Transcript French Explorers: Jacques Cartier

Chapter 2
European
Explorers
French Explorer: Jacques Cartier
Jacques Cartier was born in
St. Malo (France) in 1491.
He was looking for a
passage through or around
North America to East Asia.
He made the crossing of the
Atlantic in only twenty days,
and landed on an island
near the coast of
Newfoundland, by then
already much frequented by
Breton fishermen.
www.britannica.com
Cartier’s Voyages
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French Explorer: Samuel de Champlain
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Samuel de Champlain was an
explorer, map maker and governor
of New France. Champlain helped
found a colony in Port Royal, Nova
Scotia (1605).
In 1608, Champlain led 32
colonists to settle Quebec in order
to establish it as a fur-trading
center. Only nine colonists survived
the first bitter winter in Quebec, but
more settlers arrived the following
summer. The major role Champlain
played in the St Lawrence River
area earned him the title of “Father
of New France."
Champlain
Habitation at Québec
Champlain built the "habitation" which was part fort and part village in 1608 at the site of
present-day Québec City (courtesy John Ross Robertson Coll/Metropolitan Toronto
Library).
Champlain’s Voyages
www.exploreny400.com/images/champ_route.jpg
French Explorer: Rene-Robert Cavelier de La Salle
When Rene-Robert de LaSalle
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was 23, he set sail for
Canada, with plans to be a
farmer. However, La Salle
became interested in fur
trading and set up a fur
trading post instead. He was
important because of his
exploration of the Mississippi
River in North America.
La Salle was the first
European to sail down the
Mississippi to the Gulf of
Mexico. He claimed the
Mississippi River Basin,
which he called the Louisiana
Territory, for France.
LaSalle’s Voyages
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French Explorers: Pierre Gaultier de la Verendrye
La Verendrye had been both a
soldier and farmer before being
put in charge of a French trading
post near Lake Superior in 1715.
In 1728 he was appointed
commandant of the French posts
on the north shore of Lake
Superior. Between 1731 and 1737
he built several trading posts
between Lake Superior and Lake
Winnipeg. La Vérendrye listened
to the Indians who said they knew
of a route to the Western Sea. He
was responsible for opening a
large area of the west to French
traders.
www.cmhg.gc.ca
La Verendrye’s Voyages
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British Explorers: Martin Frobisher
www.thepirateking.com/bios/frobisher_martin.htm
Frobisher wanted to find the
Northwest Passage over North
America to Asia. Many people were
trying to find a faster way to Asia at
this time, so the person who
succeeded would be rewarded by the
Queen and become rich and famous.
When he finally got permission, he
left with three ships. During his third
voyage he thought he found gold, but
it was really iron that looked like gold
(fool’s gold) and was worthless.
Frobisher was disgraced. Frobisher
was one of the first English explorers
to sail the northeast North American
coast.
Frobisher’s First Voyage: 1576
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Frobisher’s Second Voyage: 1577
During Frobisher’s second voyage, he and his crew found European
clothing at an abandoned village and suspected that they belonged to the
five men from his crew who were murdered on his first voyage.
Hoping to get information, he captured three Inuit -- a man, woman and
child. He learned nothing and brought them back to England where they
died a month later.
According to Inuit stories passed down through the years, the five men
whom Frobisher thought the Inuit had killed, spent the winter at a village
site, built a boat and sailed away.
When Charles Francis Hall, an explorer, came along later, he was told of
legends that spoke of five men building a boat out of the expeditions'
scraps, but who died of starvation before they could use it.
British Explorers: Henry Hudson
Henry Hudson was English
navigator and explorer who, sailing
three times for the English (1607,
1608, 1610–11) and once for the
Dutch (1609). He was looking for a
short route from Europe to Asia
through the Arctic Ocean. He and his
crew sailed closer to the North Pole
than any other explorers. Hudson
was looking for a Northwest
Passage to the Orient and found
there was no way through the North
Pole.
A river, a strait, and a bay in North
America are named after him.
www.britannica.com
Hudson’s Voyages
international.loc.gov
British Explorer: Alexander Mackenzie
Alexander Mackenzie was a fur
trader and explorer. He is
credited with being the first
European to cross the north
part of North America by land.
He was a clever businessman
who wanted to expand the fur
trade across the continent of
North America. The results of
his two expeditions did this, but
not until after he had died.
www.answers.com
Mackenzie’s First Voyage: 1789
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Mackenzie’s Second Voyage: 1792-1793
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British Explorer: David Thompson
David Thompson is
remembered most as a
surveyor and map-maker, but
he was also a fur trader,
explorer, justice of the peace,
businessman and author. He is
considered one of the most
important geographers in the
history of North America.
During his life, he mapped
almost four and a half million
square kilometres. Thompson
measured the latitude and
longitude everywhere he went
so the Native people
nicknamed him "The Man Who
Looks at Stars".
www.davidthompsonthings.com
Thompson’s Voyages
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www.thefurtrapper.com/david_thompson.htm
Reflection:
The explorers and their stories are far more
than that of the accomplishments of one
person; they accomplished none of these
feats alone. Each had the support of his
employers, had the finances, friendship, and
help of many Native Americans, guides,
other traders to help meet the challenges that
they faced.