As a part of his great design, Francis I turned towards
western discovery and exploration, in order to rival if
possible the achievements of Columbus and Cortes and to
possess himself of territories abounding in gold and
silver, in slaves and merchandise, like the islands of
Cuba and San Domingo and the newly conquered empire of
Montezuma, which Spain held. It was in this design that
he sent out Juan Verrazano; in further pursuit of it he
sent Jacques Cartier ten years later; and the result was
that French dominion afterwards, prevailed in the valley
of the St Lawrence and seeds were planted from which grew
the present Dominion of Canada.

At the end of the year 1523 Juan Verrazano set out from
the port of Dieppe with four ships. Beaten about by
adverse storms, they put into harbour at Madeira, so
badly strained by the rough weather that only a single
seaworthy ship remained. In this, the Dauphine, Verrazano
set forth on January 17, 1524, for his western discovery.
The voyage was prosperous, except for one awful tempest
in mid-Atlantic, 'as terrible,' wrote Verrazano, 'as ever
any sailors suffered.' After seven weeks of westward
sailing Verrazano sighted a coast 'never before seen of
any man either ancient or modern.' This was the shore of
North Carolina. From this point the French captain made
his way northward, closely inspecting the coast, landing
here and there, and taking note of the appearance, the
resources, and the natives of the country. The voyage
was chiefly along the coast of what is now the United