Exploring was expensive. Money was
needed for ships, crew, and supplies.
Wealthy nobles often used their
connections to the royal court to help
explorers get funding for expeditions.
That happened for Jacques Cartier.
Jean Le Veneur, the bishop of St. Malo,
introduced Cartier to King Francis I
of France. Philippe de Chabot, the
Admiral of France, also spoke to the
king. These
noblemen
encouraged
Francis to
commission
and pay for
Cartier’s expedition to the New World.
Show Me
the Money!
9
Explorers made maps to show to those
back home. Over time, maps of the New
World became more accurate and useful.
The search for the Northwest Passage started in the late 1400s.
However, finding it would prove difficult. In the 1400s, no one realized
that North America was such a large
continent
, and they did not
know that the icy Arctic Sea would be so difficult
to sail across. Explorers such as John Cabot
and Giovanni da Verrazzano looked for the
passage, but could not find it. Every ruler
wanted to be the first to find the passage,
so they could claim the gold and riches of
the New World. Eager to seize the prize, King
Francis I of France told
Cartier that he must be
the first to find the route.
Black pepper and
nutmeg were valuable
spices in the 1400s.
