Gerry Bowler: How Tales of the Fabulous Kingdom of Saguenay Played a Part in the Settlement of Quebec

Commentary By 1530 the success of Spain and Portugal in exploiting the riches of the Americas and Asia led other European countries to send out exploratory expeditions. They were particularly eager to find a northwestern passage that would connect their lands with the economies of China and the Indies. Among these voyagers was a French seaman named Jacques Cartier who sailed up the St. Lawrence River in 1534, getting as far as the Gaspé, where he planted a cross and claimed the land for Francis I, King of France. He returned the following year and reached native settlements at Stadacona and Hochelaga, sites of present-day Quebec City and Montreal, which he was sure was in Asia. He established a camp at the mouth of the St. Charles River where he wintered over, fending off scurvy with a concoction of spruce beer whose recipe he learned from the local tribesmen....