Jacques Cartier reported in his diary that his sailors were suffering from scurvy when the crew arrived in 1534. This disease is caused by vitamin C deficiency. The Indigenous people showed the French how to cure the disease by drinking a tea made from the “annedda” tree. Illustrator Charles William Jefferys depicted the event in this 1942 drawing.

1535 - 1536

Jacques Cartier’s first voyage

Jacques Cartier was the first explorer the King of France sent to Canada. After a reconnaissance in 1534, Cartier came back in 1535 with the goal of overwintering. Cartier and his crew set up camp in what is now Québec City. Ill-adapted to the cold and without adequate provisions, the group struggled to make it through the winter, even with the help of the Indigenous locals. Exhausted, Cartier and his companions returned to France in the spring of 1536. Forever anchored in our collective memory, this voyage has been rendered in artwork, many of which you can discover in this album!

The people of Stadacona come to the rescue of the French

Charles William Jefferys Jacques Cartier reported in his diary that his sailors were suffering from scurvy when the crew arrived in 1534. This disease is caused by vitamin C deficiency. The Indigenous people showed the French how to cure the disease by drinking a tea made from the “annedda” tree. Illustrator Charles William Jefferys depicted the event in this 1942 drawing.

Chronoscope What elements can you identify in the background of this image? (unilingual French for a limited time)

Depicted period: 1535

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