The third voyage (1541-1542)

Upon arriving in France, the Amerindians whom Cartier had taken with him were so convincing that in 1541, François I sponsored a vast colonizing expedition, and named Jean-François de la Rocque, Sieur de Roberval, as commander. Cartier arrived at the appointed destination one year before Roberval, and established a settlement at the foot of the cliffs at Cap-Rouge, where he also erected fortifications.

After making a second journey to Hochelaga, Cartier learned that the route beyond the Lachine rapids was long and difficult. This bit of bad news, coupled with his discovery of what he believed to be gold and diamonds in the rocks of Cap-Rouge, explain his hurry to return to France. En route, he encountered Roberval in Newfoundland. The commander ordered him to turn back. Cartier, who was anxious to convert his cargo into cash as quickly as possible, nevertheless disobeyed. Roberval, who was now deprived of Cartier's assistance, spent a horrendous winter at the site of this navigator's settlement, and had to repatriate the tiny colony to France the following spring. Cartier's third voyage, which had been intended for exploration and colonization, proved a failure, as did Sieur de Roberval's attempt at establishing a settlement, moreover. The gold and diamonds that Cartier believed he had discovered were actually nothing more than iron pyrite and quartz!

It was only in the early 16th century, following the dispersion of the St. Lawrence Iroquoians that Québec became the centre of the first French colony in America.