Neha

Neha.K

Jacques Cartier is mainly known for exploring the St.Lawrence River and giving Canada its name. He was the first European to describe and map the Gulf of St. Lawrence and the shores of the St. Lawrence River. He was born on December 31, 1491, in Saint Malo, Brittany, France. In 1534, King Francis I sent Cartier on an expedition to search for gold and find a new route to Asia. Cartier made 3 major North American voyages after discovering what is now Brazil. Jacques was sent to the eastern coast of North America by King Francis I. The French explorer began sailing on his first North American voyage on April 20, 1534 with two ships and 61 men. He explored the west coast of Newfoundland, discovered Prince Edward Island, and sailed through the Gulf of the St. Lawrence River. He arrived to France 20 days later.King Louis was impressed with Cartier's discoveries and sent him back to North America, the following year, in May, with three ships and 110 men. Cartier went with two Indians he had captured before, and the two men now served as guides for him. They explored the St.Lawrence further more. In September, Cartier sailed on the river, to hat is now Montreal and claimed it for France. He encountered the Iroquois, the native tribe who controlled that area. Cartier heard stories from the tribe about other rivers further west. These places are where gold, silver, copper, spices would be found. Before Cartier and his men could continue, harsh winds occurred for the following days, and The French explorers could not continue. Cartier got angry at the Iroquois. So Cartier waited until spring to find these rivers. He captured some of the Iroquois chiefs before returning to France again.Cartier told the king about the riches farther west and the river which was two thousand miles long, and could possibly lead to Asia. In May in 1541, Cartier left with three ships. He left alone the idea of finding a northwest passage, for King Francis I wanted Cartier to find a permanent settlement along the St. Lawrence River. Cartier set up a camp near Quebec and he thought had found an abundance of gold and diamonds. Cartier left for France and in his route, he arrived at Newfoundland. The colonists there ordered Cartier to go back to Quebec. However, Cartier disobeyed them and headed on a secret passage to France. In France, the "gold" and "diamonds" were found to be worthless. After these events, France began to lose interest in finding colonies in North America and Cartier's career as an explorer came to an end. Cartier's reputation was tarnished, for his dealing with the Iroquois was not good. Jacques stayed in St. Malo and his nearby estate and was often useful as an interpreter in Portuguese. He died at age 65 on September 1, 1557.

Picture of Jacques Cartier, Picture of Cartier's route



Links: http://www.biography.com/people/jacques-cartier-9240128 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jacques_Cartier

The Middle Colonies were places with many services. These services shaped the colonies into the modern states we know now. Philadelphia was teemed with many services and most of those were completed by Benjamin Franklin. He invented many things that helped us make the modern things today and also his inventions are still here to this day. Some of the things that he invented are the bifocals, the Franklin stove, and the lightning rod.

As Ben grew older, his eyesight was deteriorating. He needed to have different glasses; one to see long distances and one for reading. Ben did not be wanting to change glasses every single day constantly. So he hatched a plan to invent a new type of glasses- bifocal glasses. The plan was extremely simple. In1784, Ben wrote to an optician and wanted a request- he wanted to take both the long distance glasses and the reading glasses, cut them each in half, and then put the long- distance lenses on the top and the reading lenses on the bottom. That way, he wouldn't have to go back and forth to switch glasses. Since Ben had invented these amazing glasses, billions of lives have been improved by the use of the bifocals.

Ben Franklin also invented the Franklin stove. During the frigid winters in Philadelphia, Ben would try to warm himself by sitting near the fireplace. Only his face and knees would get warmed but his back would still remain freezing. Ben ought that he should invent a more refined heating system. He had noticed the circulation of the hot air and the cool air; the hot air would rise and the cool air would take its place. Fireplaces back then had small openings and so could not produce that much heat. And so Ben hatched a plan for an open stove that gave out more heat and less fuel. Ben said that this stove was twice as warm as it used to be for one-quarter the wood I used to burn there. This Franklin stove was the first improvement in several years. People were delighted that this stove produces a large am out of heat and also was inexpensive. The stove was soon being used by many people and afterwards became in general use.

Another thing that Benjamin made is the lightning rod. The lightning rod is a metal rod on top of an elevated structure such as a building, ship or even a tree. The lightning rod and the elevated structure is joined with a wire. This lightning rod is made to protect the structures when there is lightning. If lightning hits the structure, the lightning will hit the rod and be transported to the ground through the wire. Because of this magnificent lightning rod, the lightning will not make contact with the structure and will not cause a fire. This lightning rod requires connection to the earth to protect the structures. Lightning rods come in different forms such as solid, pointed, rounded, flat strips, and bristle- like brush tips. They are made out of conductive metals such as aluminum and copper.

As you can see, Benjamin Franklin provided a great amount of service to the world and helped us make it into what it is today. Ben also invented the glass harmonica, swim fins, Daylight Savings Time, the first public hospital, and many more countless things. We should show gratitude to Ben, for he helped the world a great bit.

Sites: [] [] Book: Ben Franklin of Old Philadelphia by Margaret Cousins