Giovanni de Verrazzano Sets Sail in Search of a Strait through the Americas: January 17, 1524

This text comes from our book, The American Venture.

Balboa’s discovery of the Pacific Ocean and, later, Elcano’s circumnavigation of the world had shown that the lands of America were not the outposts of Asia but a New World. Yet, though this New World offered its own tempting riches, European rulers still hoped to reach Asia. Though the continents of North and South America seemed to lie between the rulers and their dream, some Europeans hoped to find a passage or strait through the Americas from the Atlantic to the Pacific and thus to the Indies. If such a passage existed—and many were confident that it did—Spain had not yet discovered it in the South. So, sailing expeditions were sent north and west in the hope of finding a “Northwest Passage” to Asia.

King François I of France was eager for new sources of wealth—in large part to combat his chief rival in Europe, King Carlos I of Spain. Carlos was not only king of Spain but Holy Roman Emperor (where he was Karl or Charles V), and the lord of vast lands that surrounded France on all sides, including northern Italy, which François coveted. Carlos had this advantage—the gold and silver of the Americas. To get a part of this treasure, François had financed privateers, or government-sponsored pirates, to attack Spanish galleons and steal the gold and silver they were transporting from America. Yet, François saw that this was not the straightest road to riches. A better way would be for France to establish her own claim to the New World and, perhaps, find a sea passage to the riches of the Far East.

Jacques Cartier

To do just that, François chose an Italian from Florence, Giovanni de Verrazzano, who set sail in January 1524 in search of the “Straits of Anian,” a name for the Northwest Passage. After crossing the Atlantic, Verrazzano landed on the coast of what is now North Carolina; then, sailing north along the coast, he became the first European to sail into a harbor later called New York. Verrazzano sailed ever northward, entering Narragansett Bay, and skirted the Maine coast to Newfoundland. He then returned to France in July 1524.

Though he had failed to find the Straits of Anian, Verrazzano was enthusiastic about the prospects of America. He urged the king to establish a settlement there. War with Carlos I, however, intervened.

It was not until 1534 that François commissioned another of his privateers, this time the Frenchman Jacques Cartier, to explore America. With two small ships and 60 sailors, Cartier set out in April 1534 and, in 21 days, reached Newfoundland. From there, he sailed north along the barren Labrador coast. Turning south, Cartier eventually came upon a very different land, wooded and abundant with wild berries. This was Prince Edward Island. Turning north again, he entered a large bay—today called Chaleur Bay—where he traded with the natives for furs of beaver, fox, and marten.

Only eight months after his return to France, Cartier set out on his second expedition to America. North of Prince Edward Island he discovered a large passage into the continent—the St. Lawrence River. Searching for a gold-rich land, Cartier followed this river as far inland as the site of the future city of Montreal before he turned back. Cartier returned to France in July 1536 without any report of having found a northwest passage or gold. He could, however, report that “Canada,” the name he gave to the lands along the St. Lawrence, was a land rich with potential for settlement.

To found a settlement along the St. Lawrence, Cartier set off again for Canada in 1541. With him went the designated governor, Jean-François de la Roque, Sieur de Roberval, and 200 settlers. Roberval established his settlement on the St. Lawrence in the spot where Cartier had earlier erected a small fort. Yet, the settlers were not prepared for the harsh winter, and most of them died. Those who survived returned to France in 1543.