Enhancing Financial Capability Among Youth in Hochelaga-Maisonneuve (Québec, Canada)

Total Page:16

File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb

Enhancing Financial Capability Among Youth in Hochelaga-Maisonneuve (Québec, Canada) Enhancing Financial Capability Among Youth in Hochelaga-Maisonneuve (Québec, Canada) Julia M. Smith-Brake Community Economic Development Program Southern New Hampshire University April 2011 Submitted in partial fulfillment of requirements for the M.S. in Community Economic Development Approved by Dr. Jolan Rivera Enhancing Financial Capability Among Youth in Hochelaga-Maisonneuve 2 Acknowledgements Many thanks to… Puneetha, Catherine, and Jolan, not just for teaching, but for mentoring me and pushing me in my thinking Glenn and Sandy, for challenging me and believing in me personally, academically, and professionally Charlie, for being my biggest fan, for listening, debating, and proofing-reading throughout the entire process; this is as much yours as it is mine. This is dedicated to Alexandra, Annie, Fanny, Thierry, Mouctar, and Houde, and other kids like them who, if given the chance, will surprise and inspire you, and maybe just change the world. Enhancing Financial Capability Among Youth in Hochelaga-Maisonneuve 3 Table of Contents Acknowledgements ............................................................................................................. 2 Figures and Tables .............................................................................................................. 5 Abbreviations and Definitions ............................................................................................ 6 Abstract ............................................................................................................................... 8 1. Community Context ...................................................................................................... 10 1.1 Community Profile .................................................................................................. 10 1.2 Community Needs Assessment ............................................................................... 15 1.3 Target Population .................................................................................................... 20 2. Problem Analysis .......................................................................................................... 23 2.1 Problem Statement .................................................................................................. 23 2.2 Problem Tree and Analysis ..................................................................................... 25 2.3 Stakeholder Analysis ............................................................................................... 32 3. Literature Review .......................................................................................................... 36 3.1 The Capability Approach ........................................................................................ 37 3.2 Financial Literacy, Education and Capability: Some Definitions ........................... 40 3.3 Financial Exclusion ................................................................................................. 48 3.4 Intergenerational Transmission of Poverty ............................................................. 50 3.5 Enabling Youth Financial Capability ...................................................................... 55 4. Project Design ............................................................................................................... 61 4.1 Theory of Change .................................................................................................... 61 4.2 Logic Model and Analysis ...................................................................................... 62 4.4 Project Rationale ..................................................................................................... 66 4.5 Operationalisation of Terms .................................................................................... 69 5. Methodology and Implementation Plan ........................................................................ 70 5.1 Project Participants .................................................................................................. 70 5.2 Community Role ..................................................................................................... 70 5.3 Host Organisation .................................................................................................... 71 5.4 Project Roles and Staffing ....................................................................................... 72 5.5 Implementation Plan ............................................................................................... 74 5.6 Project Budget ......................................................................................................... 76 Enhancing Financial Capability Among Youth in Hochelaga-Maisonneuve 4 6. Monitoring Plan ............................................................................................................ 79 6.1 Project Outputs ........................................................................................................ 80 6.2 Monitoring Tools ..................................................................................................... 80 6.3 Indicators and Data Collection ................................................................................ 80 7. Evaluation Plan ............................................................................................................. 82 7.1 Expected Outcomes ................................................................................................. 82 7.2 Data Gathering Methods and Tools ........................................................................ 84 8. Project Sustainability .................................................................................................... 85 8.1 Sustainability Elements ........................................................................................... 85 8.2 Sustainability Plan ................................................................................................... 88 9. Project Results .............................................................................................................. 94 9.1 Descriptive Statistics ............................................................................................... 94 9.2 Outcome Attainment ............................................................................................... 97 9.3 Lessons Learned .................................................................................................... 103 10. Conclusions and Recommendations ......................................................................... 106 10.1 Intermediate and Long-Term Outcome Attainment ............................................ 106 10.2 Personal Reflections ............................................................................................ 107 10.3 Recommendations ............................................................................................... 108 11. Appendices ................................................................................................................ 110 A. Theory of Community Economic Development .................................................... 111 B. Monitoring Reports ................................................................................................. 112 C. Stakeholder Interview Notes .................................................................................. 120 D. Focus Group Discussion Notes .............................................................................. 129 E. Youth Interview Results ......................................................................................... 132 F. Community Validation Results ............................................................................... 136 G. Financial Contract Template .................................................................................. 138 H. Key Indicators of a Transformed City .................................................................... 139 12. Bibliography ............................................................................................................. 140 Enhancing Financial Capability Among Youth in Hochelaga-Maisonneuve 5 Figures and Tables Figure 1. Map of Montréal ................................................................................................ 10 Figure 2. Census map of Hochelaga-Maisonneuve .......................................................... 12 Figure 3. Concentration of Children Aged 0-14 years ...................................................... 13 Figure 4. Households living under the Low Income Cut-Off ........................................... 14 Figure 5. Concentration of persons aged 15 to 24 years not attending school ................. 14 Figure 6. Concentration of lone-parent families ............................................................... 15 Figure 7. Map of districts 14.01 and 15 ............................................................................ 21 Figure 8. Problem Tree ..................................................................................................... 25 Figure 9. Sherraden's Model of Financial Capability ....................................................... 46 Figure 10. Haveman & Wolfe‘s Home Investments in Children Process ........................ 51 Figure 11. Basic Model for Youth Financial Capability Interventions ............................ 55 Figure 12. Financial Capability Project Logic Model......................................................
Recommended publications
  • Tales of Montréal POINTE-À-CALLIÈRE, WHERE MONTRÉAL WAS BORN
    : : Luc Bouvrette : Luc Pointe-à-Callière, Illustration Pointe-à-Callière, Méoule Bernard Pointe-à-Callière, Collection / Photo 101.1742 © © TEACHER INFORMATION SECONDARY Tales of Montréal POINTE-À-CALLIÈRE, WHERE MONTRÉAL WAS BORN You will soon be visiting Pointe-à-Callière, Montréal Archaeology and History Complex with your students. The Tales of Montréal tour takes place in an exceptional archaeological and historical setting. Your students will discover the history of Montréal and its birthplace, Fort Ville-Marie, as they encounter ruins and artifacts left behind by various peoples who have occupied the site over the years. BEFORE YOUR VISIT Welcome to Pointe-à-Callière! “Pointe-à-Callière, Montréal Archaeology OBJECTIVES and History Complex, is the city’s birthplace ¬ Learn the history of the pointe at Callière. and classified as a heritage site of national ¬ Understand that Fort Ville-Marie, the ruins importance.” of which the students will see, is the birthplace This statement serves as a stepping off point of Montréal. for students to learn about the history of the site ¬ Learn more about the archaeological digs of Pointe-à-Callière, Fort Ville-Marie, and Montréal’s at the site. first Catholic cemetery, the remains of which they will see when they tour the museum. COMPETENCIES DEVELOPED The students will also learn more about Pointe-à-Callière’s heritage conservation mission, ¬ Examine the facts, figures, actions, causes, as shown through the archaeological digs, the and consequences of social phenomena. exhibition of ruins and artifacts unearthed during ¬ Understand the concepts of continuity the digs, and the acquisition of historical buildings and change in relation to the present.
    [Show full text]
  • Broken Chains of Custody: Possessing, Dispossessing, and Repossessing Lost Wampum Belts
    Broken Chains of Custody: Possessing, Dispossessing, and Repossessing Lost Wampum Belts MARGARET M. BRUCHAC Assistant Professor of Anthropology Coordinator, Native American and Indigenous Studies University of Pennsylvania Introduction In the spring of 2009, two historical shell bead wampum belts1—iden- tified as “early” and “rare” and valued at between $15,000 and $30,000 each—were advertised for sale at a Sotheby’s auction of Amer- ican Indian art objects2 belonging to the estate of Herbert G. Welling- ton.3 One belt, identified as having been collected by Frank G. Speck from the Mohawk community in Oka (Kanesatake, Quebec) before 1929, was tagged with an old accession number from the Heye Foun- dation/Museum of the American Indian (MAI; MAI #16/3827). The second belt, collected by John Jay White from an unknown locale before 1926, was identified as Abenaki; it, too, was tagged with an old MAI number (MAI #11/123; Figure 1). The Sotheby’s notice caught the attention of the Haudenosaunee Standing Committee on Burial Rules and Regulations (HSC), a consor- tium of Six Nations Iroquoian chiefs, tribal historians, and community leaders who serve as advocates and watchdogs for tribal territory and 1 The generic term wampum, borrowed from the Algonquian word wampumpeag for “white shells” (Trumbull 1903, 340–41), refers to cylindrical marine shell beads used by the Indigenous peoples of northeastern North America. Algonquian is the broad linguistic clas- sification for the Algonkian cultural group that includes the Indigenous nations in New England and in parts of Quebec, Ontario, and the Great Lakes. The beads were carved from the shells of univalve and bivalve mollusks harvested from the shores of Long Island Sound and other northeastern North American locales where riverine fresh waters mingled with marine salt waters.
    [Show full text]
  • The City and the St. Lawrence – Analysis of Development Issues and Potential
    CHAPTER ONE The Montréal Harbourfront: A History The City and the St. Lawrence – Analysis of Development Issues and Potential Introduction The story of Montréal's old harbour is at the heart of much of Canada's economic, political and social his- tory, and can consequently be considered of national significance. It is a story rooted in its geography, which combines three features highly conducive to the development of a dynamic port. First, the area forms a natural harbour- an essential precondition for the settlement of New France during the 17th century, when rivers were the only important links to the outside world. It is also situated at the confluence of three major waterways offering access to the interior of the North American continent (the 8 St. Lawrence, Ottawa and Richelieu rivers). Finally, the harbour is located at the western boundary of the navigable section of the St. Lawrence. Since navigation was hampered by the Lachine Rapids, it was for a significant time an obligatory stopping point, as well as a hub for the exploration and development of the hinterland. Birthplace of the modern port of Montréal (today North America's largest inland fresh- water port), the old harbourfront is also, more broadly, the cradle of Montréal and its surroundings. Figure 1.1 Plan of the canal proposed by the Sulpicians (not construct- ed), designed to bypass the Lachine Rapids. Plan by Gaspard-Joseph Chaussegros de Léry, 1733. Source: Archives nationales de France. Centre d'Archives d'Outre-Mer, Aix-en-Provence. Assessment of the Situation 1.1 The harbourfront, cradle of Montréal: 1535-1700 1.1.1 Aboriginal people and the shallow areas.
    [Show full text]
  • Possessing, Dispossessing, and Repossessing Lost Wampum Belts
    University of Pennsylvania ScholarlyCommons Department of Anthropology Papers Department of Anthropology 3-2018 Broken Chains of Custody: Possessing, Dispossessing, and Repossessing Lost Wampum Belts Margaret Bruchac University of Pennsylvania, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://repository.upenn.edu/anthro_papers Part of the Anthropology Commons Recommended Citation Bruchac, M. (2018). Broken Chains of Custody: Possessing, Dispossessing, and Repossessing Lost Wampum Belts. Proceedings of the American Philosophical Society, 162 (1), 56-105. Retrieved from https://repository.upenn.edu/anthro_papers/179 This paper is posted at ScholarlyCommons. https://repository.upenn.edu/anthro_papers/179 For more information, please contact [email protected]. Broken Chains of Custody: Possessing, Dispossessing, and Repossessing Lost Wampum Belts Disciplines Anthropology | Social and Behavioral Sciences This journal article is available at ScholarlyCommons: https://repository.upenn.edu/anthro_papers/179 Broken Chains of Custody: Possessing, Dispossessing, and Repossessing Lost Wampum Belts MARGARET M. BRUCHAC Assistant Professor of Anthropology Coordinator, Native American and Indigenous Studies University of Pennsylvania Introduction In the spring of 2009, two historical shell bead wampum belts1—iden- tified as “early” and “rare” and valued at between $15,000 and $30,000 each—were advertised for sale at a Sotheby’s auction of Amer- ican Indian art objects2 belonging to the estate of Herbert G. Welling- ton.3 One belt, identified as having been collected by Frank G. Speck from the Mohawk community in Oka (Kanesatake, Quebec) before 1929, was tagged with an old accession number from the Heye Foun- dation/Museum of the American Indian (MAI; MAI #16/3827). The second belt, collected by John Jay White from an unknown locale before 1926, was identified as Abenaki; it, too, was tagged with an old MAI number (MAI #11/123; Figure 1).
    [Show full text]
  • An Examination of Red Power Activism Between Two Mohawk Communities
    Georgia Southern University Digital Commons@Georgia Southern Electronic Theses and Dissertations Graduate Studies, Jack N. Averitt College of Summer 2011 One Nation, Separate Spheres: An Examination of Red Power Activism Between Two Mohawk Communities Carlyn N. Pinkins Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.georgiasouthern.edu/etd Recommended Citation Pinkins, Carlyn N., "One Nation, Separate Spheres: An Examination of Red Power Activism Between Two Mohawk Communities" (2011). Electronic Theses and Dissertations. 601. https://digitalcommons.georgiasouthern.edu/etd/601 This thesis (open access) is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate Studies, Jack N. Averitt College of at Digital Commons@Georgia Southern. It has been accepted for inclusion in Electronic Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of Digital Commons@Georgia Southern. For more information, please contact [email protected]. ONE NATION, SEPARATE SPHERES: AN EXAMINATION OF RED POWER ACTIVISM BETWEEN TWO MOHAWK COMMUNITIES by CARLYN N. PINKINS (Under the Direction of Alan Downs) ABSTRACT Red Power activism in the United States and Canada during the 1940s and 1950s is primarily localized, consisting of several tribes or particular regions of tribes simultaneously, but separately protesting local, state, or federal legislation that threatened aspects of their tribal sovereignty. The occupation of Alcatraz Island in 1969 by a group called Indians of All Tribes marked the beginning of pan-Indian activism, inspiring diverse, indigenous efforts to bring about social change. The localism of native activism before the occupation of Alcatraz also extended to intratribal divisions which is illustrated by two separate activist events in the Mohawk communities of Kahnawake and Akwesasne.
    [Show full text]
  • Hochelaga-Maisonneuve Entre Les Tracks Et Le Fleuve 1
    Journal de quartier - Été 2012 - Volume 1 HOCHELAGA-MAISONNEUVE ENTRE LES TRACKS ET LE FLEUVE 1. Qu’essé qu’on fait ? SOMMAIRE ÉDITO 3 LES PAUVRES, C’COMME LES OISEAUX... UN JOUR, ÇA SERA NOTRE TOUR 4 PROMENONS-NOUS DANS HOCHELAGA 8 SQUAT LAFONTAINE 16 LA MALADIE 18 UN MOYEN CONCRET D’AGIR SUR L’AVENIR 20 APA HOCHELAGA-MAISONNEUVE : V'NEZ FAIRE UN TOUR ! 21 ...DU RÊVE À LA RÉALITÉ IL N’Y A QU’UNE BALLE 22 LA GRÈVE EST-ELLE DEVENUE UNE CIRCONSTANCE AGGRAVANTE ? 24 CRÉDITS 27 NOUS JOINDRE 27 CÉGEP MAISONNEUVE : NON AU RETOUR EN CLASSE FORCÉ ! 28 ÉDITO es assemblées de quartier se sont créées au moment où la grève étudiante en avait besoin. Elles ont débuté leurs rencontres au moment où nous étions plusieurs à se demander comment élargir laL lutte, ou carrément comment s’y inclure. Les attaques des gouvernements sont puissantes, et pourraient facilement nous laisser pantois, épuisé. es et à bout de souffle. Mais à l’heure où les plus jeunes d’entre nous sommes habitué.es de voir s’écraser les mouvements de luttes, la férocité même de ces attaques semble nous fouetter. « Ça pourrait être pire ». Oui, et c’est justement pour ça que nous devons commencer dès maintenant à construire notre autonomie, nos réflexions, nos liens. Un journal est une contribution à cet effort. Les textes que vous lirez sont liés entre eux par une volonté commune : celle de proposer une vision de ce qui se passe, une compréhension qui appartient à chaque auteur.e et que nous sommes appelé.es à se réapproprier, mille fois s’il le faut.
    [Show full text]
  • Community Plebiscite Being Held on Kawehno:Ke Corridor Buildings
    Volume 4 Issue 4 Onerahtókha/April 2014 Community Plebiscite Being Held on Kawehno:ke Corridor Buildings he Mohawk Council of Akwesasne Tis conducting a plebiscite on April 26th to gauge the community’s opinion regarding about the current buildings that are within the Kawehno:ke (Cornwall Island) corridor. The plabiscite will include online voting from April 14th to April 25th. The results will give MCA an accurate direction and course of action when dealing with the corridor. Community members are asked to please take the time to fully understand the issues and the questions that are being A community plebiscite will be held on April 26, 2014 to gather the community’s opinion on presented to the community. the future of several buildings located within the Kawehno:ke corridor that once served as the The ballot questions to be former-Canada Customs and the Akwesasne Peoples Fire. voted on in the plebiscite are as follows: May 31, 2009 abandonment of the former-Customs buildingssafely demolished on Kawehno:ke by a qualified by the contractor.Canada Border The First Plebiscite Question: Service Agency led to their deterioration over the (1) Do you support the demolition of the past 5 years. Also, the structures are older and were abandoned Customs Buildings (Kawehno:ke) Continued on page 16... using labour and services procured in Akwesasne? Yes No Table of Contents Second Plebiscite⎕ Question: ⎕ Mohawk Council of Akwesasne Resolutions................. Page 3 (2) Do you support the removal of the Akwesasne Council Meeting Roundtable Reports........................... Page 4 Peoples Fire buildings from the corridor, no later Traditional Programs Host Wahta Workshop..............
    [Show full text]
  • Directory of Community and Social Services
    Directory of Community and Social Services HOCHELAGA-MAISONNEUVE 2-1-1 www.211qc.ca Summary Child and Family 1 Child welfare 2 Daycare and respite 2 Family Support 3 Recreational Activities 4 Community Action 6 Advisory and citizen action organizations 7 Charity Organizations 10 Community centres 10 Community development 11 Information and referral 12 Volunteering and volunteer centres 14 Education 15 Computer workshops 16 Dropout 17 Homework assistance and tutoring 17 Literacy 19 Vocational training, Cégeps and Universities 20 Employment and Income 21 Advocacy for workers and unemployed 22 Budget management and consumption 22 Business development 23 Employment support and training 23 Employment support for youth 23 Tax clinics 25 Vocational rehabilitation and disability-related employment 25 Food 26 Collective kitchens 27 Food Assistance 27 Food aid for pregnant women and children 28 Low cost or free meals 29 Government services 31 Municipal services 32 Health 33 Dental care 34 Homelessness 35 Day and evening centres 36 Health care 36 Mobile units and street work 37 Supportive housing 37 Transitional housing 38 Intellectual Disability 41 Autism, PDD, ADHD 42 Recreation and camps 42 Respite services and housing 43 Justice and Advocacy 44 Advocacy groups 45 Correctional services 45 Information and legal assistance 46 Professional orders and associations 47 Support for offenders 48 Summary Material Assistance and Housing 49 Emergency 50 Housing cooperatives and corporations 50 Housing search assistance 51 Thrift stores 51 Mental Health
    [Show full text]
  • Redimensioning Montreal: Circulation and Urban Form, 1846-1918
    Redimensioning Montreal: Circulation and Urban Form, 1846-1918 Jason Gilliland Dept ofGeography McGill University Montreal August 2001 A thesis submitted to the Faculty ofGraduate Studies and Research in partial fulfilment ofthe requirements ofthe degree ofDoctor ofPhilosophy © Jason Gilliland, 2001 National Library Bibliothèque nationale 1+1 of Canada du Canada Acquisitions and Acquisitions et Bibliographie Services services bibliographiques 395 Wellington Street 395, rue Wellington OttawaON K1A0N4 Ottawa ON K1 A ON4 canada Canada Your fiIB vor,. rétë_ Our 61e Notre référence The author has granted a non­ L'auteur a accordé une licence non exclusive licence allowing the exclusive permettant à la National LibraI)' ofCanada to Bibliothèque nationale du Canada de reproduce, loan, distribute or sell reproduire, prêter, distribuer ou copies ofthis thesis in microform, vendre des copies de cette thèse sous paper or electronic formats. la forme de microfiche/film, de reproduction sur papier ou sur format électronique. The author retains ownership ofthe L'auteur conselVe la propriété du copyright in this thesis. Neither the droit d'auteur qui protège cette thèse. thesis nor substantial extracts from it Ni la thèse ni des extraits substantiels may be printed or otherwise de celle-ci ne doivent être imprimés reproduced without the author's ou autrement reproduits sans son permtSSIon. autorisation. 0-612-78690-0 Canada Abstract The purpose ofthis thesis is to explore certain ofthe dynamics associated with the physical transformation ofcities, using Montreal between 1846 and 1918 as a case study. Beyond the typical description or classification ofurban forms, this study deals with the essential problem ofhow changes in form occurred as the city underwent a rapid growth and industrialization.
    [Show full text]
  • Montréal Its Past and Its Future, What It Is and What It Could Have Been, and How It Could Help Redefine What Cities Are in the 21St Century
    GAZINE C A AN M A U D D IE IX N R P S E 3 9 9 T 3 H N A S T D I O R N A A W L A M E A N I G Z A Montréal Its past and its future, what it is and what it could have been, and how it could help redefine what cities are in the 21st century. Publisher and editor-in-chief An initiative of Nicolas Langelier DES VILLES CITIESFOR About this POUR TOUS PEOPLE Deputy editor publication Judith Oliver 156 Beaubien Street East Montréal (QC) H2S 1R2 Cities for People is an initiative of the Amplifier Montréal is a movement The articles presented in this booklet Coordinator Canada were originally published in French Valérie Deault J.W. McConnell Family Foundation launched by several partners from in the Fall/Winter 2016 issue of (514) 270-2010 Editorial committee Nouveau Projet magazine. that aims to foster more inclusive, various backgrounds in the city Marie-Claude Beaucage, [email protected] innovative and resilient cities across of Montreal to influence the city’s Guillaume Bourgault-Côté, www.nouveauprojet.com Nouveau Projet is a general-interest Julie Buchinger, Miriam Canada. Following an experimental ongoing transformation. The goal is biannual publication launched Fahmy, Alain Farah, Émilie — phase, in 2016 we have refocused our to rethink the way we see ourselves in Montréal in 2012. It aims to offer Folie-Boivin, Lisa-Marie Quebecers a high-quality magazine Gervais, Clément Sabourin, ©2016, Nouveau Projet and efforts on four priorities: 1) Increasing and the way we should go about that showcases the best writers, Patrick Turmel contributors thinkers, and visual artists.
    [Show full text]
  • The Governor, the Merchant, the Soldier, the Nun, and Their Slaves
    The Governor, the Merchant, the Soldier, the Nun, and their Slaves Household Formation and Kinship in Seventeenth and Eighteenth-Century Montréal By Alanna Loucks A thesis submitted to the Graduate Program in History in conformity with the requirements of the Degree of Master of Arts Queen’s University Kingston, Ontario, Canada Final (QSpace) submission April, 2019 Copyright ã Alanna Loucks, 2019 Abstract From 1650 onward, the city of Montréal became a crossroads that connected colonial French, Indigenous, and African worlds. A study of the geo-cultural landscapes of Montréal presents an opportunity to analyze the commercial, social, and familial networks of diverse peoples in a space defined by mobility, fluidity, and growing stability. The purpose of this research project is to illustrate how French households in Montréal between 1650 and 1750, which included Indigenous and African descent slaves and other labourers who are generally not considered as a part of family formation, contributes to our understanding of the interconnected nature of the French colonial world. There are different ways to explore the commercial, social, and familial connections that shaped Montréal into a crossroads. This project explores spatial, demographic, and household composition as three interrelated dimensions of Montréal’s networks. I utilize the idea of concentric circles of connection, moving from a macro- to a micro-historical level of analysis. I begin by considering Montréal’s geographic position in North America; next I examine the physical layout of the built environment in Montréal and follow with an analysis of Montréal’s demographic development. The thesis concludes with the reconstruction of the commercial, social, and familial networks that developed in Montréal society and within individual households.
    [Show full text]
  • I Know I Found Asia! the Search for the Northwest Passage Surviving the Winter and Cities of Gold Paving the Way for New France
    Fact or Fiction? Name: _________________________ Below is a passage on Jacques Cartier. On the following page is a chart with ten statements. Indicate whether each statement is fact or fiction. Jacques Cartier was born on December 31, 1491 in Saint-Malo, Brittany, which would later become part of France. His career in exploration began in 1524, when he accompanied the Italian- born French explorer Giovanni da Verrazano on his explorations of the Atlantic Coast of Canada and the United States. The experience would prove valuable to Cartier's explorations in the future. I Know I Found Asia! In 1534, Cartier was commissioned by the King of France to find the fabled Northwest Passage through the continent of North America to Asia (the Indies). When Cartier reached the New World, he sailed around parts of Newfoundland and parts of the Gulf of St. Lawrence. On July 24, 1534, Cartier planted a cross with the words engraved, "Long Live the King of France" on the shores of Gaspe Bay in Quebec. Cartier claimed the region for France and kidnapped the two sons of an Iroquoian chief. Later in 1534, Cartier returned to France, believing he had found Asia. The Search for the Northwest Passage In 1535, Cartier and 112 men (including the two kidnapped natives) left France for their return trip and sailed up the St. Lawrence River to the Iroquoian capital of Stadacona. He reached the location of modern-day Montreal (then called Hochelaga) on October 2, 1535, where rapids prevented him from continuing. Cartier believed the rapids were the last obstacle in his discovery of the Northwest Passage.
    [Show full text]