Jacques Cartier Research Paper

Cartier was born on December 31, 1492, in Saint-Malo France and he died on September 1, 1557, in the kingdom of France. His career in exploration began in 1524 when he accompanied the Italian-born French explorer Giovanni da Verrazano on his explorations of the Atlantic Coast of Canada and the United States. This experience would prove valuable to Cartier’s explorations in the future.
During 1534 to 1542, Jacques Cartier was directed by King Francis the 1st to go on three voyages and he has had major accomplishments on each of them. He was the first person to explore and encounter the St. Lawrence river. He explored the west coast of Newfoundland and discovered Prince Edward Island. He sailed through the Gulf of St. Lawrence and past Anticosti …show more content…
After crossing the Atlantic and charting the western shore of Newfoundland, Cartier, and his ships entered the Gulf of St. Lawrence by the Strait of Belle Isle and traveled south, hugging the coast of the Magdalen Islands on June 26 and reaching what are now the provinces of Prince Edward Island and New Brunswick three days later. He then navigated towards the west, crossing Chaleur Bay where he met a party of Micmac Indians in canoes. Already experienced in the fur trade, the Micmacs eagerly swapped their beaver skins for French manufactured goods such as kettles and knives. which history has recorded as the first act of trade between the French and Native Americans.He then sailed into Gaspé Later, in Gaspé Bay, Cartier met members of the Stadacona tribe, who had traveled down the St. Lawrence River to fish. Cartier initially enjoyed warm relations with the Stadacona and their leader, Donnacona, but soon upset the Indians by erecting a cross on land the tribe regarded as its own. The Frenchman further antagonized the Stadacona by kidnapping Donnacona’s two sons, Taignoagny, and Dom Agaya, so that they could learn French and serve as interpreters on his next voyage. While these heavy-handed and offensive acts angered Donnacona, his desire for trade and need for allies in the Stadacona’ struggle with the powerful Micmacs compelled him to tolerate the French

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