Jacques Cartier's First Voyage to the Gulf of St. Lawrence
- When
- 1534
- Where
- Saint-Malo; France
- Episodes
- 2
In 1534, Jacques Cartier departed Saint-Malo under royal commission to find a western passage to the East Indies. He explored the Gulf of St. Lawrence, mapped the river's shores, and named the region 'Canada' after Iroquoian settlements. The voyage concluded with his return to France in September 1534.
Episodes
- Departure from Saint-Malo
Cartier set sail from Saint-Malo on April 20, 1534, under royal commission to find a western passage to the East Indies.
- Return to France
Cartier returned to France in September 1534, believing he had reached an Asian land.
Background and detail
Background. Jacques Cartier, a Breton maritime explorer born in Saint-Malo, was introduced to King Francis I in 1534 by Jean Le Veneur. Citing prior voyages to Newfoundland and Brazil, Le Veneur vouched for Cartier's ability to lead ships to new lands. Cartier received a royal commission to discover a western passage to the East Indies.
People involved
- Jacques Cartier · French maritime explorer and leader of the expedition
- King Francis I · French monarch who commissioned the voyage
- Jean Le Veneur · Bishop of Saint-Malo who introduced Cartier to the King
Sources
- Jacques Cartier Wikipedia, revision of 2026-09-02
Machine-drafted from the cited Wikipedia passages and checked by a reviewing model, not by a human editor. Every passage cites the revision it was written from; dates and places follow those passages.