The explorer Jacques Cartier, in his expedition…

The explorer Jacques Cartier, in his expedition of 1535 and 1536, observes several Iroquoian villages north of Île d'Orléans (near present-day Quebec), including the villages of Stadacona on the site of modern-day Quebec City, as well as Hochelaga in the vicinity of modern-day Montreal.

Archaeologists in the twentieth century have unearthed similar villages further southwest, near the eastern end of Lake Ontario and are finding evidence of additional discrete groups of St. Lawrence Iroquoians.

The people live in villages that are usually located a few kilometers inland from the Saint-Lawrence River, outside the immediate flood plain.

The settlements are often enclosed by a wooden palisade for defense.

Up to two thousand people live in the larger villages.

Although Cartier mentions the longhouses in Hochelaga, he leaves no further description of Stadacona or the other nearby villages.

At just about the period Jacques Cartier contacts them, Basque whalers start to frequent the area in yearly campaigns, holding friendly commercial relations with Saint Lawrence Iroquoians and other natives.

The Basques refer to them as Canaleses.

Basques and American natives of the Labrador-Saint Lawrence area develop a simplified language for the mutual understanding, but it shows a strong Mi'kmaq imprint.