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Jan 1, 1534
Cartier Arrives in Newfoundland
Cartier is sent by King Francois I to find a shipping route between France and the Orient, and to find precious gems and metals to make the French rich. -
Jan 1, 1534
Cross at Pointe-Penouille
Cartier puts up a cross at Pointe-Penouille on the Gaspe penninsula, and meets Chief Donnacona. Chief Donnacona's sons go to France. -
Jan 1, 1535
Cartier Explores St-Lawrence
Cartier travels along the St-Lawrence river. He goes to Hochelaga (Montreal) and meets another Iroquois tribe. He names the Lachine rapids because he thinks China is near. He spends the winter in Stadacona and 110 crew become sick with scurvy. The Iroquois give them tea to cure it. -
May 1, 1536
Cartier Captures Chief Donnacona
Cartier prepares to sail to France. He captures Chief Donnacona, his sons and several other Iroquois and brings them to the king in France. All the Iroquois except for one die in the next few years. -
Jan 1, 1542
Cartier's Final Voyage
Cartier's final voyage to New France. Relations with the First Nations people not good. He finds what he thinks are diamonds. He returns to France and finds out they are quartz. He never explored for France again. -
Samuel de Champlain Explores New France
Champlain crosses Atlantic ocean. He maps out the Atlantic coast. Champlain founds first European settlement at Quebec. -
Champlain joins Hurons in battle against the Iroquois.
Champlain forms an alliance with the Hurons. He joins them in a battle against the Iroqois. First time a shotgun is used in an Aboriginal battle, killing 2 Iroquois Chiefs. The Huron win the battle. -
People Of The Church
People Of The Church were nuns, priests, and missionaries. People of the church taught Aboriginal people and children in the community about Catholisism. They built Churches through funding from the community. They provided religious services to the community. -
The seigneury
The people of the Seigneury owed food and labor to the Seigneur in exchange for owning land. The people who rented the land from the seigneur were called habitants. They farmed the land they lived on and some of them did other things like trading fur, or making and trading shoes and textiles. The Habitants built roads, churches, mills on the seigneury. -
Samuel de Champlain dies
Samuel de Champlain dies. We now call him the "Father of New France" because of his tireless work on building a successful colony in New France. -
The Women of New France
Some Women of New France were midwives, housewives, teachers, or herbalists. Some of them became nuns and worked with the Church. Some of them were involved in their communties through charity. The filles du roi were orphans that the king of France recruited to go to New France to help the settlements grow. They were sent to marry and have families, and they often got to choose who they would marry. The king paid their dowries and a settlement fee. -
soldiers
Soldiers protected settlements against the British and against Aboriginal tribes. Some of the soldiers were farmers and most of them didn't have much training. Some soldiers stayed behind in the colony after they served in the military. Men between the ages of 16 and 60 were ordered to serve in the militia by King Louis the XIV. -
Townspeople
Townspeople helped their community by building staircases, ships, churches, houses and other buildings. Some townspeople ran or worked in businesses, or they might have been bakers, farmers or hunters. Townspeople supported newcomers to the colony by helping them find jobs and homes. Some townspeople may also have worked as coureur de bois. These were European men who went into the woods to trade fur and who learned many of the Aboriginal survival skills and ways of living.
