16th century in Canada
Encyclopedia
Events
- c. 1500: EuropeEuropeEurope is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
an diseases begin killing native North Americans, who have no immunity to them.
- 1521-26: João Álvares FagundesJoão Álvares FagundesJoão Álvares Fagundes , an explorer and ship owner from Viana do Castelo in Northern Portugal, organized several expeditions to Newfoundland and Nova Scotia around 1520-1521....
establishes the first European colony in North America on Cape Breton IslandCape Breton IslandCape Breton Island is an island on the Atlantic coast of North America. It likely corresponds to the word Breton, the French demonym for Brittany....
. It later fails.
- 1523-24: Giovanni da Verrazzano, sailing for FranceFranceThe French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, explores the Atlantic coast, encountering Wampanoag, Narragansett, and Delaware Indians.
- c. 1530-50: The French explorer Jacques CartierJacques CartierJacques Cartier was a French explorer of Breton origin who claimed what is now Canada for France. He 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 Iroquois names for the two big...
sails up the St. Lawrence River, claiming the land for France. His failure to find a northwest passage - or goldGoldGold is a chemical element with the symbol Au and an atomic number of 79. Gold is a dense, soft, shiny, malleable and ductile metal. Pure gold has a bright yellow color and luster traditionally considered attractive, which it maintains without oxidizing in air or water. Chemically, gold is a...
, as the Spanish had in PeruPeruPeru , officially the Republic of Peru , is a country in western South America. It is bordered on the north by Ecuador and Colombia, on the east by Brazil, on the southeast by Bolivia, on the south by Chile, and on the west by the Pacific Ocean....
- discourages further exploration. France was also too preoccupied with domestic religious warsFrench Wars of ReligionThe French Wars of Religion is the name given to a period of civil infighting and military operations, primarily fought between French Catholics and Protestants . The conflict involved the factional disputes between the aristocratic houses of France, such as the House of Bourbon and House of Guise...
to make any substantial commitment. The discovery of Canada was important, however, to English, French, Spanish, and Portuguese fishing fleets, all of which regularly fish the Grand BanksGrand BanksThe Grand Banks of Newfoundland are a group of underwater plateaus southeast of Newfoundland on the North American continental shelf. These areas are relatively shallow, ranging from in depth. The cold Labrador Current mixes with the warm waters of the Gulf Stream here.The mixing of these waters...
off the coast of Newfoundland.
- 1534-41: Jacques Cartier of France explores the St. Lawrence River area in three voyages, making contact with IroquoianIroquoian languagesThe Iroquoian languages are a First Nation and Native American language family.-Family division:*Ruttenber, Edward Manning. 1992 [1872]. History of the Indian tribes of Hudson's River. Hope Farm Press....
speaking tribes.
- 1534: French explorer Jacques Cartier visits the Strait of Belle Isle (Newfoundland), enters and charts Gulf of St. Lawrence River, landing in GaspéGaspé, QuebecGaspé is a city at the tip of the Gaspé Peninsula in the Gaspésie–Îles-de-la-Madeleine region of eastern Quebec, Canada. As of the 2006 census, the city had a total population of 14,819....
, July 14. His ship becomes icebound, men suffering from scurvyScurvyScurvy is a disease resulting from a deficiency of vitamin C, which is required for the synthesis of collagen in humans. The chemical name for vitamin C, ascorbic acid, is derived from the Latin name of scurvy, scorbutus, which also provides the adjective scorbutic...
aided by IroquoianSt. Lawrence IroquoiansThe St. Lawrence Iroquoians were a prehistoric First Nations/Native American indigenous people who lived from the 14th century until about 1580 CE along the shores of the St. Lawrence River in present-day Quebec and Ontario, Canada, and New York State, United States. They spoke Laurentian...
native, who feed them vitamin CVitamin CVitamin C or L-ascorbic acid or L-ascorbate is an essential nutrient for humans and certain other animal species. In living organisms ascorbate acts as an antioxidant by protecting the body against oxidative stress...
in boiled spruce. He takes two Iroquoians with him back to France.
- 1535: Cartier sails up the St. Lawrence River and reaches the St. Lawrence IroquoianSt. Lawrence IroquoiansThe St. Lawrence Iroquoians were a prehistoric First Nations/Native American indigenous people who lived from the 14th century until about 1580 CE along the shores of the St. Lawrence River in present-day Quebec and Ontario, Canada, and New York State, United States. They spoke Laurentian...
villages of Stadacona and Hochelaga (now Quebec CityQuebec CityQuebec , also Québec, Quebec City or Québec City is the capital of the Canadian province of Quebec and is located within the Capitale-Nationale region. It is the second most populous city in Quebec after Montreal, which is about to the southwest...
and MontrealMontrealMontreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...
).
- 1541: Jacques Cartier and Sieur de RobervalJean-François de la Roque de RobervalJean-François de La Rocque de Roberval was a French nobleman and adventurer who, through his friendship with King Francis, became the first Lieutenant General of New France. As a corsair he attacked towns and shipping throughout the Spanish Main, from Cuba to Colombia...
attempt to colonize Quebec, founding the first French settlement in America, Charlesbourg-RoyalCap-Rouge, QuebecCap-Rouge is located in central Quebec, Canada on the Saint Lawrence River within Quebec City. Originally a town on its own, Cap-Rouge was incorporated within Québec on January 1, 2002 and is now part of the Borough Sainte-Foy–Sillery–Cap-Rouge.-History:...
, at the mouth of the Cap Rouge River.
- 1542: Charlesbourg-Royal is abandoned. Cartier meets the sieur de Roberval, who was officially part of the same expedition, in Newfoundland.
- 1542: Juan Rodríguez CabrilloJuan Rodríguez CabrilloJuan Rodriguez Cabrillo was a Portuguese explorer noted for his exploration of the west coast of North America on behalf of Spain. Cabrillo was the first European explorer to navigate the coast of present day California in the United States...
and Bartolomé FerreloBartolomé FerreloBartolomé Ferrelo, also known as Bartolomé Ferrer, born 1499 in Bilbao Spain, died 1550 in Mexico.He was the pilot for Juan Rodrigo Cabrillo, the Portuguese captain who was sent by the viceroy of Mexico, with two ships in 1542 to explore what is now Northern California...
explore the CaliforniaCaliforniaCalifornia is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
and OregonOregonOregon is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is located on the Pacific coast, with Washington to the north, California to the south, Nevada on the southeast and Idaho to the east. The Columbia and Snake rivers delineate much of Oregon's northern and eastern...
coasts.
- 1564-65: Rene de Laudonniere heads French colony on St. Johns River in FloridaFloridaFlorida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
until expelled by Spanish. French artist Jacques le Moyne paints first known European depiction of Indians.
- 1576: Martin FrobisherMartin FrobisherSir Martin Frobisher was an English seaman who made three voyages to the New World to look for the Northwest Passage...
of EnglandEnglandEngland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
makes the first of three attempts to find a Northwest PassageNorthwest PassageThe Northwest Passage is a sea route through the Arctic Ocean, along the northern coast of North America via waterways amidst the Canadian Arctic Archipelago, connecting the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans...
, sailing as far as Hudson StraitHudson StraitHudson Strait links the Atlantic Ocean to Hudson Bay in Canada. It lies between Baffin Island and the northern coast of Quebec, its eastern entrance marked by Cape Chidley and Resolution Island. It is long...
. What he thought was gold discovered on his journey was later proven worthless.
- 1579: British Navigator Sir Francis DrakeFrancis DrakeSir Francis Drake, Vice Admiral was an English sea captain, privateer, navigator, slaver, and politician of the Elizabethan era. Elizabeth I of England awarded Drake a knighthood in 1581. He was second-in-command of the English fleet against the Spanish Armada in 1588. He also carried out the...
(c.1540-96) on a voyage around the world in the Golden Hind, claims California for Queen Elizabeth I.
- c. 1575: Martin Frobisher continues the fruitless search for a passage to Asia.
- 1576-78: Martin Frobisher, seeking a Northwest Passage to the Pacific, encounters various EskimoEskimoEskimos or Inuit–Yupik peoples are indigenous peoples who have traditionally inhabited the circumpolar region from eastern Siberia , across Alaska , Canada, and Greenland....
groups.
- 1583: Sir Humphrey GilbertHumphrey GilbertSir Humphrey Gilbert of Devon in England was a half-brother of Sir Walter Raleigh. Adventurer, explorer, member of parliament, and soldier, he served during the reign of Queen Elizabeth and was a pioneer of English colonization in North America and the Plantations of Ireland.-Early life:Gilbert...
, brother-in-law of Sir Walter RaleighWalter RaleighSir Walter Raleigh was an English aristocrat, writer, poet, soldier, courtier, spy, and explorer. He is also well known for popularising tobacco in England....
, claims Newfoundland as England's first overseas colony.
- 1585: Sir Walter Raleigh founds colony on Roanoke Island in what will become Virginia.
- 1588: English fishing fleet delays sailing to Newfoundland to participate in the defeat of Spanish Armada.
- 1591: Gov. John White returns to the colony on Roanoke Island from a trip to England to find that the colonists have vanished.
- 1598: The Marquis de la Roche lands 40 convicts on Sable IslandSable IslandSable Island is a small Canadian island situated 300 km southeast of mainland Nova Scotia in the Atlantic Ocean. The island is a year-round home to approximately five people...
.
- 1599: Samuel de ChamplainSamuel de ChamplainSamuel de Champlain , "The Father of New France", was a French navigator, cartographer, draughtsman, soldier, explorer, geographer, ethnologist, diplomat, and chronicler. He founded New France and Quebec City on July 3, 1608....
, French explorer are so pro, arrives, followed by Catholic missionaries.