Cartier began his first royal expedition for France to look for a westward route to Asia and new lands to claim. After crossing the Atlantic, he sighted land at Cape Bonavista. This marked his first confirmed contact with the Newfoundland coast on that voyage. In the weeks that followed, he sailed along and documented parts of the Newfoundland/Labrador coasts. He then pushed into what Europeans would call the Gulf of St. Lawrence. This helped lay the groundwork for France’s later claims and exploration in the region.
