When French navigator Jacques Cartier left France by boat in April 1534, the king ordered him to find gold, spices (which were valuable at that time), and a water passage from France to Asia. Two months later, on June 9, Cartier sailed into the waters of the St. Lawrence River in eastern Canada.

French mariner Jacques Cartier was the first European to navigate the St. Lawrence River, and his explorations of the river and the Atlantic coast of Canada, on three expeditions from 1534 to 1542, laid the basis for later French claims to North America. Cartier is also credited with naming Canada.

St. Lawrence River

During this winter, Cartier compiled a sort of gazetteer that included several pages on the manners of the natives — in particular, their habit of wearing only leggings and loin cloths even in the dead of winter. From mid-November 1535 to mid-April 1536, the French fleet lay frozen solid at the mouth of the St.

Blue and Green: An Art Deco Favorite for the Likes of Cartier.

During that first expedition, he explored the western coast of Newfoundland and the Gulf of St. Lawrence as far as today’s Anticosti Island, which Cartier called Assomption. He is also credited with the discovery of what is now known as Prince Edward Island.

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Fun Facts About Jacques Cartier for Kids

• On Jacques Cartier’s second voyage, he sailed all the way up the St. Lawrence River to what is now Montreal.
• Cartier wanted to travel further west, but the harsh winter weather stopped him. He stayed in Montreal with the Indians.
• Cartier made a third trip to Canada.

Jacques Cartier facts for kids

The name “Canada” likely comes from the Huron-Iroquois word “kanata,” meaning “village” or “settlement.” In 1535, two Aboriginal youths told French explorer Jacques Cartier about the route to kanata; they were actually referring to the village of Stadacona, the site of the present-day City of Québec.

Jacques Cartier

The most serious difficulty that has arisen between English Canada and French Canada in our own day has been over conscription. It flared up in World War I and again in World War II. Voluntary military service is an old British tradition.

The French, British, and Iroquois. Conflicts between the French and the British began to arise after 1664, when the British captured the colony of New Amsterdam from the Dutch. The Dutch struggled to regain control of New Amsterdam, but they were permanently driven from North America by 1675.

The French and Indian War was part of a worldwide nine years’ war that took place between 1754 and 1763. It was fought between France and Great Britain to determine control of the vast colonial territory of North America.

The French and Indian War was fought to decide if Britain or France would be the strong power in North America. France and its colonists and Indian allies fought against Britain, its colonists and Indian allies. The Indians became worried that they would lose the use of their land.