Aboriginal peoples already lived in every region when Europeans arrived. The Vikings reached Labrador and Newfoundland about 1,000 years ago, at l’Anse aux Meadows. John Cabot mapped the Atlantic shore in 1497, and Jacques Cartier made three voyages between 1534 and 1542, exploring the St. Lawrence River and claiming the land for France.
Before contactThe First Peoples
When Europeans arrived they found every region occupied by native peoples they called Indians, because the first explorers believed they had reached the East Indies. Some of these peoples lived by hunting and gathering, others by raising crops, all of them off the land.
Remember this
- The Huron-Wendat of the Great Lakes, like the Iroquois, were farmers and hunters.
- The Cree and Dene of the Northwest were hunter-gatherers.
- The Sioux were nomadic, following the bison (buffalo) herd.
- Arctic wildlife sustained the Inuit; on the West Coast, natives dried and smoked fish to preserve it.
Warfare was common as groups competed for land, resources, and prestige. Large numbers of Aboriginals later died of European diseases to which they lacked immunity. Yet in the first 200 years of coexistence, Aboriginals and Europeans formed strong economic, religious, and military bonds that laid the foundations of Canada.
1000 AD – 1542The First Europeans
Labrador and the island of Newfoundland were also reached by the Vikings who colonized Greenland from Iceland 1,000 years ago. Their settlement at l'Anse aux Meadows survives as a World Heritage site.
European exploration began in earnest in 1497 with John Cabot, an Italian immigrant to England, who was the first to map Canada's Atlantic shore and set foot on Newfoundland or Cape Breton Island. English settlement, however, did not begin until 1610. A generation later Jacques Cartier crossed the Atlantic three times, between 1534 and 1542, claiming the land for King Francis I of France.
The St. Lawrence River was first explored by Cartier, the first European to set eyes on present-day Quebec City and Montreal. Two captured guides spoke in his hearing the Iroquoian word kanata, meaning "village"; the name Canada began appearing on maps by the 1550s.
Vikings reach Labrador and Newfoundland (l'Anse aux Meadows).
John Cabot maps Canada's Atlantic shore.
Jacques Cartier makes three voyages and explores the St. Lawrence.
The name Canada begins appearing on maps.
English settlement begins.
1604 – 1759Royal New France
In 1604, French explorers Pierre de Monts and Samuel de Champlain founded the first European settlement north of Florida, first on St. Croix Island (in what is now Maine), then at Port-Royal in Acadia (today's Nova Scotia). Champlain built a fortress in 1608 at the site of present-day Quebec City.
Champlain made allies of the Algonquin, Montagnais and Huron, historic enemies of the Iroquois — five (later six) First Nations in confederation, who fought the French settlements for a century before the two sides made peace in 1701. French and Aboriginal people worked together in the vast fur-trade economy, driven by European demand for beaver pelts. Leaders such as Jean Talon, Bishop Laval, and Count Frontenac built a French Empire reaching from Hudson Bay to the Gulf of Mexico.
In 1670 the Hudson's Bay Company received from King Charles II of England sole trading rights across the whole watershed draining into Hudson Bay, and for the next 100 years it competed with Montreal-based traders. The skilled canoe-men of the trade were called voyageurs and coureurs des bois, and they formed strong alliances with First Nations. Heroes of the era included Count Frontenac, who refused to surrender Quebec to the English in 1690 — "My only reply will be from the mouths of my cannons!" — and Pierre Le Moyne, Sieur d'Iberville, who won victories over the English from James Bay to Nevis in the Caribbean.
Meanwhile the English colonies along the Atlantic seaboard, dating from the early 1600s, grew richer and more populous than New France. France and Great Britain fought through the 1700s for control of North America, and in 1759 the British defeated the French at the Battle of the Plains of Abraham at Quebec City — the end of France's empire in America. Both commanders were killed leading their troops: Brigadier James Wolfe and the Marquis de Montcalm.
Test questions on this topic
Why did the first European explorers call the native peoples of Canada 'Indians'?
Why: European explorers found every region already inhabited. They called the inhabitants Indians, the earliest of them believing they had arrived in the East Indies.
Which Aboriginal peoples of the Great Lakes region were farmers and hunters, like the Iroquois?
Why: Around the Great Lakes the Huron-Wendat farmed and hunted, as the Iroquois did. In the Northwest the Cree and Dene lived by hunting and gathering. The Sioux moved with the bison herds. Arctic wildlife sustained the Inuit.
The Sioux were a settled people who lived year-round in permanent farming villages.
Why: The Sioux moved with the bison herds, the Inuit lived on Arctic wildlife, and peoples of the West Coast kept fish by drying and smoking it.
How did West Coast natives preserve fish?
Why: Arctic wildlife sustained the Inuit; West Coast peoples preserved fish by drying and smoking. Fighting between Aboriginal groups was frequent, driven by competition over land, resources and standing.
What contributed to large numbers of Aboriginal deaths after the arrival of Europeans?
Why: European diseases, against which they had no immunity, killed Aboriginal people in great numbers. Even so, the first two centuries of contact produced durable economic, religious and military ties between the two, and those ties are what Canada was founded on.
Who landed on Newfoundland or Cape Breton Island in 1497 and first mapped Canada's Atlantic shore?
Why: John Cabot, an Italian who had settled in England, was the first to chart Canada's Atlantic coast. He landed in 1497 on either Newfoundland or Cape Breton Island and claimed the New Founde Land for England, though English settlement waited until 1610.
The Vikings from Iceland who colonized Greenland 1,000 years ago never reached present-day Canada.
Why: Icelandic Vikings who had colonized Greenland a thousand years ago pushed on to Labrador and to Newfoundland. What survives of their settlement at l'Anse aux Meadows is now a World Heritage site.
What is the name of the Viking settlement in Canada that is now a World Heritage site?
Why: Icelandic Vikings who had colonized Greenland a thousand years ago pushed on to Labrador and to Newfoundland. What survives of their settlement at l'Anse aux Meadows is now a World Heritage site.
Jacques Cartier crossed the Atlantic three times, claiming the land for King Francis I of France — in which years?
Why: Jacques Cartier crossed the Atlantic three times between 1534 and 1542 and claimed the land in the name of King Francis I. From two captured guides he picked up the Iroquoian word kanata, meaning "village" — and by the 1550s Canada was appearing on maps.
What does the Iroquoian word 'kanata,' from which Canada gets its name, mean?
Why: From two captured guides Cartier picked up the Iroquoian word kanata, meaning "village"; Canada was turning up on maps by the 1550s.
In what year was the first European settlement north of Florida established, on St. Croix Island and then at Port-Royal?
Why: The earliest European settlement anywhere north of Florida dates from 1604. Pierre de Monts and Samuel de Champlain, exploring for France, placed it first on St. Croix Island, in what is now Maine, and moved it afterwards to Port-Royal in Acadia — today's Nova Scotia.
In what year did Champlain build a fortress at what is now Quebec City?
Why: In 1608 Champlain built a fortress at what is now Quebec City. The colonists struggled against a harsh climate.
The French and the Iroquois made peace in 1604.
Why: Champlain tied the colony to the Algonquin, Montagnais and Huron, long-standing foes of the Iroquois — a confederation of five First Nations, later six, that fought the French settlements for a hundred years. Peace between the French and the Iroquois came in 1701.
Which leaders extended a French Empire in North America from Hudson Bay south to the Gulf of Mexico?
Why: Under leaders of the calibre of Jean Talon, Bishop Laval and Count Frontenac, a French empire took shape in North America stretching from Hudson Bay south to the Gulf of Mexico.
What was the demand in Europe that drove the vast fur-trade economy in which the French and Aboriginal people collaborated?
Why: The French and Aboriginal people collaborated in the vast fur-trade economy, driven by the demand for beaver pelts in Europe.
In 1670 Queen Victoria gave the Hudson's Bay Company sole trading rights across the whole watershed that drains into Hudson Bay.
Why: King Charles II handed the Hudson's Bay Company sole trading rights in 1670 over the whole watershed that drains into Hudson Bay, and for a century afterwards the Company was in competition with traders based in Montreal.
What were the skilled and courageous men who travelled by canoe and formed alliances with First Nations called?
Why: Those who ran the canoe routes — bold, highly skilled men known as voyageurs and coureurs des bois — built firm alliances with First Nations.
In what year did the British defeat the French in the Battle of the Plains of Abraham at Quebec City?
Why: British victory over the French on the Plains of Abraham at Quebec City in 1759 ended France's empire in America. Both commanders — Brigadier James Wolfe and the Marquis de Montcalm — died at the head of their troops.
Which two commanders were killed leading their troops at the Battle of the Plains of Abraham?
Why: British victory over the French on the Plains of Abraham at Quebec City in 1759 ended France's empire in America. Both commanders — Brigadier James Wolfe and the Marquis de Montcalm — died at the head of their troops.
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