USA HISTORY

Detailed explanation-1: -Jacques Cartier Sails Upriver. French navigator Jacques Cartier sailed into the St. Lawrence River for the first time on June 9, 1534. Commissioned by King Francis I of France to explore the northern lands in search of gold, spices, and a northern passage to Asia, Cartier’s voyages underlay France’s claims to Canada.

Detailed explanation-2: -Jacques Cartier first set sail for the New World in 1534, when King Francis I of France commissioned a voyage to search for gold, spices and a Northwest route to Asia. With two ships and 61 men, Cartier explored the St. Lawrence Bay and returned to France with two Native Americans as trophies for the king.

Detailed explanation-3: -From 1534 to 1542, Cartier led three maritime expeditions to the interior of the Gulf of the St. Lawrence River. During these expeditions, he explored, but more importantly accurately mapped for the first time the interior of the river, from the Gulf to Montreal (see also History of Cartography in Canada).

Detailed explanation-4: -Although Cartier was supposed to look for sources of gold, he did not find them. The St. Lawrence Valley of Canada is not a significant gold-bearing region and local tribes of Native Americans whom Cartier met, especially the Iroquois, did not have any meaningful quantity of gold to trade with him.

Detailed explanation-5: -Cartier had been persuasive: his crew had doubled and he had command of three ships: the Grande Hermine, Petite Hermine and Émérillon. Fifty days after putting to sea, a first vessel laid anchor off the shores of Newfoundland.