Born: 1491 AD
Died: 1557 AD, at 66 years of age.
1491 - Jacques Cartier was born in Saint-Malo, a port on the north coast of the duchy of Brittany.
1532 - He become incorporated to France.
1520 - He also improved his social status by marrying Catherine des Granches, member of a leading ship-owning family.
1534 - He set sail hoping to discover a western passage to the wealthy markets of Asia.
- He also began to build diplomatic relations with the natives. Cartier returned to France in September.
1535 - He left his main ships in a harbor close to Stadacona, and used his smallest ship to continue up-river and visit Hochelaga where he arrived on the 2nd of October.
1536 - In May, he decided to kidnap Chief Donnacona himself, so that he might personally tell the tale of a country further north, called the "Kingdom of Saguenay", claimed to be full of gold, rubies and other treasures.
1541 - On 23rd of May, he departed Saint-Malo on his third voyage with five ships. This time, any thought of finding a passage to the Orient was forgotten. The goals were now to find the "Kingdom of Saguenay" and its riches, and to establish a permanent settlement along the St. Lawrence.
1557 - He spent the rest of his life in Saint-Malo and his nearby estate, and died aged 66 on the 1st of September, from an epidemic. He died before any permanent European settlements were made in Canada; that had to wait for Samuel de Champlain in 1608.
Page last updated: 3:38pm, 31st Mar '07