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D. Cartier and Champlain
From HCO Jr
| Part 2. Explorers of Canada → A. Early Exploration → B. Contact and Conquest → C. First Explorers →D. Cartier & Champlain →E. The Fur Traders → E. Later Explorers |
| Cartier & Champlain - Gallery | Stories & Texts | Web Links | Vocab | Student Activities | Class Projects |
Contents |
Jacques Cartier
Word of the discovery of the Grand Banks also reached other countries in Europe. France also became involved in exploring the New World. French fishing ships were already traveling to the Grand Banks every spring, but the King François I of France wanted his country to find and claim territory.
Historians found the original order King François I gave to Cartier. In this order, Cartier was told to "discover certain island and lands where it is said that a great quantity of gold, and other precious objects, are to be found." King François I wanted to find gold like the Spanish had done in the Caribbean and South America.
Cartier's 1534 Voyage
In April, 1534, Cartier set sail from France with 2 ships and 61 men. He crossed the Atlantic Ocean in 20 days (which was very fast). Sailing along the coast of Newfoundland Cartier named many of the places he saw. Cartier did not have to name them since he was not the first European there. He encountered ships from different countries fishing for cod.
Cartier traded with these people. Before he left he and his men put a very large cross into the ground. This cross was a marker to claim this land for France. Cartier returned to his ship. Soon some Native men paddled out in their canoes to talk with Cartier. One of the men was Chief Donnacona. Cartier wrote in his diary that Donnacona stood up in his canoe and made a great speech. Cartier did not understand what was said, but from the Chief's gestures he could guess. Donnacona was telling Cartier he could not plant a cross on his land. All the land around them, Donnacona said, belonged to his people.
Cartier invited Donnacona and his men to come on board his ship. At first Donnacona was worried Cartier was planning a trap. Eventually Donnacona came close in his canoe. Cartier's men grabbed Donnacona and the other Native men and brought them on board. Afraid at first, Cartier offered Donnacona gifts to calm him down. Cartier told Donnacona he wanted to bring his two sons, Domagaya and Taignoagny, back with him to France. Cartier wanted them to learn French so they could come back with him and work as interpretors.
Donnacona agreed to this. Cartier promised to return the following spring and bring Domagaya and Taignoagny back with him. Cartier set sail for France.
Domagaya and Taignoagny
Why would Donnacona want his two sons to travel back to France? Why would Cartier want them with him? Historians have to ask questions like this about the past. They try to determine why people did things. Sometimes there are documents that tell you why people did things. Sometimes historians have to make an educated guess.
Donnacona sent his sons for different reasons. First, it was very normal for First Nations groups to share people between different villages and bands. This was a way to form strong friendships between communities. Donnacona probably thought that Cartier wanted to take Domagaya and Taignoagny to create a strong friendship between the French and his people.
Cartier wanted Domagaya and Taignoagny for the same reasons. He wanted to learn more about Canada. Like other Europeans he wanted to know if there was gold or gems in the land. Cartier also wanted to learn about the geography of Canada. Cartier hoped that the St. Lawrence River was the route to Asia. It was a large river (much larger than anything in Europe). Cartier believed it might lead across North America and link with the Pacific Ocean.
Having interpretors was also important to Cartier. Communicating with someone who does not speak your language is very difficult. Training Domagaya and Taignoagny to speak French could help Cartier during his next voyage.
Cartier's 1535 Voyage
Cartier returned to the St. Lawrence River in May, 1535. He had three ships this time and 110 men. Unlike his first voyage it took 50 days for Cartier to cross the Atlantic Ocean. Domagaya and Taignoagny helped guide Cartier up the St. Lawrence to their village of Stadacona, in the region they called Kanata, which meant, "our settlement". This was at present day Québec City.
Donnacona and his people were happy to see Cartier. They held a great feast. Donnacona even gave Cartier four children from the village. He did this to keep Cartier as a loyal friend of his village.
This happiness did not last long. Cartier said he wanted to explore further up the river. Donnacona did not want this to happen. He wanted to keep the French in his village, and control the trade. Donnacona knew Stadacona would become more powerful if it kept other First Nations from trading with the French.
Cartier refused to stay. He sailed up the St. Lawrence in one ship with some men. Cartier ordered the other men to stay behind and construct a fort.
Cartier traveled to where the city of Montreal is today. There he found another Iroquois village called Hochelaga. The people of Hochelga welcomed Cartier and his men. Cartier explored the area around the village. He climbed a large hill which today is called Mount Royal (it is the basis for the name of the city Montreal).
Scurvy
Cartier lost 25 men to scurvy that winter. Eventually he discovered a cure. People from Stadacona visited his fort. Some of them arrived showing signs of scurvy. When they came back a few days later they were cured. Cartier learned from the Iroquois that boiling the leaves and bark of the white cedar tree created a drink with vitamin C in it. When Cartier gave his men this to drink it cured their scurvy.
Kidnapped
When spring arrived Cartier realized that the Stadacona Iroquois were not happy with him. They did not like his visit to Hochelaga. Cartier knew it was time to return to France. Before he left, however, he kidnapped Donnacona and other Iroquois to take back to France with him. Another leader in the Stadacona village wanted Donnacona removed from the village. Cartier learned about this. He hoped that taking Donnacona and his two sons away would allow this new person to become chief. Cartier believed the new chief would help the French in the future.
Cartier's 1541 Voyage
Cartier returned to France with Donnacona, his sons, and a number of other Iroquois. He did not return to Stadacona for five years. France became involved in a war with England, and could not afford to pay for exploration. During the time he was in France the Iroquois who came back with him died. We do not know what they died of. They may have caught one of many diseases that existed in France at that time.
In 1540 Cartier received a commission to return to Stadacona. A nobleman, Jean-François de la Rocque de Roberval, was placed in charge of this effort. Unlike Cartier's first voyages this one was different. King François I wanted Roberval to colonize the St. Lawrence area. Colonizing requires settlers to go to a new area. They build homes and buildings. The settlers stay in the area for a long time (sometimes their entire lives). They have children, and new settlers arrive. Slowly, over time, the colony grows.
Cartier hoped he was rich. When he was in Canada he found rocks he thought contained gold and diamonds. He named one part of Canada Cap aux Diamants (Cape Diamond) because of the rocks he found. When he returned to France he had the rocks tested. Cartier did not find gold. Instead it was iron pyrite (fool's gold). The diamonds were just quartz. A new saying appeared in France: "as false as Canadian diamonds."
Roberval spent the winter in Canada. He too returned to France. France did not try to settle Canada again for a very long time.
Cartier's Accomplishments
Fishing vessels travelled to Canada for many years before Cartier, and some had sailed into the St. Lawrence to find fish. These fishermen did not write down what they found. Cartier is important because he was the first explorer to write down that he found the St. Lawrence River. He also mapped the coast of the St. Lawrence River, and the entire island of Newfoundland.
Cartier's diary also tells us what the people of the St. Lawrence were like. In his diary he describes a land of forests, rivers and many animals. Cartier witnessed different Iroquois rituals and wrote down what he saw. His diary is very important to historians who study the past.
Samuel de Champlain
Samuel de Champlain was born in the town of Brouage, France, around 1570. Very little is known about his early life. Some people think his father was a fisherman or perhaps part of the French Royal Navy. It seems that Champlain fought as a soldier as a young man. Champlain said he was a sergeant. He may have worked as a painter or a draftsman.
We do know is Champlain had a lot of sailing experience. He said that he traveled to the West Indies (Caribbean) twice. He sailed to Canada for the first time in 1603 as part of an expedition.
Champlain's 1603 Voyage
François Gravé Du Pont was a French nobleman. He received a commission from King Henry IV of France to continue French exploration of the St. Lawrence and the Maritimes.
Champlain was not an important part of this trip. Perhaps he went as the official geographer. If so his job was to draw maps of all the areas they explored.
In June, 1603, the ships arrived in the St. Lawrence. They stopped at an area called Tadoussac. European fishing ships stopped at Tadoussac every year to trade furs. By 1603 people knew you could make extra money trading furs after you finished fishing. First Nations also knew this was the best place to trade furs. It was further down the river from where Cartier built his first fort.
Champlain also sailed up the Saguenay River. He stopped and spoke with First Nations people he met. Champlain asked them about the geography of their land. They told him of a large salt lake very far to the north. This was Hudson Bay. Champlain hoped this large salt sea was the Pacific Ocean, and it would lead to Asia.
Champlain and du Pont explored further up the St. Lawrence and around the Gaspé peninsula. They returned to France in September.
Champlain's 1604 Voyage
Champlain returned to Canada in March, 1604. This time Pierre due Gua de Monts led the expedition. King Henri IV of France wanted de Monts to colonize an area the French called Acadia (today we call this area Nova Scotia and New Brunswick). Champlain travelled as the royal geographer for this trip.
To help pay for this the king gave de Monts a monopoly over the fur trade in Acadia. This meant that only du Monts and his men had permission to trade with the First Nations in Acadia.
De Monts chose Île Sainte-Croix for the first settlement. Champlain spent his time exploring along the coast. He wanted to find locations with gold, silver or other valuable metal.
That winter the French suffered greatly. It was very cold, and men died of scurvy. Champlain and de Monts did not know how to cure scurvy. Cartier learned how to treat scurvy, but this knowledge was lost. In the spring they left Île Sainte-Croix and built a new settlement on the mainland called Port Royal.
What is a Monopoly?
France's early colonies were started by private companies. The French government did not start these colonies. Private companies only do something if they can make money. To help these companies the King of France gave them fur trading monopolies.
A monopoly means only one company is allowed to do business. In Canada it meant that only one company was allowed to trade furs. De Monts had a monopoly on the fur trade. Only he and his men could trade furs with First Nations people around their colony. If other French traders tried to buy furs they broke the law and could be punished.
Monopolies were used by all the European kings. It allowed them to start colonies for very little or no money. The company provided all the money to start the new colony. Companies raised money to start colonies by asking people to invest money.
Investors hoped that the colony made money. If it did the company paid them money (called a return). Canadian colonies such as Port Royal and Quebec made money by trading furs. Eventually they made money through fishing and timber.
Port Royal
This time du Monts and Champlain chose a sheltered location for their buildings. Staying out of the cold winter wind was very important. Both men also knew they had to prepare for the next winter. Europeans often thought that Canadian winters would not be very cold. They were no further north than parts of Europe. However, the climate of Canada is very different.
They received fresh supplies from France. That spring and summer the men planted wheat and vegetables. They stored much of this for the winter. They also built better buildings to keep them warm and stored firewood. Champlain explored further looking for gold and silver.
That winter the French suffered from scurvy, but not as bad as the previous winter. It is obvious that Cartier did not tell people how to cure scurvy. Perhaps people forgot about Cartier.
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Order of Good Cheer
During the winter of 1607-1608 Champlain started a group at Port Royal. This is how Champlain explained the Order of Good Cheer in his diary:
- We spent this winter very pleasantly, and had good food because of the Order of Good Cheer which I established. Everyone found it beneficial to his health, and better than any medicine we might have used. A chain was placed around the neck of one of our men every day. It was his job that day to go hunting. The next day the chain was given to someone else, and so on in order. Everyone competed to see who could do the best, and bring back the finest game. We did not come off badly, nor did the Indians who were with us.
When the hunter came back he cooked a feast for everyone else. The men ate, sang songs, and enjoyed themselves.
According to Marc Lescarbot, everyone ate well at Port Royal: stone-ground whole wheat bread, sturgeon, lobster, crabmeat, mussels, vegetables including corn, squash, beans and cabbage. He said of all their meats none was so tender as moose and none so delicate as beaver tail.
Champlain Founds Quebec
In 1608 Champlain was back in France. King Louis XIII (the new King of France) wanted another French settlement in Canada. He chose Champlain to create this new settlement.
Champlain had thought about the St. Lawrence and the location where Cartier built his fort. In the summer of 1608 Champlain set sail with his men to create the new settlement. King Louis gave Champlain a monopoly over the fur trade in the St. Lawrence River to pay for the settlement.
Champlain set out for Canada in April, 1608. When he arrived in the St. Lawrence he looked for somewhere to build his new settlement. He chose a spot with high cliffs. This would help his men defend their fort if attacked.
No one lived here. Champlain found the village of Stadacona but it was falling apart. No one had lived there for a long time. No one knows for sure what happened to the people of Stadacona. Perhaps they were attacked by other First Nations and had to leave their village.
Champlain's men built a small fort with three buildings inside it. They dug large moats (ditches) around the fort. They were deep and four meters wide. This simple fort was the beginning of French settlement on the St. Lawrence. Eventually, after many years, the city of Québec grew on this same spot.
Battle with the Iroquois
Champlain spent the winter in his fort with his men. Champlain had 28 men with him before winter. By the end of winter he only had 8 left. The others died of scurvy. Champlain had one man executed. Jean Duval was a spy for other fur traders. He plotted to murder Champlain. When Champlain found out he arrested Duval and executed him.
That spring fresh supplies arrived. A large group of First Nations people also arrived to trade with Champlain. These people came from the north and west of Quebec. After trading they asked Champlain to help them fight against their enemies: the Iroquois. They told Champlain they had been at war with the Iroquois for a long time.
Champlain agreed. He thought that helping the First Nations would make them friendly. In return he hoped they would help him explore. Champlain travelled south with many warriors and two other French soldiers to battle the Iroquois.
Champlain and his allies found the Iroquois on a large lake (which Champlain named after himself - Lake Champlain). During the battle Champlain stepped forward with his rifle (called an arquebus) and fired. With one shot he killed two Iroquois chiefs. The other French soldiers also fired their rifles and killed more Iroquois. The Iroquois had never seen such weapons before. Scared, they fled the battlefield.
The Three Interpreters
Champlain needed to find out about the geography of Canada. He talked to First Nations who came to trade from Quebec, but he wanted to learn more. He also needed some of his men to learn Native languages.
Champlain decided to send young men to live with First Nations. He wanted them to learn different First Nations' languages, and how to live like they did. Champlain understood that the French had to make allies with the First Nations to be successful. These interpretors would make this easier.
Champlain sent different young men to live with the First Nations. The three best known are:
- Nicolas Vignau
- Jean Nicollet
- Étienne Brûlé
Each of these men had very different experiences. Learning about them helps us to understand what early French-First Nations relations were like.
Nicolas Vignau
Historians do not know very much about Nicolas Vignau. We do not even know if he was with Champlain in 1608. Historians do know that Champlain sent Vignau to find the great northern sea in 1611. This was Hudson Bay. Champlain learned about Hudson Bay in 1604. He hoped this sea would lead to Asia.
Vignau left to travel with the Algonquin people. There are many different Algonquin bands. The one Vignau lived with resided on the Ottawa River near the present day town of Pembroke.
Tessouat was the chief of this group of Algonquins. He did not want Vignau to travel north. Tessouat's people controlled this part of the Ottawa River. They prevented First Nations who lived further north from travelling to Quebec to trade. Tessouat wanted to control the fur trade on the Ottawa River.
Tessouat told Vignau that the First Nations who lived up north (called the Nipissings) were enemies and evil sorcerers. Tessouat refused to take Vignau any further up the Ottawa River.
In 1613 Champlain travelled with Vignau to visit Tessouat. Vignau lied to Champlain. He told them Champlain that he visited the great northern sea. When Tessouat learned what Vignau told Champlain he became very angry. Eventually Vignau admitted he lied.
Champlain wrote in his diary that the Algonquins were very angry with Vignau. Tessouat said to Champlain: "Give him to us, and we promise you he will tell no more lies." All that Champlain wrote in his diary was: "We left him in God’s keeping."
Vignau disappears after this. He never appears again in any historical record from this period. What happened to him is a mystery. It is very possible that the Algonquins killed him for lying.
Étienne Brûlé
Étienne Brûlé was the first man he sent. Brûlé was very young. He was only 16 years old. Champlain sent him to live with Algonquian people who lived on the Ottawa River. When Brûlé returned the following year he was with a group of Wendat traders.
Brûlé spent twenty years living with the Wendat. He traveled all the way to Lake Huron. Brûlé also travelled to Lakes Erie, Ontario and Superior. He was the first European to vist four of the five Great Lakes. He also travelled south into what became New York State.
Brûlé became an important person. The Wendat accepted him as one of their own people. He lived their hard and difficult lifestyle. Many First Nations people did not accept complaining if things in life became difficult. A brave person should deal with their problems and find solutions. Brûlé learned their customs and religion. He took part in their ceremonies. Brûlé did not look down on Wendat beliefs.
Sometime between 1629 and 1633 the Wendat killed Brûlé. We do not know why they did this. Brûlé lived with them for many years. He travelled with them, hunted with them, and went to war with them against the Iroquois. Many Wendat people liked Brûlé.
Perhaps Brûlé offended someone very seriously. Some historians think that Brûlé upset the Wendat when he sided with the English in 1629. In that year a group of pirates led by the Kirk brothers conquered Quebec. Champlain and his men returned to France. Brûlé stayed in Huronia and worked for the English. Were the Wendat angry with Brûlé for this? Did they see this as a betrayal?
A Jesuit missionary named Brébeuf visited the Wendat after Brûlé's death. Brébeuf said they regretted killing him. Brébeuf talked to the Wendat about the murder, but they did not say why they killed Brûlé. They told Brébeuf that Brûlé's ghost haunted them and cursed them. They regretted killing Brûlé.
Jean Nicollet
Nicollet arrived in Canada in 1618 at the age of 20. Champlain wanted Nicollet to live with the First Nations to learn their languages and customs, and to explore this new land. Nicollet was an excellent choice. A Jesuit priest, Father Vimont, wrote that Nicollet had an excellent memory and was a very hard worker.
Nicollet spent his first years with Tessouat and the Algonquian people of the Ottawa River. The Ottawa River was a very important trade route. Champlain wanted to keep Tessouat as an ally.
Nicollet did a very good job. Like Brûlé before him, Nicollet learned and followed the culture of the Algonquians. He lived with Tessouat's people for two years. Tessouat liked Nicollet very much. Nicollet was made a chief, and attended important council meetings. In two years Nicollet learned to speak both the Algonquian and Wendat languages. Nicollet was so trusted that the Algonquians took him to negotiate a peace treaty with the Iroquois.
In 1620 Champlain sent Nicollet to live with the Nipissing First Nation. They lived (and still live) on the shores of Lake Nipissing. Lake Nipissing is in a very important location. It is the lake that connects the Ottawa River with Lake Huron and the Wendat. Champlain wanted the Nipissings as an ally to keep the fur trade strong and growing.
Nipissing people also travelled north to Hudson Bay every spring to trade with the Nishnabi-Aski (Cree) who lived there. Champlain knew that some English fur traders were in Hudson Bay. Champlain wanted to make sure the Nipissings did not start trading with the English.
Nicollet lived with the Nipissings for nine years. Every day Nicollet talked to the Nipissings and to other First Nations travelling through the area. At night he wrote down what he learned. Nicollet also traded with the Nipissings and other First Nations. He had his own house and a small trading post filled with French trade goods.
In 1629 the Kirk brothers conquered Quebec. Nicollet left the Nipissings and lived with the Wendat. Nicollet stayed loyal to Champlain. English traders arrived in Huronia. They tried to convince the Wendat to trade with them. Nicollet worked hard to prevent this from happening. Nicollet stayed loyal to Champlain unlike Brûlé.
When Champlain returned in 1633 Nicollet asked if he could become a trader at the new French settlement of Trois-Rivières. Champalin agreed. Nicollet had been a very hard worker, and Champlain rewarded him with this new job.
Champlain did give Nicollet one more task before settling at Trois-Rivières. Champlain asked Nicollet to travel to Green Bay on Lake Michigan. Dutch traders were trying to convince the Algonquians there to trade with them. Nicollet agreed. He travelled to Green Bay and convinced the Algonquians to only trade with the French.
While there Nicollet travelled south to explore. Champlain thought that Lake Michigan might be the China Sea. Nicollet discovered it was not. To be safe, however, Nicollet brought Chinese robes and clothes with him in case he found China.
Nicollet was the first European to travel to Lake Michigan. He also saw the Mississippi River and the Illinois River. He travelled further west than any European had.
Nicollet returned to Trois-Rivières. He married Marguerite Couillard, and had one daugher and one son. This was not his first wife. When he lived with the Nipissings he married a Nipissing woman and had one daughter.
Nicollet died in 1642. He was in Quebec when he learned that the Wendat had an Iroquois prisoner at Trois-Rivières. They were going to kill the prisoner. Nicollet left in a small boat called a shallop to convince the Wendat to spare the prisoner. A strong wind turned the boat over, and Nicollet drowned.
Champlain's Accomplishments
Champlain died on December 25, 1635. He spent many years in Quebec. During his time in Quebec he accomplished many things.
First, Champlain learned more about the geography of Canada than any European before him. Champlain himself travelled to up the Ottawa River to Lake Nipissing. Then he travelled to Huronia and spent the winter with the Wendat. In the spring he went with Wendat guides back to Quebec by canoeing along Lake Ontario.
The men Champlain sent to live with the First Nations provided the French with a lot of information about Canada. They learned many things about how different First Nations lived.
Champlain also learned that it was better to cooperate with the First Nations. Champlain knew he needed the First Nations as allies. He fought wars with them, traded with them, and tried to learn how they lived.
Lastly, Champlain created the first permament European colony in Canada. Québec remained a very small colony for a long time. Slowly, over time, it grew. Today it is Québec City, and the capital of the province of Québec.
| Cartier & Champlain - Gallery | Stories & Texts | Web Links | Vocab | Student Activities | Class Projects |
| Part 2. Explorers of Canada → A. Early Exploration → B. Contact and Conquest → C. First Explorers →D. Cartier & Champlain →E. The Fur Traders → E. Later Explorers |
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