Samuel de Champlain was a French explorer who helped colonize New
France in the New World in the seventeenth century. He made over
twenty voyages between Europe and the New World, founded the
French settlement at Quebec, and wrote six books about his adventures.
Early life
Champlain was born in the seaport town of Brouage in France around
1567. Parish records are missing, so his exact birth date is unknown.
Historians suggest that Champlain was raised as a Protestant (see
Protestantism) but he converted to Catholicism sometime before 1603.
Not much else is known about his childhood.
Growing up in a seaport town, Champlain learned navigation and
mapmaking as a youth. He fought as a sergeant in religious wars on the
side of Protestant king Henry IV (1553–1610) until 1598. After that, he
went on a voyage to the West Indies, now called the Caribbean, for over
two years.
Acadia
In 1603, Champlain joined an expedition to the River of Canada, which
was later renamed the St. Lawrence River. The expedition also explored
the area that Champlain called Acadia (present-day Nova Scotia).
Champlain realized that the areas they explored had valuable resources,
especially animals. Investors from France could get animal furs in trade
with Native Americans to sell back in Europe. Champlain learned from
the local natives about the existence of the Great Lakes, which he
thought might be a northwest passage from the Atlantic Ocean to the
Pacific Ocean.
Back in France, Champlain was chosen to be the geographer on an
expedition to Acadia led by Pierre du Gua de Monts (c. 1558–1628), to
whom the French king had given a monopoly on fur trade in the region.
(See Fur Traders and Mountain Men.) The voyagers spent their first
winter at a fort they built along the Saint Croix River, near the future border between the United States and Canada. About half of them died,
largely from scurvy, a disease caused by a lack of vitamin C.
For the second winter, the expedition moved its base across the Bay
of Fundy to Port Royal (present-day Annapolis Royal). This was the main
settlement for Acadia until 1607, when Henry IV canceled de Mont’s
trading privileges. Champlain spent three years sailing and mapping the
region, including present-day Maine; Cape Cod, Massachusetts; and
Rhode Island. The expedition returned to France in 1607.
Quebec
By 1608, Champlain had found investors to finance another expedition
to the New World. Arriving in July, thirty-two voyagers built a fort at the
settlement called Quebec City. Champlain would spend the rest of his
life building the settlement into a profitable colony for France.
From before 1603, French explorers had been trading with the
Algonquian and the Montagnais tribes. The Huron tribe to the west, in
the region around Quebec, was an ally of the Algonquians and the
Montagnais. To develop fur trading in the region, Champlain formed alliances with these tribes. In July 1609, Champlain and the other settlers
joined the Hurons in a battle with the Hurons’ enemy to the south, the
Iroquois confederacy. This began over 150 years of hostility between
France and the Iroquois.
Champlain faced regular challenges over the next two decades as
politics in France altered colonial authority in the New World. He spent
much time in France negotiating with government officials and financial
investors for the support he needed for his efforts. When he was around
forty years old, he married twelve-year-old Hélène Boullé (1598–1654),
the daughter of the secretary to the king’s chamber. Exploring the New
World in 1615, Champlain reached as far as Lake Huron, probably making him the first European to see it.
Back in France between 1616 and 1618, Champlain crafted a comprehensive plan for colonization of New France. Quebec would be a permanent customs station for trading in the region. Military posts would
protect France’s interests. Explorers would sail the Great Lakes searching
for the Northwest Passage, and missionaries would work to convert the
native tribes to Christianity to give France greater control over the area’s
resources. The plan received the governmental and financial support necessary to send Champlain back to Quebec in 1618.
Later years
Champlain worked hard over the next decade to explore New France and
to establish profitable trade with native tribes. After war erupted between
England and France in 1627, English vessels arrived at Quebec in 1629,
forcing the undersupplied French settlers to surrender.
Champlain was back in Europe for the next four years. He worked
during this period to get England to return Quebec to France. He also
spent time writing about the adventures of his life.
After England and France reached peace in 1632, England returned
Quebec to France, and Champlain returned in 1633 to command the
area. He spent the final years of his life, often sick, in Quebec, dying
there on December 25, 1635.