The great discoverers

Jacques Cartier would have probably remained a distinguished but unknown sailor without the help of Jean La Veneur!


 
Indeed, Jean La Veneur recommended Cartier to François 1^st who entrusted him to discover unknown lands between Newfoundland and Labrador to find a new passage towards India and China.
 
Jacques Cartier started a series of official trips to Northern America and took possession of Canada in the name of the King of France in 1534.
Continuing the discovery of the country, the famous sailor discovered "rocks and stones with shiny lights" which seemed to be gold and diamond nuggets! But in the end, the stones had no value at all… and Jacques Cartier was so disillusioned that he stopped his expeditions.
 
He died at 66 in his native soil. 
 
His manoir du Limoëlou was restored and may now be visited at Rothéneuf.

Part of the nobility of Saint-Malo, the earl of La Bourdonnais was born in the corsair city in 1699.  
Lieutenant in the East Indies Company in 1718, he took part in seizing of the main island of the Seychelles archipelago in 1725 which were called Mahé after him.
 
In 1735, he became a very young Governor of Mauritius and Réunion islands and installed prosperous economic development. Commander in 1740, he commanded a squadron in 1741 and defeated the Marathi who were attacking Mahé.
 
Dupleix, the colonial executive and nabob of India asked for his help against the English and La Bourdonnais took Madras in 1746. He then had dealings with his previous enemies to give them the spoils back against ransom, which Dupleix did not appreciate… 
Dupleix complained and the earl was called back to France and imprisoned at the Bastille for three years!
 
Judged in 1751, he was acquitted and ended his life in Paris in 1753 when he was 54.

Son of a famous doctor, Jean Charcot also became a doctor to give satisfaction to his father.
As of 1903, he devoted his life to marine exploration of the southern lands aboard "Le Français", a ship built in Saint Malo.

He spent twenty two months along the Graham land among which one winter in the Wandel island. Back to France, Charcot was acclaimed but the ship was damaged and sold to the Argentine government.
 
Later, the explorer had the "Pourquoi pas" ship built in Saint-Malo and went on exploring Antarctic. After this last expedition, Charcot did not go back to the austral regions but went to the north as a school ship between 1911 and 1914.
 

During the war, he successively commanded two anti-submarine ships called "La Meg" and "La Meg II" after the name of his wife.
 
After the war (from 1925), Charcot resumed Arctic expeditions with his "Pourquoi Pas" – mostly to Greenland.
 
On his way back, the "Pourquoi Pas" suffered from a storm and sank in 1936 with his commander aged 69 and his crew.