go to. He would be giving a French red cloak to the chief. The Chief of Achelacy was so very pleased. It seemed that he was even more than pleased. He let two French boys study their Indian language. Cartier left Achelacy.
ENDING HIS THIRD JOURNEY: Sailing Rapidly Out the St. Lawrence
War broke up between the French and the Indians. The next day he told Roberval how to get back to Charlesbourg Royal and one night, he sneaked on a boat and returned silently to France.
In Memory of Jacques Cartier
Jacques Cartier died in St. Malo 1557 and unfortunately the gold and diamonds were proven to be copper and mica. Cartier opened a path to other explorers. It was not the path to Asia, but it was a passage way to a new land, to start a new development, to expand a country. Today, people in Canada speak French and English, French being a language passed down by the French explorers. In the long line of explorers who traveled in the land he discovered, Cartier was the first of over a thousand years.
Bibliography:
Averill, Esther. Cartier Sails the St. Lawrence. New York and Evanston: Harper & Row, 1956. Wikipedia. ”Jacques Cartier.” [Online] Available http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/JacquesCartier “Jacques Cartier: New Land for the French King.” [Online] Available http://www.collectionscanada.ca/explorers/kids/h3-1320-e.html
