Cartier's first St. Lawrence expedition

Timeline

1. 1534Saint-Malo · Ille-et-VilaineJacques Cartier set sail from the Breton port of Saint-Malo with two ships, the Grande Hermine and the Petite Hermine, commissioned by the French king to seek a Northwest Passage to Asia and survey the North American coast.
2. 1534Gaspé Peninsula · Gaspé PeninsulaAfter crossing the Atlantic, the fleet reached Gaspé Bay in present-day Quebec, where Cartier erected a thirty-foot cross at the bay's mouth and held a ceremony claiming sovereignty in the name of the French king, and made contact with local Iroquoian-speaking inhabitants.
3. 1534Gulf of St. Lawrence and estuary · Gulf of St. LawrenceThe expedition sailed into the Gulf of St. Lawrence and explored northward along the estuary, mapping coastal terrain, recording channels and resources, and establishing initial contact with coastal Indigenous peoples, obtaining key geographical intelligence for France's later penetration of the valley and establishment of trading and colonial outposts.