DERIVATION OF CANADA.
(Vol. vii., p. 380.)
The derivation given in the "cutting from an old newspaper," contributed by Mr. Breen, seems little better than that of Dr. Douglas, who derives the name from a M. Cane, to whom he attributes the honour of being the discoverer of the St. Lawrence.
In the first place, the "cutting" is not correct, in so far as Gaspar Cortereal never ascended the river, having merely entered the gulf, to which the name of St. Lawrence was afterwards given by Jacques Carter. Neither was the main object of the expedition the discovery of a passage into the Indian Sea, but the discovery of gold; and it was the disappointment of the adventurers in not finding the precious metal which is supposed to have caused them to exclaim "Aca nada!" (Nothing here).
The author of the Conquest of Canada, in the first chapter of that valuable work, says that "an ancient Castilian tradition existed, that the Spaniards visited these coasts before the French,"—to which tradition probably this supposititious derivation owes its origin.
Hennepin, who likewise assigns to the Spaniards priority of discovery, asserts that they called the land El Capo di Nada (Cape Nothing) for the same reason.
But the derivation given by Charlevoix, in his Nouvelle France, should set all doubt upon the point at rest; Cannáda signifying, in the Iroquois language, a number of huts (un amas de cabanes), or a village. The name came to be applied to the whole country in this manner:—The natives being asked what they called the first settlement at which Cartier and his companions arrived, answered, "Cannáda;" not meaning the particular appellation of the place, which was Stadacóna (the modern Quebec), but simply a village. In like manner, they applied the same word to Hochelága (Montreal) and to other places; whence the Europeans, hearing every locality designated by the same term, Cannáda, very naturally applied it to the entire valley of the St. Lawrence. It may not here be out of place to notice, that with respect to the derivation of Quebec, the weight of evidence
would likewise seem to be favourable to an aboriginal source, as Champlain speaks of "la pointe de Québec, ainsi appellée des sauvages;" not satisfied with which, some writers assert that the far-famed city was named after Candebec, a town on the Seine; while others say that the Norman navigators, on perceiving the lofty headland, exclaimed "Quel bec!" of which they believe the present name to be a corruption. Dissenting from all other authorities upon the subject, Mr. Hawkins, the editor of a local guide-book called The Picture of Quebec, traces the name to an European source, which he considers to be conclusive, owing to the existence of a seal bearing date 7 Henry V. (1420), and on which the Earl of Suffolk is styled "Domine de Hamburg et de Québec."
Robert Wright.