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Jacques Cartier, navigator (born between 7 June and 23 December 1491 in Saint-Malo, France; died 1 September 1557 in Saint-Malo, France). From 1534 to 1542, Cartier led three maritime expeditions to the interior of the Gulf of the St. Lawrence River. During these expeditions, he explored, the interior of the river, from the Gulf to Montréal. He was the 1st European to go to new France in 1534.
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Cartier then moved on to Chaleur Bay, where he encountered some Micmacs on July 7.
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In 1608, Samuel de Champlain created the first truly permanent French settlement in the area around where Québec City stands today. It was a small settlement - no more than 60 colonists lived here by 1620.
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By the 1630′s furs were regularly leaving New France for Europe. These furs were mainly supplied by Indian traders, especially the Huron and Ottawa tribes.
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In 1663, New France suddenly undertook a period of extensive expansionism. Jean-Baptiste Colbert, a leading minister in France, particularly believed in compact settlements that would better protect the colony against warring Aboriginals and the British.
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Spring 1734: Marie-Joseph Angélique allegedly set fire to her master's house and destroyed nearly 50 homes. She was tortured and hanged as an object lesson for all Blacks.
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Following the French settlements in Acadia and New France in the 1600s and early 1700s, there was a second major wave of immigration starting in the 1770s. These were British subjects who had originally settled in the Thirteen Colonies, but were more loyal to the British Crown following the start of the American Revolution than the Patriots who would go on to win the war. These new settlers were called the Loyalists, and are considered Canada's first political refugees.
