On this day: Cartier Visited Hochelaga (Montreal)

Thursday, 2nd October 2014 by

On October 2, 1535, Jacques Cartier became the first European to sight Mont Royal and the large village of Hochelaga, where he was greeted by a sizeable crowd. Over time it became the rather larger community of Montreal. Cartier was convinced he had found the Northwest Passage which would allow him to reach China, leading to a set of rapids (and a town which grew up nearby) to be named Lachine.

Montreal