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Canadian Explorers

CARTIER, JACQUES

Jacques Cartier (1491-1557) was a French explorer who led three expeditions to Canada, in 1534, 1535, and 1541. He was looking for a route to the Pacific through North America (a Northwest Passage) but did not find one. Cartier paved the way for French exploration of North America.Cartier sailed inland, going 1,000 miles up the St. Lawrence River. He also tried to start a settlement in Quebec (in 1541), but it was abandoned after a terribly cold winter. Cartier named Canada; "Kanata" means village or settlement in the Huron-Iroquois language. Cartier was given directions by Huron-Iroquois Indians for the route to "kanata," a village near what is now Quebec, but Cartier later named the entire region Canada. 

CHAMPLAIN, SAMUEL DE

Samuel de Champlain (1567?-1635) was a French explorer and navigator who mapped much of northeastern North America and started a settlement in Quebec. Champlain also discovered the lake later named for him (1609) and was important in establishing and administering the French colonies in the New World. 

COOK, JAMES

James Cook (October 27, 1728- February 14, 1779) was a British explorer and astronomer who went on many expeditions to the Pacific Ocean, Antarctic, Arctic, and around the world.Cook's first journey was from 1768 to 1771, when he sailed to Tahiti in order to observe Venus as it passed between the Earth and the Sun (in order to try to determine the distance between the Earth and the Sun). During this expedition, he also mapped northern Australia.Cook's second expedition (1772-1775) took him to Antarctica and to Easter Island.Cook's last expedition (1776-1779) was a search for a Northwest Passage across North America to Asia. Cook was killed by a mob on Feb. 14, 1779, on the Sandwich Islands (Hawaii). At the time, he was trying to take the local chief hostage to get the natives to return a sailboat they had stolen.Cook was the first ship's captain to stop the disease scurvy (now known to be caused by a lack of vitamin C) among sailors by providing them with fresh fruits. Before this, scurvy had killed or incapacitated many sailors on long trips. 

DE LA SALLE, ROBERT

René-Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle (1643-1687) was a French explorer. He was sent by King Louis XIV (14) to travel south from Canada and sail down the Mississippi River to the Gulf of Mexico. He was the first European to travel the length of the Mississippi River (1682). His mission was to explore and establish fur-trade routes along the river. La Salle named the entire Mississippi basin Louisiana, in honor of the King, and claimed it for France on April 9, 1682. He also explored Lake Michigan (1679), Lake Huron, Lake Erie, and Lake Ontario. He tried to start a settlement in the southern Mississippi River Valley, but the venture ended in disaster. Exploring North America: La Salle traveled from France to Quebec, New France (Canada), in late 1667. He was determined to find a water passage to the east through North America. Leaving Montreal in July, 1669, La Salle crossed Lake Ontario, Lake Erie, and other places which are not documented (he did not return to Montreal until late 1670, and may have traveled down the Ohio or Mississippi River). La Salle made many exploring trips during the years 1671 to 1673. La Salle returned to France in 1677, getting permission form the King to explore the area between Florida, Mexico and New France (Canada). He returned to Canada in 1678 with his friend, Henri de Tonty, and others. In Canada, they constructed a fort on the Niagara River (between Ontario and New York) and built a ship called the Griffon, which they used to explore the Great Lakes. They sailed on August 7, 1679, traveling across Lake Erie and Lake Huron. They traveled across land to Lake Michigan, which they paddled across in canoes. Returning, they discovered that the Griffon was lost, the fort at Niagara had burned down, and many men had deserted their posts, robbing supply stores.Traveling the Length of the Mississippi River: On a 1681 expedition, La Salle and about 40 men again headed to the Mississippi River. They reached the Mississippi River on February 6, 1682, then headed down it in canoes. They built Fort Prud'homme at what is now Memphis, Tennessee, and later reached the Gulf of Mexico on April 9, 1682, where they built a cross. They claimed all the land along the Mississippi River for France. Their return to New France was beset by illness and Indian attacks.Settling Gone Awry: La Salle returned to France in 1683, but sailed to the New World again in 1684 with four ships, intending to start a colony in the Mississippi River Valley (the king actually wanted him to travel to the Rio Grande to take over Spanish mines, but La Salle lied and told him that the Mississippi was farther north than it is). The expedition lost a vital supply ship en route, and mistakenly landed in Matagorda Bay, near what is now Houston, Texas, where one ship ran aground. La Salle's men shot Indians who took supplies from the wrecked ship, making enemies of the local Indians. One ship returned to France with a disgruntled crew.Stranded in Texas: The French expedition built a fort at the mouth of the Lavaca River, and explored the area. The last remaining ship was wrecked by a drunken pilot in April 1686, stranding the French in Texas. The 20 men traveled up the Lavaca River, trying to locate the Mississippi River so they could follow it north into the French missions in the Great Lakes region. Most of the men in this expedition died, and the 8 survivors returned to the fort in October, 1686. On a second try, La Salle and 17 others set out (25 people remained at the fort); in a few months, a group of five mutineers shot and killed La Salle (near Navasota, Texas) on March 19, 1687. They left his body for the animals to eat. The rest of the expedition made it to Montreal in 1688, but those at the fort were killed by the Karankawa Indians.

DRAKE, FRANCIS

Sir Francis Drake (1545-1596) was a British explorer, slave-trader, privateer (a pirate working for a government) in the service of England, mayor of Plymouth, England, and naval officer (he was an Admiral). Drake led the second expedition to sail around the world in a voyage lasting from 1577 to 1580 (Magellan led the first voyage around the world). Drake led the second expedition to sail around the world in a voyage lasting from 1577 to 1580 (Magellan led the first voyage around the world). Queen Elizabeth I comissioned Drake to command the expedition together with John Winter and Thomas Doughty. They left Plymouth, England, on December 13, 1577, with six ships (including the Golden Hind). They sailed to Brazil, and through the perilous Strait of Magellan (between August 20 and September 6, 1578). At Tierra del Fuego (located at the southern tip of South America), natives gave Drake and his crew food and water. They sailed by Panama (1579), where he pirated Spanish ships and settlements for food and treasures. He landed on the island of Cano, off the coast of southern Mexico. In North America, he claimed the land he called "Nova Albion" for the Queen (his exact location was kept secret, but he may have sailed as far north as northern California or even Vancouver Island, Canada). They then crossed the Pacific Ocean and sailed by Indonesia, through the Indian Ocean, past the Cape of Good Hope, and back to Plymouth, England, in 1580. Upon his return, the Queen rewarded Drake with a large sum of money (£10,000). Drake was also involved in the slave trade and was a fierce warrior and privateer. Drake and John Hawkins were on a slave-trading trip to the West Indies (backed by Queen Elizabeth) that ended with an attack by the Spanish fleet at San Juan de Ulua, near Veracruz, Mexico. The six English slave-trading ships were in the harbor for repairs, and only two ships survived the attack, those commanded by Hawkins and Drake; the Spanish did not want the English competing in their highly profitable slave-trading business. This battle led to a series of battles that later resulted in a war between Spain and England. In this war, England crushed the Spanish Armada in 1588 and became the dominant world power. Drake helped the British defeat the Spanish Armada; he was second in command. The Spanish called him El Draque, meaning "The Dragon."Drake died of fever at sea near Panama; he was on a voyage intending to attack Spanish colonies in the West Indies. 

DE FUCA, JUAN

Juan de Fuca (15??-1601?) was a Greek navigator who sailed for Spain under a Spanish name; his original name was Apostolos Valerianos. De Fuca sailed up the western coast of North America from Mexico to Vancouver Island in 1592, looking for a passage from the Pacific Ocean to the Atlantic Ocean. He was perhaps the first European to see this area. He sailed through the Strait of Juan de Fuca (which was named for him in 1725) and believed it to be the beginning of a route to the Atlantic Ocean (it is not). This strait connects the Pacific Ocean to the Puget Sound and the Georgia Strait, between the Olympic Peninsula of Washington state, USA, and Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada. After sailing back to Acapulco, Mexico, de Fuca was not rewarded by Spain for his journey, and his discovery of the strait was not entirely believed until Captain Vancouver retraced de Fuca's route 200 years later. After this journey, de Fuca returned to Greece. 

ERIKSSON, LEIF

Leif Ericsson (also spelled Eriksson) the Lucky (980?-1020?) was a Viking (Norse) explorer who was possibly the first European to sail to North America. Leif sailed north from the southern tip of Greenland, then went south along the coast of Baffin Island down to Labrador, and then landed in what is now called Newfoundland (which he called Vinland). Ericsson sailed around the year 1000. Ericsson was born in Iceland and was one of the sons of the explorer Eric the Red.Ericsson was probably preceded to Vinland by the Icelandic explorer Bjarni Herjulfsson, who spotted the coast of North America in 985 or 986 when blown off course from Iceland to Greenland (but he did not go ashore). Hearing of Herjulfsson's discovery, Ericsson sailed for North America in the year 1000 with a crew of 35. He landed in what is probably southern Baffin Island (which he called Helluland, meaning the "land of the flat stone"). He then went on the what is now Labrador (which he called Markland, meaning "forest land"). In 1001 they reached Vinland (perhaps the southern tip of Newfoundland), where remains of an ancient Norse settlement have been found). Ericsson and his crew returned to Green land in the spring of 1002.Ericsson later inherited his father's position as leader of the Norse colony in Greenland. 

FRANKLIN, JOHN

Sir John Franklin (1786-1847) was an English explorer and Admiral who proved the existence of a Northwest Passage (a water route from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean through Canada). In 1819 to 1822, Franklin surveyed part of the northwestern Canadian coast east of the Coppermine River. On a second expedition, from 1825 to 1827, Franklin explored the North American coast from the mouth of the Mackenzie River, in northwestern Canada, westward to Point Beechey (Alaska, USA).In 1845, Franklin sailed from England with an expedition of 128 men to Canada in search of Northwest Passage. The ship became trapped in ice, and the desperate, freezing and starving survivors resorted to cannibalism. A small contingent of the expedition (without Franklin) may have reached Simpson Strait, the final part of the Northwest Passage. Scottish explorer John Rae determined that Franklin and his expedition had died of starvation and exposure in the Arctic; Eskimos at Pelly Bay told Rae of Franklin's fate. Lead poisoning from poorly-canned food may have also hastened their death.  

FRASER, SIMON

Simon Fraser (1776-1862) was a fur trader and explorer. Fraser, his mother, and his siblings, British loyalists, emigrated from America to Canada after the American Revolution (in 1784). In 1792, Fraser began working for the North West Company of Montreal, and was soon sent to Lake Athabasca, Alberta. Fraser established Fort McLeod in 1805, Fort St. James and Fort Fraser in 1806, and Fort George in 1807. He explored the interior of British Columbia, trying to find a trade route to the Pacific Ocean for the North West Company. He followed what he thought was the Columbia River to its mouth at Musqueam, but it was not the Columbia, it was another unknown river. This river was later called the Fraser River. 

FROBISHER, MARTIN

Sir Martin Frobisher (1535?-1594) was an English privateer (a pirate licensed by the British government), navigator, explorer, and naval officer. After years of sailing to northwestern Africa, and then looting French ships in the English Channel, Frobisher sailed to northeastern North America to search for a Northwest Passage (a sea route across northern Canada from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean, making the trip to Asia easier). In 1576, Frobisher began a series of three trips to what is now Canada, and found some ore that he thought was gold (it was not - it was pyrite, also called Fool's Gold) on Baffin Island (Frobisher claimed Baffin Island for England). He also discovered Resolution Island, which he claimed for England, and Frobisher Bay. On his third trip, in 1578, Frobisher sailed 15 ships up the Hudson Strait, and set up a temporary mining settlement near what is now known as Frobisher Bay and formed a mining company called the Cathay Company. The mining venture was a failure. Frobisher's stone house was discovered in 1862 by the American explorer Charles Francis Hall. Frobisher is said to have held the first Canadian Thanksgiving feast in what is now known as Newfoundland. Frobisher was one of the first people to explore this area of Canada, although he failed to find either a Northwest Passage or gold. In 1585, Frobisher was a vice admiral on Sir Francis Drake's expedition to the West Indies. Frobisher died on November 22, 1594, from wounds he got fighting the Spanish.  

GILBERT, HUMPHREY

Sir Humphrey Gilbert (1539-1583) was an English nobleman, Army officer, member of Parliament, and explorer.Early in his career, Gilbert started English settlements in Ireland (to try to stop the Irish rebellion) and, much later, sailed to North America in search of a Northwest Passage (a sea route to Asia through North America). He founded an English settlement in Newfoundland.Gilbert is said to have believed that America was the lost continent of Atlantis (a legendary but fictional continent that is said to have sunk in ancient times). He was determined to find a sea route through the northern waters of North America. On September 23, 1578, he sailed from England, but was attacked by Spaniards and returned to England.He successfully sailed again on June 11, 1583, with 5 ships. One ship had to return because of leaks, but the others eventually made it to North America. He landed in Newfoundland on July 30, 1583, and then sailed to St. John's. Gilbert claimed the area for Queen Elizabeth I of England, and started a colony.After two weeks in his new colony, Gilbert left his colony to explore the area around Nova Scotia. He died on this expedition when his boat, the "Squirrel," sank near the Azore Islands on September 9, 1583 (he was returning to England). Gilbert was the step-brother of Sir Walter Raleigh.  

HUDSON, HENRY

Henry Hudson (1565-1611) was an English explorer and navigator who sailed to northern North America four times. He had been hired by the Muscovy Company to find a Northwest passage (a waterway cutting through through northern North America) that would take traders across North America to Asia. After failing to find a waterway through the far northern portion of North America on two trips, he was hired by the Dutch East India Company to try farther south. On this trip, Hudson found what is now called the Hudson River. Hudson is credited with discovering the location which is now New York City (although da Verrazano had previously sailed by the area in 1524). Hudson sailed into New York's harbor on September 3, 1609 and noted what an excellent harbor it was. Hudson sailed up the river about 150 miles (240 km) and noted the abundance of rich land, but realized that this was not a waterway to India. His reports resulted in many Dutch settlements in the area. A 1610-1611 trip through the Hudson Strait and into Hudson Bay ended in a mutiny. Hudson died in 1611 after his crew mutinied and left Hudson, his son, and seven crew members adfrift in a small, open boat in Hudson Bay. The Hudson River, Hudson Strait, and Hudson Bay are named for Hudson. 

JOLIET, LOUIS

Louis Joliet (1645-1700) was a Canadian explorer (born in Québec City) who explored the Canadian wilderness, including the Great Lakes area. He and Father Jacques Marquette found the Mississippi River in 1673; they were the first Caucasians to see the Mississippi River. Together, they travelled along Lake Michigan to Green Bay, canoed up the Fox River, and went downstream on the Wisconsin River to the Mississippi River. They travelled almost to the mouth of the Arkansas, and then stopped because they were warned of hostile Indians and Spanish explorers. They returned via the Illinois River, then the Chicago River to Lake Michigan. Joliet's journal and his maps were lost when his canoe overturned on the rapids of the Montreal River. Marquette's diary is all that remains of their journey. Joliet expanded fur trade westward, did extensive mapping, and established a fort on Anticosti Island. 

KELSEY, HENRY

Henry Kelsey (1667-1724) was a British explorer of inland Canada. Also known as Boy Kelsey, he became the first inland explorer of the Hudson's Bay Company when he was seventeen years old (in 1684). On an expedition lasting from 1688 to 1690, Kelsey travelled to the Churchill River region. During his second expedition (1690 - 1692), Kelsey was the first European to see the Canadian prairies. Kelsey extended the trade routes of the Hudson's Bay Company's trade to the Saskatchewan River by negotiating with various Indian tribes, including the Bree, the Gros Ventres. Kelsey spoke Cree (and perhaps Assiniboin); he respected and enjoyed Indian culture. After his Canadian expeditions, Kelsey returned to his native England and remained with the Hudson's Bay Company. The company kept his journeys secret for many years since they were crucial to its trade. Kelsey's journal was re-discovered in 1926. 

LA VERENDRYE, PIERRE de

Pierre Gaultier de Varennes, sieur de La Vérendrye (1685-1749) was a Canadian soldier and explorer who traveled farther west than any previous European explorer had; he traveled to Lake Winnipeg and then southwest, almost reaching the Missouri River. He was searching for a route across Canada from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean. His father was the sieur de Varennes, the governor of Trois Rivières, Quebec, Canada. 

MACKENZIE, ALEXANDER

Sir Alexander Mackenzie (1755?-1820) was a Scottish-born fur trader and explorer who charted the Mackenzie River in Canada and also traveled to the Pacific Ocean. Mackenzie emigrated to Canada in 1779. From 1788 to 1796 , he commanded the trading post Fort Chipewyan, on Lake Athabasca in Alberta. In 1789, Mackenzie went on an expedition to chart the 1,100-mile Mackenzie River, travelling from the Great Slave Lake to the mouth of the Mackenzie in the Arctic Ocean, using Peter Pond's incorrect prediction that a river led from that lake to the Pacific Ocean. In 1793, on his second expedition, Mackenzie went from Ft. Chipewyan across the Rocky Mountains to the Pacific coast in is now British Columbia, going via the Peace, Parsnip, McGregor and Fraser Rivers and overland. He was the first European to cross the North American continent north of Mexico (and he did this twice). Mackenzie later retired to his native Scotland. Mackenzie wrote "Voyage from Montreal on the River St. Lawrence, Through the Continent of North America, to the Frozen and Pacific Oceans, in the Years 1789 and 1793," which was published in 1801. 

MARQUETTE, FATHER JACQUES

Father Jacques Marquette (1637-1675) was a French Jesuit priest and explorer. He sailed to Quebec in 1666 and in 1671 started a Chippewa mission at Chequamegon Bay (at the western end of Lake Superior). Louis Joliet and Father Jacques Marquette (and five others) found the Mississippi River in 1673; they were the first Caucasians to see the Mississippi River. They travelled along Lake Michigan to Green Bay, canoed up the Fox River, and went downstream on the Wisconsin River to the Mississippi River. They travelled almost to the mouth of the Arkansas, and then stopped because they were warned of hostile indians and Spanish explorers. They returned via the Illinois River, then the Chicago River to Lake Michigan. Marquette died of dysentery on his way to the Kaskaskian indians, to whom he had planned on preaching. 

NICOLLET, JEAN

Jean Nicollet [also spelled Nicolet] (1598 - 1642) was a French explorer who was the first European to travel through the Great Lakes area, visiting Lake Michigan and what are now Wisconsin and Illinois, possibly reaching the Mississippi River. For many years, Nicollet lived among the Native Americans in what is now the Ontario, Canada area. 

RADISSON, PIERRE ESPRIT

Pierre Esprit Radisson (1636-1710) was a French explorer and fur trader who settled in Canada in 1651. He and his brother-in-law, Médard Chouart de Groseillier, were the first European explorers to see what is now Minnesota. Radisson was instrumental in forming the Hudson's Bay Company (an English fur trading monopoly which was founded in 1670). Radisson also trekked to Hudson Bay (in 1668 and 1670). Radisson wrote about his treks through the North American wilderness and his capture by the Iroquois (1651-1653). 

RAE, JOHN

John Rae (1813-1893) was a Scottish explorer, surveyor, and surgeon who explored the Canadian Arctic. Rae made three voyages, in 1848-1849, 1851, and 1853-1854, to find the Arctic explorer Sir John Franklin, who had disappeared together with his Arctic expedition. Rae surveyed and mapped over 1,400 miles (2255 km) of uncharted Canadian coastline. He also showed that King William Land was an island. On his third journey, Rae determined that Franklin and his expedition had died of starvation and exposure in the Arctic; Eskimos at Pelly Bay told Rae of Franklin's fate. During his Arctic expeditions, the hearty Rae walked over 23,000 miles (37000 km). 

STEFANSSON, VILHJALMUR

Vilhjalmur Stefansson (November 3, 1879 - August 26, 1962) was a Canadian explorer (born of Icelandic parents) who explored the Canadian Arctic and lived among the Inuits (Eskimos) for many years. Stefansson's exploration of the Canadian Arctic led him to realize that the area was important economically, and he promoted polar development.After studying anthropology, Stefansson went on his first Arctic expedition in 1906-1097; this trip was led by the Danish explorer Ejnar Mikkelson. They traveled to Herschel Island (in the Beaufort Sea just north of the Yukon), and Stefansson began studying the language and culture of the Inuit and the Mackenzie River Indians. Stefansson met Roald Amundsen towards the end of this trip. In 1908, Stefansson returned to the Arctic with the Canadian zoologist Rudolph M. Anderson, traveling to Herschel Island, Cape Parry, and the south side of Victoria Island. They encountered the Copper Inuit (a previously unknown group of Inuits who made and used copper tools). Stefansson stayed with the Copper Inuit until 1912. Since many of these Native Americans had European features and some had blue eyes, Stefansson theorized that they were a mixture of Native Americans and early Norse explorers or the lost expedition of Sir John Franklin. Although his theory was not accepted, it did give Stefansson quite a bit of notoriety. Stefansson's last Arctic trip was in 1913, when he was appointed head of a Canadian scientific expedition. The expedition sailed from Seattle, Washington, USA, in an old sealing ship Karluk (Bob Bartlett was Captain), but were stuck in the ice north of Alaska in August, 1913. In September, Stefansson and a small group left the ship to hunt for food, but never returned to the ship, since it drifted away (as the ice moved west). The ship was eventually crushed by the ice but most of the crew survived. Stefansson and his small group drifted on ice floes and explored Northern Canada, returning in 1918.He organized another Arctic expedition in 1921-1924 (which he did not go on). Stefansson Island, at the tip of Victoria Island, was named for him in 1952. Stefansson spent the latter part of his life as Director of Polar Studies at Dartmouth College (Hanover, New Hampshire, USA). He wrote many books, including My Life with the Eskimos (1913), The Friendly Arctic (1921), and Discovery (Stefansson's autobiography, published in 1964, after his death).  

THOMPSON, DAVID

David Thompson (1770-1857) was a Welsh explorer (born in London, England); Thompson's family name was originally as Tomos. Thompson was also a mapmaker, surveyor, fur trader, and journal writer. . Thompson explored western North America, including what is now western Canada and the western USA. Thompson was the first European to explore the entire length of Columbia River. Thompson's detailed maps of western North America were the first ones made, and were the basis of maps for years to come. Thompson began working as a clerk for the Hudson's Bay Company in 1784. In 1796, Thompson explored Lake Athabasca. In 1797, Thompson joined and become a partner in the North West Company (a rival trapping company). In 1797-1798, Thompson went on an expedition down the Missouri River; he discovered Turtle Lake, one of the headwaters of the Mississippi River, in 1798. In 1807, Thompson crossed the Rocky Mountains and built the first trading post on the Columbia River. From 1818 to 1826, Thomson surveyed the border between Canada and the USA. 

VANCOUVER, GEORGE

Captain George Vancouver (1758-1798) was an English explorer and navigator who sailed to the northwest coast of North America. His two ships, "Discovery" and "Chatham," reached the Strait of Juan de Fuca (near what is now the US-Canadian border) in May, 1792. He then sailed to Puget Sound (near what is now Seattle); Vancouver named Puget Sound (he named it for Lieutenant Peter Puget who was sailing under Captain Vancouver on the ship "Discovery"). Vancouver also named Mt. Rainier, Whidbey Island, and the Hood Canal. The expedition then sailed north, discovering what is now called Vancouver Island, and then sailing around it. Vancouver Island and the city of Vancouver are named for him. Vancouver had previously served under Captain James Cook on his second and third voyages sailing around the world.