This edition, concise and handy, records Cartier's three remarkable voyages to discover the water approaches to Canada and its heartland. Ramsay Cook, distinguished Canadian historian, provides a brief introduction which places Cartier in his times and examines his important contributions to the gathering of data about this part of northern North America. Cartier was a citizen of Saint-Malo, famous port of Brittany. In 1534, in the service of King Francis I of France, he sailed with two ships and a small company, presumably in search of a Northwest Passage. He made a landfall off Newfoundland, then proceeded into the ice-cluttered Gulf of St. Lawrence. He skirted the west side of Newfoundland and the Magdalen Islands. He discovered Prince Edward Island, explored beautiful Chaleur Bay, then proceeded northward to Gaspe Bay. He continued to Anticosti Island, then returned to France.
In 1535 he made his second voyage, and learned from Indians of a mysterious kingdom called Saguenay located in the interior. He continued up a great river, the St. Lawrence (of which he is credited as discoverer) and came to Stadacona, where modern Québec is located. Another Indian village, Hochelaga, he found (now the city of Montreal). He returned to Saint-Malo the following summer. In 1541 he made his final expedition, undertaken for the colonizer Roberval, designated the King's lieutenant general.
Cartier's accounts are important in two ways: they tell of Cartier's voyages and discoveries; and they are early contributions to Canadian literature and narratives. They provide credible descriptions of the land and its indigenous peoples. Cook's essay, entitled "Donnacona Discovers Europe: Rereading Jacques Cartier's Voyages," explains how Cartier took the native chief Donnacona to France, and did so against the latter's wishes. Two other Indians were taken at the same time. Cook uses this particular set of details to discuss how Europe discovered North America and vice versa.
