Jacques Cartier set out from France in 1534, to find a passage to the Indies. He sailed past the Grand Banks of Newfoundland and explored the St. Lawrence River. He visited the Indian settlements of Hochelaga (Montreal) and Stadacona (Quebec) where he tried to claim the land for the King of France and start a French colony. They made a large cross 30 feet ( 9 meters) high to claim the land for France without considering the Natives that the land belonged to. Over the winter, many of his crew died of scurvy before friendly Indians showed them how to prevent the disease by drinking a brew of spruce bark.
Factfile: He completed three voyages and brought back diamonds which
turned out to be quartz and gold which truned out to be "fool's gold"
or pyrite.
Diary Entry:
Copyright © 2001 C. Fotheringham, P. Milz, and Galileo Educational Network Association™