Jacques Cartier

Hello. My name is Jacques Cartier. I came from a country called France. When I was a little boy, I loved the big, blue ocean. I dreamed of sailing on tall ships with big white sails. When I grew up, I became an explorer. An explorer is like a detective for the whole world. I got to sail across the sea to find new places on the map. It was so exciting to see what was on the other side of the water.

One day, a long, long time ago in the year 1534, the King of France asked me to go on a big trip. He wanted me to find a secret path across the water to a faraway land. So I sailed my ship across the giant ocean. I did not find a secret path. I found something new instead. It was a beautiful land with giant forests full of tall green trees and a huge river. I also met the wonderful people who lived there. They were very kind and showed me their village. They told me the name for their village was 'Kanata'.

I thought the word 'Kanata' was a beautiful name. Later, people used that word for the whole country, which we now call Canada. My trips helped people in my home of France learn all about this wonderful new part of the world. I lived for 65 years. I am happy that people still remember my adventures and the beautiful land I saw so long ago.