French exploration of North America intensified in 1534 on the orders of François I, who demanded and obtained his share of the riches of the New World- riches to which, up to that time, Portugal and Spain had had exclusive rights.
Like most European explorers seeking a passage to China, Jacques Cartier hit an obstacle: North America. The territory on which he lands is peopled by Natives who call this land Canada. This word, he learns, means "encampment" or "collection of huts." Cartier plants a cross in Gaspesia and takes possession of Canada in the name of the king of France.
At the beginning of the next century, New France begins to take shape when colonists recruited in France settle in the Saint Lawrence valley and Acadia.
