Champlain, Samuel de

I

Introduction

Champlain, Samuel de (c. 1567-1635), French explorer, known as the father of New France—the French colonial empire in North America—who renewed French interest in North America after the largely unsuccessful voyages of Jacques Cartier. In 1608 Champlain established a trading post at the first narrows of the St Lawrence River, which eventually became the city of Quebec, and governed it until his death.

II

Early Life

Champlain was born in Brouage, France, but little is known of his early years. His parents may have been members of the lower nobility. Like his father before him, he served as a naval captain, gaining the training to become a very competent navigator and geographer, and an excellent cartographer.

III

First Visit to North America

In 1603, Champlain made his first visit to North America as a royal geographer on a fur trading expedition. Jacques Cartier had previously explored parts of North America for France but his mission to establish a colony in Canada had failed because of scurvy and the harsh winters. Champlain’s expedition sailed to Tadoussac, at the mouth of the Saguenay River, which had long been a trading centre for the indigenous peoples living along the St Lawrence. From Tadoussac, Champlain ventured far up the Saguenay, up the St Lawrence River to Montreal Island, and up the river that would be named the Richelieu. He also gathered information from the Montagnais people about the geography of the north-eastern section of North America and used this information to draw a remarkably accurate map. It showed a large bay to the north (Hudson Bay) and water to the west, which Champlain later discovered was the Great Lakes. This western body of water was so large that he believed it must connect with the Pacific Ocean, forming the fabled North West Passage. Champlain was also told about a pleasant land to the south with a mild climate, and was shown a metal, which he thought might be silver.

IV

Second Visit

The southern area that Champlain had been told about during his first visit to North America became the destination of his second trip in 1604, undertaken with Pierre du Guast, sieur de Monts. De Monts had obtained a commission to govern Acadia—the region that now comprises Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and Prince Edward Island—in exchange for establishing a permanent settlement in the area.

Hired by de Monts, Champlain explored the Atlantic Coast on the north side of the Bay of Fundy, sighting a river flowing from the north that he named the Saint-Jean (now the Saint John River). He learned from the area’s inhabitants, the Maliseet, that this river was their route to the St Lawrence. Travelling west along the coast, Champlain chose a site on the St Croix River for the permanent settlement, but 35 of the 79 men who stayed there during the winter of 1604-1605 died of scurvy. The base was then moved, in the spring of 1605, to the south side of the Bay of Fundy and its new site was named Port Royal. Champlain remained in North America three years, during which time he charted the coast as far south as Cape Cod.