I was born in 1491 in a seaport town in France. I studied hard as a young man and learned all about maps and how to travel on the sea. The King of France chose me to sail across the ocean to look for a faster way to get to East Asia. I was also on a mission to discover riches and claim land for France. Since Spain already owned lots of land in the southern part of the ocean, I traveled north. It only took my ships 20 days to find land. Today, the place we landed is called Newfoundland. I am best remembered for exploring the Saint Lawrence River. This area is where Quebec and Montreal, Canada are located. Jacques Cartier

Look at this map of the world. France is the country colored blue. Like other explorers, I was looking for land to conquer and colonize for my country and a shorter way to get to China in East Asia. I made two voyages to the new world. The first time I just explored around the big island of Newfoundland. On the second voyage I traveled down the St. Lawrence River, but was disappointed that it wasn’t a route to China. France Newfoundland

This map shows you where I traveled on my second voyage. I sailed far down the St. Lawrence river. My men and I lived with the Iroquois Indians that we met and learned many things from them. I claimed this part of North America for France and today, the people who live in this area of Canada still speak French.

This is an interesting painting of me. I think it makes me look strong and intelligent. I am holding a special instrument used to measure distances on maps. I love the background of the painting because it shows so many things about my travels in the new world. My main reason for traveling was to search for a shorter route to China and to help colonize the New World for France.

On my first voyage, in 1534, I had my men raise a cross that showed that the land was being claimed by France. You can see the shield on the cross– this is a symbol of the king.

My men and I met and worked with many different tribes of North American Indians during our travels. Here, one of the older leaders is telling us a story about what we can find down the St. Lawrence river.

In the small French town where I was born, Saint-Malo, there is a statue that honors my accomplishments. I am shown standing on the bow of a ship, looking out to sea. There are lots of monuments, streets, and places named after me in Canada.

Beautiful, isn’t it? This is one of the sights my men and I saw as we explored The St. Lawrence river. At the head of this river I started a settlement that is the city of Quebec today.

In 1984, 450 years after I first landed in the new world, the country of Canada honored me with a postage stamp. How cool is that?

This is a picture of my tomb in St. Malo, France. I died in St. Malo on Sept. 1, 1557, at the age of 66. What a wonderful life I had!