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The St. Lawrence was known to many people long before it was said to have been
"discovered" by French explorer Jacques Cartier. Canada's Aboriginal
peoples were the first humans to travel its waters, but other
peoples had visited the North American continent before French explorer Jacques
Cartier sailed along the banks of the St. Lawrence
River and Gulf. Many immigrants settled near the St. Lawrence, earning their
livelihood by working on or near the river. The St. Lawrence River is a storybook
of human history and treasure trove of fun
facts.
Canada's Aboriginal peoples, originally from Asia, witnessed the creation of
the St. Lawrence River about 15 000 years ago. The Vikings were the first Europeans
to set foot in North America, having landed on the coast of Labrador around 1000
A.D. Five centuries later, Basque whalers hunted their prey in the St. Lawrence
before the arrival of French explorer Jacques Cartier in 1534!
The French
Expeditions led by Jacques Cartier
You may be aware that Jacques Cartier first arrived in the St. Lawrence
Gulf in 1534. Did you know he returned the following year because
he had not found the mouth of the St. Lawrence River that, he believed,
would lead him to India? Jacques Cartier was looking for a new route
to find gold and reach Asia in order to engage in the spice trade.
On his first expedition, he went around the the St. Lawrence Gulf.
Jacques Cartier would never discover this supposed passage to Asia
for the simple reason it did not exist! However, he described the
geography of the St. Lawrence in great detail in his log book, in
which he also recorded his observations of the lives and customs of
the Aboriginal peoples he encountered. This explorer's log book was
worth several times its weight in gold!
Choosing place names
One of Jacques Cartier's many responsibilities during his exploration
of the St. Lawrence River was to choose place names. This may seem
fun, but it is a task that requires a well-developed sense of observation.
As Cartier explored the area around the St. Lawrence, he drew a geographical
map. He had to find names for every major island, bay and river, so
he drew his inspiration from the locale and named each area in accordance
with its primary geographic feature. But he must have gotten tired
after a while, because he left some areas unnamed! Coming up with
place names was a job that ended up taking centuries. Even today,
some areas remain nameless. Did you know the study of place names
is called toponomy?
The baptism of the St. Lawrence River
On August 10, 1535, Cartier sought shelter in a large bay near the
Mingan Archipelago after having attempted,
in vain, to cast anchor off of Anticosti Island. Here is what Jacques
Cartier wrote in his journal about the experience:
" The distinctive features of this bay are a large
island that resembles a rocky cape, which advances farther into the
water than the others, and on the shore, about two leagues away,
there is a mountain that looks like a haystack. We named this bay
the St. Lawrence Bay."
Why St. Lawrence? In the Christian calendar, every day of the year
corresponds to a saint's feast day, and August 10 is the feast day
of St. Lawrence. When cartographers recopied Jacques Cartier's maps,
they thought St. Lawrence was the name of the entire river and not
only the bay, and labelled it accordingly. If Jacques Cartier had
arrived at this bay three days earlier, the seaway would bear the
name Sixtus. This is better than Eusebius, the saint whose feast day
is August 2!
Place names derived from Aboriginal languages
Place names given by the Aboriginal peoples were helpful to Cartier,
as he used many of them in his map, including Natashquan, Anticosti,
Gaspé, Tadoussac, Chicoutimi and Quebec. In addition to adding
a regional flavour to the naming process, these words referred to
a geographical location's particular feature or the resources found
there. In this regard, the Aboriginal names and those given by Cartier
in French were similar. Who knows? Maybe Jacques Cartier preferred
using an Aboriginal word as a place name when he did not like the
name of a saint? |
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