JACQUES CARTIER

• Born: December 31, 1491
• Died: September 1, 1557
• Nationality: Canadian
• Profession: French Navigator Explorer

Jacques Cartier was a French-Breton maritime explorer for France. Jacques Cartier was the first European to describe and map the Gulf of Saint Lawrence and the shores of the Saint Lawrence River, which he named "The Country of Canadas" after the Iroquoian names for the two big settlements he saw at Stadacona (Quebec City) and at Hochelaga (Montreal Island).