EXPEDITIONS TO PACIFIC. ■ 91 



open seaway to Asia, followed the laud as high as latitude 6*7" 30', aud as far south as 

 latitude 38 ; thus he discovered during this voyage 1,800 miles of the North American 

 coast. 



(2) Aliempls in the Sixteenth Century to find a Passage from Europe to Asia. 



lu 1500, Portugal, then the greatest maritime nation, sent out Gaspar Cortcreal with 

 two ships. The expedition left Lisbon with the view of following up the discoveries of 

 Cabot ; it reached Labrador, coasted its shores some six hundred miles, aud returned. In 

 1501 sailed proceeded on a second voyage of discovery ; after entering a strait, probably 

 Hudson Strait, the ships were separated by a tempest and that of the commander was lost 

 with all on board. 



In 1508, Thomas Aubert left Dieppe for the American coast to make similar explora- 

 tions, and it is recorded that he entered the Gulf of St. Lawrence and ascended the river 

 some eighty leagues. 



In 1517, a small squadron was sent out from England by Henry VIII, in command 

 of Sir Thomas Pert and Sebastian Cabot ; the object was to continue the former dis- 

 coveries made by Cabot in the north-west. The ships appear to have entered Hudson 

 Strait, but owing in part to the mutiny of the crew, the expedition proved a failure. 



In 1524, Francis I of France entered the field of discovery ; he sent out four ships 

 under the command of Giovanni Verrazzano who coasted from latitude 34° to 50°, 

 embracing nearly the whole Atlantic coast of the United States and part of Canada. 

 Spain likewise in this year made an attempt to find a shorter passage by the north-west, 

 to the islands of the Indian Ocean. An expedition was sent out under commander 

 Cromez. He failed in making any important discoveries and returned to Spain after an 

 absence of ten months. 



In 1521, Henry VIII sent out another expedition consisting of two ships, under 

 command of John Rut. In his efforts to proceed westward off the Labrador coast, his 

 ships were beset with ice and one of them foundered in a storm. 



In 1534, France again entered the field. An expedition of two ships was fitted out at 

 St. Malo, and Jacques Cartier was placed in charge. He entered the Strait of Belle Isle, 

 reached a large gulf which he named the St. Lawrence, explored its coasts, discovered 

 Prince Edward Island, Mirimachi Bay, Bay Chaleurs and Anticosti. The following year, 

 Cartier's commission was renewed by the French king, and he set out from France with 

 three ships, again with the view of finding an open passage to Asia. He ascended the 

 St. Lawrence as far as the Indian settlement of Ilochelaga, now Montreal. After spending 

 the winter at Stadacona, now Quebec, he returned in the spring of 1536 to St. Malo. 

 Jacques Cartier made a third voyage five years later with five ships. He wintered above 

 Quebec, and returned finally to France in the spring of 1542. Roberval, having been 

 commissioned by the French monarch to command the enterprise, met Cartier on his home- 

 ward voyage on the coast of Newfoundland. Roberval did no more than confirm the 

 discoveries of Cartier and then followed him to France. 



In 1536, another expedition consisting of two ships left England. It was promoted 

 by many gentlemen of London, the chief of whom was, named Hore, who was skilled in 



