Stadacona was a 16th-century St. Lawrence Iroquoian village not far from where

Quebec City Quebec City is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Quebec. As of July 2021, the city had a population of 549,459, and the Census Metropolitan Area (including surrounding communities) had a populati ...

was founded in 1608.

History

French explorer and navigator

Jacques Cartier Jacques Cartier (; 31 December 14911 September 1557) was a French maritime explorer from Brittany. Jacques Cartier was the first Europeans, European to describe and map the Gulf of Saint Lawrence and the shores of the Saint Lawrence River, wh ...

, while travelling and charting the

Saint Lawrence River The St. Lawrence River (, ) is a large international river in the middle latitudes of North America connecting the Great Lakes to the North Atlantic Ocean. Its waters flow in a northeasterly direction from Lake Ontario to the Gulf of St. Lawrenc ...

, reached the village of Stadacona in July 1534. At the time, the village chief was Donnacona, who showed Cartier five scalps taken in their war with the Toudaman (likely the

Miꞌkmaq The Mi'kmaq (also ''Mi'gmaq'', ''Lnu'', ''Mi'kmaw'' or ''Mi'gmaw''; ; , and formerly Micmac) are an Indigenous group of people of the Northeastern Woodlands, native to the areas of Canada's Atlantic Provinces, primarily Nova Scotia, New Bru ...

), a neighbouring people who had attacked one of their forts the previous spring, killing 200 inhabitants. Despite efforts by the people of the village, Cartier seized some inhabitants and their chief, but later released Donnacona, who agreed for his two sons, Taignoagny and Domagaya, to return with Cartier to France for a year. Cartier returned to Stadacona with Donnacona's sons on his next voyage in 1535–1536, where he recorded a word they had used to refer to their home: "They call a town, Kanata" (

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

). When he and his crew stayed over the winter, they were effectively saved by the Stadaconans, who knew how to prepare for them a Vitamin C-rich broth as a cure for

scurvy Scurvy is a deficiency disease (state of malnutrition) resulting from a lack of vitamin C (ascorbic acid). Early symptoms of deficiency include weakness, fatigue, and sore arms and legs. Without treatment, anemia, decreased red blood cells, gum d ...

that had developed among the Cartier's crew, killing a quarter of them. The same winter, more than 50 Iroquois of the village died from viral and bacterial diseases carried by the Europeans. After this, Cartier seized Donnacona, his sons, and seven other inhabitants, and took them back to France, where nine of the ten died. None ever returned. Five years later, Cartier came back to Stadacona in 1543 to find the village abandoned and destroyed by an unknown enemy, likely due to devastating wars by the Mohawk of the

Iroquois The Iroquois ( ), also known as the Five Nations, and later as the Six Nations from 1722 onwards; alternatively referred to by the Endonym and exonym, endonym Haudenosaunee ( ; ) are an Iroquoian languages, Iroquoian-speaking Confederation#Ind ...

Haudenosaunee The Iroquois ( ), also known as the Five Nations, and later as the Six Nations from 1722 onwards; alternatively referred to by the Endonym and exonym, endonym Haudenosaunee ( ; ) are an Iroquoian languages, Iroquoian-speaking Confederation#Ind ...

confederacy (Five Nations) to the south situated near

Lake Ontario Lake Ontario is one of the five Great Lakes of North America. It is bounded on the north, west, and southwest by the Canadian province of Ontario, and on the south and east by the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. The Canada–United Sta ...

.Conrad Margaret, Finkel Alvin, Jaenen Cornelius. ''History of the Canadian Peoples: Beginnings to 1867''. Mississauga: Copp Clark Pitman. 1993, p. 93.

Samuel de Champlain Samuel de Champlain (; 13 August 1574#Fichier]For a detailed analysis of his baptismal record, see #Ritch, RitchThe baptism act does not contain information about the age of Samuel, neither his birth date nor his place of birth. – 25 December ...

later chose the location of the village to establish the colony of Habitation de Québec, l'Habitation, which eventually grew into the city of

Québec Quebec is Canada's largest province by area. Located in Central Canada, the province shares borders with the provinces of Ontario to the west, Newfoundland and Labrador to the northeast, New Brunswick to the southeast and a coastal border ...

References

{{reflist History of Quebec City First Nations history in Quebec Former populated places in Quebec Iroquois populated places

History

See also

References