After Columbus landed in the Western Hemisphere in 1492, European rulers sent explorers across the Atlantic to the Americas to claim territory and discover riches. The Spanish, Portuguese, English, Dutch and French all wanted a piece of the "New World" for themselves. Jacques Cartier was sent by France's King Francis I to explore North America.

In 1534, he explored the Gulf of St. Lawrence & met Micmac. This was the first time that the French and the natives traded furs.

The aboriginal people were friendly, but many became hostile when they understood that their old way of life could not survive with the arrival of so many strangers. The struggle to establish peace and understanding between the people of the First Nations and the European settlers has continued since Cartier's arrival.