Pierre de Guast, Sieur de MontsIt was in 1604 that Pierre de Guast, Sieur de Monts, a native of Saintonge, a nobleman of the court of Henry IV of France, came to Acadia to found a colony.
His reward for this work was the lion's share of the fur trade. Accompanying De Monts were Champlain, Poutrincourt and Pontgrave, names well known in connection with the history of New France.
In 1604 De Monts set out to explore this new land by sailing up la Baie Françoise (Bay of Fundy). He visited the mines of pure copper at Cap D'Or (Golden Cap), also named Cap-des-Mines. It is quite certain that the Mik'maqs would have been familiar with the mines since pieces of copper were found with their remains on the shores of the Basin.
De Monts sailed into the Basin to Partridge Island. There a captain of one of the ships found a large sample of amethyst. The stone was broken in two pieces and De Monts received one of them. When they returned to France, these specimens were cut and mounted in beautiful settings and presented to the king and queen.
Looking for what he considered suitable land to settle, De Monts was not impressed with the starkness of the rocky cliffs of Blomidon nor the north shores of the bay. Actually, had he continued just a few miles farther south, he would have come to rich lands. Instead he continued his passage along Baie Française. (The French called the Bay of Fundy both Baie Françoise and Baie Française. The word Fundy derives from fond meaning the end or top of the bay.)
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