Étienne Bellenger (

fl. ''Floruit'' ( ; usually abbreviated fl. or occasionally flor.; from Latin for 'flourished') denotes a date or period during which a person was known to have been alive or active. In English, the unabbreviated word may also be used as a noun indic ...

1580–84) was a merchant from

Rouen Rouen (, ; or ) is a city on the River Seine, in northwestern France. It is in the prefecture of Regions of France, region of Normandy (administrative region), Normandy and the Departments of France, department of Seine-Maritime. Formerly one ...

, France who, through his trading expeditions, became an important figure in the early exploration of the

Maritimes The Maritimes, also called the Maritime provinces, is a region of Eastern Canada consisting of three provinces: New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, and Prince Edward Island. The Maritimes had a population of 1,899,324 in 2021, which makes up 5.1% of ...

in Canada. Bellenger appears to have been a general merchant who took sea expeditions for trading purposes. A result of trips to the Atlantic coast would have been fish and furs. Charles, Cardinal de Bourbon, the archbishop of Rouen, became aware of Bellenger's previous travels and sponsored a trip to explore and trade along the coast of

Nova Scotia Nova Scotia is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada, located on its east coast. It is one of the three Maritime Canada, Maritime provinces and Population of Canada by province and territory, most populous province in Atlan ...

. He was also to establish a small post to be left manned while the ship returned to France. In early 1583, the ship left for the

New World The term "New World" is used to describe the majority of lands of Earth's Western Hemisphere, particularly the Americas, and sometimes Oceania."America." ''The Oxford Companion to the English Language'' (). McArthur, Tom, ed., 1992. New York: ...

and Bellenger explored and traded extensively and recorded his findings. It is certain that Bellenger's records of his journey were quickly available in Europe as the English writer,

Richard Hakluyt Richard Hakluyt (; 1553 – 23 November 1616) was an English writer. He is known for promoting the British colonization of the Americas, English colonization of North America through his works, notably ''Divers Voyages Touching the Discov ...

, soon made contact with him. The information of the trip was readily shared with Hakluyt and recorded in detail. Because of the involvement of Hakluyt, the interest and knowledge of this part of the America's was widely circulated making Étienne Bellenger's contribution to exploration in Nova Scotia even more important.

References

Biography at the ''Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online''

''University of Toronto journals - The Voyage of Étienne Bellenger to the Maritimes in 1583''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bellenger, Etienne French explorers