King Francis I of France was eager to find a new route to Asia, so that he could avoid the Portuguese and Spanish monopolies on the spice trade. He sent Jacques Cartier to explore the St. Lawrence River in the hope of finding a northwest passage.
Although the ideas and projects for the construction of navigation channels that would join seas or oceans to reduce costs and time in maritime transport were already studied in antiquity, it was not until the 19th century (Suez, Corinth, Panama...) when the engineering made them come true. But in t