JACQUES CARTIER 1491–1557

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Anatol
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JACQUES CARTIER 1491–1557

Post by Anatol » Tue Dec 09, 2014 8:56 pm

Jacques Cartier, a French navigator and the discoverer of the river St. Lawrence, was born in 1491, and was sent on two exploratory expeditions to North America by King Francis I. In his first voyage, he discovered the mouth of the river St. Lawrence, and in his second, he penetrated up the river as far as where Montreal now stands. Despite his efforts, however, he was neither able to accomplish his mission of discovering a western route to Asia nor equipped enough to establish a permanent French settlement in Canada.
In 1534, when King Francis I commissioned Cartier to find a western passage to China and the Asian spice markets. Cartier set out but halted his mission when he came to present-day Canada, believing China to be nearby. Here he encountered the Iroquois Indians, and, kidnapping the native captain's two children, returned to France with the boys and a promise to return with riches to trade. When he did revisit several months later, he brought with him three large ships carrying 110 men and sailed upriver on the St. Lawrence River, still convinced that China lay just ahead. Cartier named the mountain there Mont Royal, which later became known as Montreal.Unfortunately, Cartier and his crew were forced to stay the winter in the Canadian city and many passed away, whether from the cold or from scurvy. In the spring, before departing for France once more, he was told tales of a northern city filled with gold and rubies—the “Kingdom of Saguenay”—and he was convinced that he might return to seize this treasure.
On his third voyage, Cartier acted as chief navigator under a friend of the king. A fortified settlement, named Charlesbourg-Royal, was built in Montreal near the river he had explored earlier. The men immediately began collecting what they believed to be diamonds and other rare minerals but which were later revealed to be quartz and iron pyrites, with no monetary value. Cartier tried and failed to find the fabled Kingdom of Saguenay, and upon his return to the settlement he found that the Iroquois had grown hostile toward the French. Aware that he lacked the manpower to either protect the settlers or go in search of the city of gold, he returned to France. Cartier discovered and studied the river St. Lawrence made a smart evaluation of Natural Resources Canada and spent the remainder of his life in his hometown as a translator before passing away in 1557.

Guinea Bissau1981;Ms30p;SG? Republic Centrafricaine2002;605f;SG? Canada1984;32c;SG?1934;3c;SG? Antigua&Barbuda1996;6d;SG Ms2301. Guinea2001;350fg;SG? Malawi2008;K200;SG? Laos1983;2,0k;SG? British Virgin Islands1991;1d;SG796.
Source:www.heritage-history.com/index.php?c=ac ... &f=cartier
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