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Voyages Au Canada
176 pages, Paperback
Published September 1, 2005
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October 2, 2025
After Columbus sailed to the Americas, other countries were ready to “discover new lands.” On 20 April 1534, on the permission of the French king, Jacques Cartier left Saint-Malo France with two ships and 61 men. Twenty days later he made it to “Terre-Neuve,” which today is called Newfoundland. Sailing around the great island, on 12 June 1534, he first encountered indigenous peoples which he called Béothuks. He wrote, “Il y a des gens à ladite terre qui sont assez de belle corpulence mais ilz sont gens effarables et sauvages.” p. 31 (There are people in that land who are quite well-bodied but are frightening and wild people). New lands, new peoples.
His ships sail around the islands of modern Prince Edward Island and Magdalen Island, arriving in Chaleur Bay, which he said was “more temperate than Spain.” Again, another encounter with some people, who were most likely the Mi’kmaq, who were afraid of the guns on the ships. Can you blame them? Sailing on to the Gaspé peninsula, on 24 July 1534 they erected a large cross that said “Vive le Roy de France.” After taking two natives hostage, Cartier encounters Donnaconna, chief of the Iroquois people, dressed in black bear skins. Did they understand each other? The significance of that large cross? After some trade, he sets sail for home.
Cartier returned the following year with three ships and 110 men. Sadly it took 50 days to cross the Atlantic. Bummer. This time he was more determined to explore up a “great river” now called rivière Saint-Laurent. On 8 September 1535, he landed in a place called Stadaconé, the main camp of Chief Donnacona and now called Québec City. It wasn’t much to see. Their word for village is “Canada.” Later on 2 Octobre 1535, Cartier ventured upstream to the Iroquois settlement of Hochelaga, a fortified settlement of more than 1,000 people. The next day the people welcomed him and he renames it Mont-Royal. We know it today as Montréal.
Cartier and his men spend the winter in Stadaconé with eight men dying of scurvy. Strange that it was scurvy not the cold that killed them? With the arrival of spring, Cartier decided to take (kidnap) Chief Donnacona with his children back to France. Why? To show these people to the king. Donnacona died there but his children liked life in France. C'est ironique ?
Five years later (1541) Cartier returns to “Nouveau France” along with with six ships and the first Lieutenant General of Canada, Jean-François de la Rocque de Roberval. They discover precious stones - diamonds and iron ore for high quality steel. It turns out that they were just quartz and lignite (those damn Canadiens!) They also built Fort Charlesbourg which would become the fortified city of Québec. And the rest is history.
It is a short book but a lot to digest and understand, especially his changing spelling of words (thankfully a glossary helps out the tough words). It wasn’t until 1843 when G.B. Faribault published in Québec « Les Voyages de découverte au Canada entre les années 1534 et 1542 » that his travels became more widely known. Some 24 years later, Canada became a sovereign nation. This modern edition was compiled in 1968.
I guess you are wondering why I read this book? Recently I was in Hochelaga /Montréal when I picked up this book in the oh so French Gallimard bookstore on Boulevard Saint-Laurent in Montréal. I did travel to Stadaconé /Québec to walk in the walled city and visit Charlesbourg. I returned back home on National Day for Truth and Reconciliation (September 30). It was time to learn a little of my country’s history.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jacqu...
His ships sail around the islands of modern Prince Edward Island and Magdalen Island, arriving in Chaleur Bay, which he said was “more temperate than Spain.” Again, another encounter with some people, who were most likely the Mi’kmaq, who were afraid of the guns on the ships. Can you blame them? Sailing on to the Gaspé peninsula, on 24 July 1534 they erected a large cross that said “Vive le Roy de France.” After taking two natives hostage, Cartier encounters Donnaconna, chief of the Iroquois people, dressed in black bear skins. Did they understand each other? The significance of that large cross? After some trade, he sets sail for home.
Cartier returned the following year with three ships and 110 men. Sadly it took 50 days to cross the Atlantic. Bummer. This time he was more determined to explore up a “great river” now called rivière Saint-Laurent. On 8 September 1535, he landed in a place called Stadaconé, the main camp of Chief Donnacona and now called Québec City. It wasn’t much to see. Their word for village is “Canada.” Later on 2 Octobre 1535, Cartier ventured upstream to the Iroquois settlement of Hochelaga, a fortified settlement of more than 1,000 people. The next day the people welcomed him and he renames it Mont-Royal. We know it today as Montréal.
Cartier and his men spend the winter in Stadaconé with eight men dying of scurvy. Strange that it was scurvy not the cold that killed them? With the arrival of spring, Cartier decided to take (kidnap) Chief Donnacona with his children back to France. Why? To show these people to the king. Donnacona died there but his children liked life in France. C'est ironique ?
Five years later (1541) Cartier returns to “Nouveau France” along with with six ships and the first Lieutenant General of Canada, Jean-François de la Rocque de Roberval. They discover precious stones - diamonds and iron ore for high quality steel. It turns out that they were just quartz and lignite (those damn Canadiens!) They also built Fort Charlesbourg which would become the fortified city of Québec. And the rest is history.
It is a short book but a lot to digest and understand, especially his changing spelling of words (thankfully a glossary helps out the tough words). It wasn’t until 1843 when G.B. Faribault published in Québec « Les Voyages de découverte au Canada entre les années 1534 et 1542 » that his travels became more widely known. Some 24 years later, Canada became a sovereign nation. This modern edition was compiled in 1968.
I guess you are wondering why I read this book? Recently I was in Hochelaga /Montréal when I picked up this book in the oh so French Gallimard bookstore on Boulevard Saint-Laurent in Montréal. I did travel to Stadaconé /Québec to walk in the walled city and visit Charlesbourg. I returned back home on National Day for Truth and Reconciliation (September 30). It was time to learn a little of my country’s history.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jacqu...
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