Jacques Cartier

Jacques Cartier (December 31, 1491 – September 1 1557), baptized Jakez Karter, was a French explorer who is popularly thought of as one of the major discoverers of Canada, or more specifically, the interior eastern region that would become the first European-inhabited area of that country.

Related Topics:
December 31 - 1491 - September 1 - 1557 - Explorer - Canada

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Born in Saint-Malo, France in 1491, Cartier was part of a respectable family of mariners and improved his social status in 1520 by marrying Catherine des Granches, member of a leading ship-owning family. His good name in Saint-Malo is recognized by its frequent appearance in baptismal registers as godfather or witness.

Related Topics:
Saint-Malo - France

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No contemporary portrait of Jacques Cartier has been found and the most familiar portrait (see right) was painted by a Russian artist in 1839 for the city of Saint-Malo.

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Very little information is available on Cartier's character and personality but his professional abilities can be easily ascertained. Considering that Cartier made three voyages of discovery in dangerous and hitherto unknown waters without losing a ship, that he entered and departed some fifty undiscovered harbours without serious mishap and that the only sailors he lost were victims of an epidemic ashore, he may be considered one of the most conscientious explorers of the period.

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When Jacques Cartier first sailed to the Gulf of St. Lawrence, Donnacona thought he was from underwater and said that he was coming from wooden "houses".

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