Donnacona

Donnacona (Known as "Chief Donnacona")

Chief of Stadacona, St. Lawrence Iroquoian Leader

Born c. 1485

Stadacona (Quebec City), Canada

Passed Away c. 1539 Paris, France

Lifespan 54 years old

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Notice / Correction

"The chieftain of Stadacona whose voice first spoke of the great northern lands to European kings."

Archival Overview

Sixteenth-century leader of the St. Lawrence Iroquoian settlement of Stadacona who met Jacques Cartier in 1534 and was taken to France to meet King Francis I.

Biographical Record

Donnacona was the headman of Stadacona, situated on the present-day site of Quebec City, when French navigator Jacques Cartier sailed into the Gulf of St. Lawrence in 1534. While welcoming trade, Donnacona sought to maintain his people's commercial mastery along the great river.

In 1536, Cartier captured Donnacona, his sons, and several villagers, transporting them across the Atlantic to France. Presented before King Francis I, Donnacona recounted vivid descriptions of the rich 'Kingdom of the Saguenay', but he succumbed to illness in France in 1539 before he could return to his homeland.

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Final Resting Place

Perpetual Memorial

Parish of Saint-Germain-l'Auxerrois
Paris (Memorial in Quebec City), France

                         GPS: 48.8594, 2.3411                    

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