The French By audreyhepburn Nov 2, 1000 The Norsemen land in Newfoundland. Nov 2, 1492 Lasting contact between Europe and America began with the voyage of Christopher Columbus. Nov 2, 1497 King Henry VII of England hired an Italian navigator, John Cabot. Nov 2, 1500 Europeans realize that Columbus had reached an unknown land, which they calld the "New World." Nov 2, 1500 French fishing crews sailed to Canada. Nov 2, 1534 Jacques Cartier was sent to the New World to look for gold and other valuable metals. Nov 2, 1535 Jacques Cartier went on his second trip to the New World. On this trip he became the first European to reach the interior of Canada. Nov 2, 1541 On Cartier's third trip he joined a French expedition, hoping to establish a permanent settlement with Canada. Nov 2, 1543 Cartier's colony with the French ended. Nov 2, 1603 King Henry IV of France completed plans to organize the fur trade and to set up a colony in Canada.