Aneda facts for kids

The aneda (sometimes spelled annedda) was a special evergreen plant used by Jacques Cartier and his crew. They used it as a medicine to fight a terrible sickness called scurvy during the winter of 1535–1536. Scurvy happens when people don't get enough vitamin C, and it can make you very sick or even cause death.

What Was the Aneda Plant?

For a long time, people thought the aneda was the Thuja occidentalis, which is a common tree in Quebec, Canada. This tree is also known as the Eastern white cedar.

The Mystery of the Aneda

However, a historian named Jacques Mathieu has suggested that the aneda was more likely Abies balsamea, also known as the balsam fir. He believes this because the balsam fir was traditionally used as a medicine by Indigenous peoples. Also, its needles have much more vitamin C than the white cedar. Vitamin C is super important for preventing scurvy.

How Aneda Helped Cartier's Crew

Jacques Cartier was a French explorer. In 1535, his ships were stuck in the ice near what is now Quebec City. Many of his sailors became very ill with scurvy. They were dying, and Cartier didn't know what to do.

A Life-Saving Remedy

The local St. Lawrence Iroquoians people showed Cartier how to make a tea from the aneda plant. They told him to boil the bark and needles of the tree. When the sick sailors drank this tea, they quickly started to get better. This simple remedy saved many lives!

Why Was Aneda Hard to Find Later?

About 72 years later, another famous explorer named Samuel de Champlain arrived in the same area around 1608. He tried to find the aneda remedy, but he couldn't.

Different Languages, Different Names

Some people thought that the Indigenous people had forgotten about the aneda over time. However, a more likely reason is that the St. Lawrence Iroquoians whom Cartier met were a different group of people. They spoke a different language than the Hurons or Iroquois who lived in the area when Champlain arrived. So, the word 'annedda' didn't mean anything to the new groups Champlain met. This shows how important language can be when sharing knowledge!