CHAMPLAIN AND NEW FRANCE

“I directed the men in our Braque to approach near the savages, and hold their arms in readiness

to do their duty in case they notice any movement of these people against us”

Samuel de Champlain

Samuel de Champlain leaves an enormous numbers of success and good leadership to the

civilization in his time. He help the people and their enemies to become united and successful. He instruct

the people and show them the great leadership should be. This is only one of the reason why Champlain

was remarkable and memorable to the people of New France. According to Grant, who wrote “The

voyager of Samuel de Champlain, he said that one of Champlain’s force told the story of how Champlain

help the Braque to befriend with the enemies. The savages expressed great satisfaction that no greater

good could come to them than to have the friendship, that they desired to live in peace with the enemies,

and that it should dwell in the land so that in the future more than ever before they might engage in beaver

hunting and give it a part in return for the giving what they wanted. It was instructed with interpreter to

tell the savages that "Sieur de Monts," Champlain's patron, had sent people to see them, and that he

desired to inhabit their country and teach them how to cultivate it, so they might not continue to lead such

a miserable life as they were doing.

Samuel de Champlain is French explorer who was born in Brouage, France in 1567 his parents,

Antoine de Champlain and Marguerite Le Royand passed away in Quebec, New France, which is Canada

today, on December 25, 1635. He was known as cartographer, draughtsman, soldier, explorer,

geographer, ethnologist, diplomat and chronicler. This skills help him to achieve ton of accomplishments

and contributed to his popularity. This abilities became his foundation to be the most respectable and

noble person in the History. This aptitudes help him to founded Quebec City on July 3, 1608, and served

as its administrator for the rest of his life. However, according to Britannica written by Ritchie that talks
about the life of Champlain, due to his seaside town residence 1, Champlain was not only exposed to but

also profoundly influenced by seafaring tales and experiences. Although very desirable, a formal

education was quite expensive during that period. His father was not able to afford a formal education for

his son because he was a fishing boat captain. Rather, it was through his time aboard ships and the

practical experiences his father's lifestyle afforded him that Champlain acquired his education. While

according to Canadian Encyclopedia the community that Champlain would eventually refer to as his

"Habitation" was established in Quebec. The French colonization enhanced the significance of the link

between the French and Indians and pushed the French fur trade closer to its origin. In order to protect

this alliance, Champlain attacked a Haudenosaunee (people of the long house) or five nations in what is

now modern-day New York State while leading a Huron-Algonquin war expedition.

According to Ontario Heritage Trust, Champlain as a young man, was also influenced by the

diverse culture and values of the region of France in which he was living. In order to explore and to

enhance what Champlain achievements in his voyages. Scholars have suggested that the then province of

Saintonge had a distinct culture and heritage that shaped Champlain’s own world view – his humanist

values, tolerance for diversity and immense curiosity about the world around him – and would later

influence his approach to the colony the French referred to as New France. Champlain spent his early

years studying the sailor's trade directly from his mentors, even if not much more is known about his early

years, he emerged to popularity as a navigator who is having participated in a voyage to the West Indies

and Central America and was granted an honorary, title at the court of Henry IV 2. In 1603, he accepted an

invitation to travel to what he later named the St. Lawrence River, or the River of Canada. He traveled in

a longboat as an observer upstream from the mother ship's anchoring at the summer trading post of

Tadoussac to the location of Montreal and its rapids. Following the rapid publication of his trip report in

1
Lake Champlain was named in memory of Samuel de Champlain. During the Revolutionary War, the lake was an
important asset for allowing movement from the colonies to Canada and keeping New England a strong,
connected force.
2
According to History Museum of New France, year 1602 Henry IV of France appointed Champlain as hydrographer
royal.
France, he traveled to Acadia, the area encircling the Bay of Fundy, in 1604 with a group of unfortunate

settlers.

During his voyage about contracting scurvy, Champlain spent three winters in Acadia looking for

potential colonies, he traveled the Atlantic coast. French desire in colonization increased despite English

arrivals in southern Acadia (Kennebec) in 1607 due to strife. Champlain commanded 32 colonists on an

expedition to found Quebec in 1608. He fought back Haudenosaunee raiders and raised French renown,

which boosted the fur trade. The colony was abandoned in 1611 after Champlain, who had married

Hélène Boullé, had financial setbacks. In spite of this, Champlain managed to convince Louis XIII to step

in and give him the position of governor of New France. In order to finance trade and exploration, he

founded a firm and restored control (Britannica, 1998).

However, with its reliance on agriculture and the fur trade, Champlain's colony suffered under his

leadership. Champlain resisted the English privateers' siege of Quebec in 1628. In 1632, the colony was

returned to France after the fort was given up. The last journey Champlain made was to Quebec in 1633.

Prior to his demise in 1635, his settlement grew along the St. Lawrence River 3. The cause of his death

was stroke.

His role was extremely important for the French conquest of the New World. Acknowledged as

the “Father of New France,” Champlain united French colonies and established Quebec (1608), one of the

oldest towns in the country of Canada today.

From the beginning of European discoveries and fishing expeditions in the early 16th century to

the beginning of the 19th century, France was a colonial power in North America. The fur trade was a

significant commercial business that spanned over 230 years, from the early 17th to the mid-19th century,

throughout the region. The name Gallia Nova (New France) 4 was first recorded in 1529 on a map,

3
Champlain also made important explorations of what is now northern New York, the Ottawa River, and the eastern
Great Lakes.
4
The vast territory of New France consisted of five colonies at its peak in 1712, each with its own administration:
Canada, Hudson's Bay; Acadie in the northeast; Plaisance on the island of Newfoundland; and Louisiane.
beginning with the exploration of the Gulf of Saint Lawrence by Jacques Cartier in 1534 and ending with

the cession of New France to Great Britain and Spain in 1763 under the Treaty of Paris. The main

purpose of the lands in the sixteenth century was to exploit the abundance of natural resources, including

furs, through commerce with the many indigenous peoples.

Many travelogues from New France, as well as the establishment of a colonial Canadian canon

outside of fiction, have long eclipsed a large body of exoticism. Gilbert Chinard found these manuscripts

about Samuel de Champlain writings at the beginning of the 20th century and investigated how their

Indigenous characters expressed the early modern French imagination of America. In this enormous

corpus of work, France is heavily featured despite its late arrival in Canada. It is undeniable that the

accounts provided by French explorers, as well as the instances shown here, reflect an antiquated

perspective on Indigenous Peoples that may seem startling to modern observers. These people are referred

to as "sauvages," "natives of the country," or simply "Canadians” Patrimoines Partagés, 1763)

There are a ton of children's books about Champlain, indicating that he is a well-liked character

among primary school students. That discovered three secondary sources that it could access while going

through all of the juvenile search results. Morris Bishop's Champlain: The Life of Fortitude (New York,

1979) was the first and most helpful secondary source that came across. Bishop overlays his and other

academics' interpretations on the majority of the material he finds in Champlain's books. The way the

chapters are titled and split based on Champlain's trips is the most helpful aspect of the book.

Samuel de Champlain really did great finding about Quebec or New France because it is one of

the world's least inhabited countries, despite Canada's enormous size. This reality has played a crucial

role in shaping Canadian nationalism, together with the magnificence of the landscape. Because of its past

as a battleground between two of Europe's superpowers, Canada is legally multilingual in both English

and French. The Huron-Iroquois kanata, which refers to a village or community, is the source of the name

Canada. Canada to denote the region surrounding the colony that is today Quebec City. Afterwards, the
term "Canada" was used interchangeably with "New France, 5" which comprised all of the French

territories around the Great Lakes and the St. Lawrence River between 1534 and 1763.

Today, Champlain made an astonishing impression not only in the Canada or Canadian but to the

whole word as he discovers and he became the father of Canada. One of the oldest cities and the second

largest country in the whole word, comprise of enormously histories and chronicles of stories. Canada is a

North American country. With 10 provinces and three territories spanning from the Atlantic to the Pacific

along with further north into the Arctic, it is the second-most populous nation in the world in terms of

total area and has the longest coastline. However, the history of Canada as well as the founder embarks on

how the origin of the country begun. The biggest province in Canada is called Quebec. Canada's oldest

city is Quebec City, the country's capital. (The name Quebec, which was first applied to the city in 1608

and is derived from an Algonquian phrase meaning "where the river narrows,") entices tourists to city's

breathtaking views of the serene Orleans Island and the St. Lawrence River. Since the British took control

New France in 1763, the Francophone community in Quebec 6 has had ups and downs. For simplicity, all

inhabitants are referred to as Quebecers, however the term "Québécois" is used.

In a nutshell, Samuel de Champlain discovered the Quebec and was distinguished as the “Father

of New France” due to his great and various contribution in development and the rose of Canada, New

France, and Quebec that help the indigenous people living there. A man of vision, adventure, and service

was Samuel de Champlain. Even in death, Champlain continued to dream about the Northwest Passage,

which he never discovered. He was always eager to set out across the Atlantic. Champlain consistently

prioritized the welfare of his subjects while serving his king and nation. He was a kind and

knowledgeable guy who gained the respect and loyalty of numerous Indian tribes as well as the men who

came after him. Throughout his lifetime, his dream of a settled New France was sluggish to gain traction,

but in the end, it was successful. Even though not many people at the time recognized or appreciated the

5
After the British conquest of New France, the name Quebec was sometimes used instead of Canada. The name
Canada was fully restored after 1791
6
Quebec is well known for producing maple syrup, for its comedy, and for making hockey one of the most popular
sports in Canada.
benefits of his labor, as the "Father of Canada," Champlain is now honored. Therefore, the saying that

Champlain leaves “I directed the men in our baroque to approach near the savages, and hold their arms in

readiness to do their duty in case they notice any movement of these people against us” distinguishes the

“baroque” as the indigenous people who he help to fight and to stand for their place of living 7.

7
Champlain created the first accurate coastal map during his explorations and founded various colonial settlements.
REFERENCES:

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https://www.britannica.com/place/Canada

Behiels, M. D. (2023, November 3). Quebec | History, Map, Flag, Population, & Facts.
Encyclopedia Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/place/Quebec-province

Digital History. (n.d.). https://www.digitalhistory.uh.edu/disp_textbook.cfm?smtid=2&psid=647

In the Lands of the Indigenous Peoples in New France (1534-1763) | Patrimoines Partagés -
France Amériques. (n.d.). https://heritage.bnf.fr/france-ameriques/en/lands-indigenous-peoples-article

New France. (2023, October 28). Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_France#See_also

New France | Definition, History, & Map. (2023, October 10). Encyclopedia Britannica.
https://www.britannica.com/place/New-France

New France | The Canadian Encyclopedia. (n.d.).

https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/collection/new-france

Quebec | The Canadian Encyclopedia. (n.d.).

https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/timeline/quebec

Ritchie, C. (1998, July 20). Samuel de Champlain | Biography, Route, Accomplishments, &
Facts. Encyclopedia Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/biography/Samuel-de-Champlain

“Samuel De Champlain.” The Canadian Encyclopedia,

www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/samuel-de-champlain.