This book is a detailed study of the precursors of Jacques Cartier, the French explorer who is known for his discovery of Canada. Written by H. P. Biggar, a renowned historian and writer of his time, it sheds light on the earlier expeditions that paved the way for Cartier's voyage, and their impact on Canadian history. The book is a must-read for anyone interested in the history of Canada and its exploration. This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work is in the "public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.

Jacques Cartier's voyages of 1534, 1535, and 1541constitute the first record of European impressions of the St Lawrence region of northeastern North American and its peoples. The Voyages are rich in details about almost every aspect of the region's environment and the people who inhabited it. As Ramsay Cook points out in his introduction, Cartier was more than an explorer; he was also Canada's first ethnographer. His accounts provide a wealth of information about the native people of the region and their relations with each other. Indirectly, he also reveals much about himself and about sixteenth-century European attitudes and beliefs. These memoirs recount not only the French experience with the Iroquois, but alo the Iroquois' discovery of the French. In addition to Cartier's Voyages, a slightly amended version of H.P. Biggar's 1924 text, the volume includes a series of letters relating to Cartier and the Sieur de Roberval, who was in command of cartier on the last voyage. Many of these letters appear for the first time in English. Ramsay Cook's introduction, 'Donnacona Discovers Europe,' rereads the documents in the light of recent scholarship as well as from contemporary perspectives in order to understand better the viewpoints of Cartier and the native people with whom he came into contact.

Marshall (honorary research associate with the Institute of Social and Economic Research at Memorial U., Canada) documents the history of Newfoundland's indigenous Beothuk people, from their first encounter with Europeans in the 1500s to their demise in 1829 with the death of Shanawdithit, the last survivor. The second part provides a comprehensive ethnographic review of the Beothuk. Ample bandw illustrations with a few in color. Annotation copyrighted by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR