Life of Samuel De Champlain - Coursework Example

Introduction Samuel de Champlain was born to a family of master mariners. The exact his birth is unknown.He was known as the father of “New France”. He was a soldier, navigator, geographer, ethnologist and cartographer. He was also known for founding the city of Quebec in the July of 1608. At the very young age he began exploring North America under the guidance of his teacher De Pont in 1603. In the same year he also participated in the settlement of Acadia. He became the first European person who has explored the Great Lakes. He also published the maps of all his journeys; he also published the accounts of what he has learned from his journeys and from the Natives. Champlain was successful in making good relationships with the Innu and the local Montagnais. He was also successful in making agreement to provide assistance in times of wars particularly against their biggest enemy the Iroquois. In 1625, King Louis XIII wanted him to stop all his exploration programs ordered him to return to Quebec. The reason behind the King’s order was that the Champlain talents should be used for the administration of the country. As a result Champlain served as the Governor of Quebec. During his governorship he established companies that traded goods to France. He started with the trade of fur. In many places and streets of North America he is memorialized as the “Father of New France” and that is the reason that many structures bear his name and there are many monuments made to remember his for a long time. He is also remembered for Lake Champlain which is the border between Canada and the United Stated of America. In the year 1610 he was the leader of expedition which was up the “Richelieu River” and in the event he explored a long river between Vermont and New York which is named after him as the first ever European to describe it. Early Years of His Life Samuel de Champlain was born to Marguerite Le Roy and Anthoine Chappelain in the renowned French province of Saintonge. Nobody knows the exact location and date of birth of Samuel de Chaplain. The main reason for not having exact records is the fire of Brouage which took place in 1690, in which all the written records were lost. One of the Catholic priest estimated his date of birth to be 1565 but there is no reference for his estimation. Another Catholic priest in 1971, tried to justify the this estimation in his book Euvres de Champlain, but he also failed to provide the exact detail as his estimation was based on many assumption which were later proved wrong. Most of the scholars and priests claimed that Champlain was from Brouage and he either belonged to Roman Catholic or the Protestant family. (Hurwicz, 24) Throughout the history of Brouage it is a Catholic city in the region of Protestants. His first name (Samuel) which came from Old Testament is not usually given to a Catholic child, so the exact location of his birth is not known with certainty. (Hurwicz, 57) During 1603 Champlain spent much on the time on voyages to West Indies particularly. Champlain father and other close family members such as his uncle-in-law were navigators as well as soldiers. This was the reason that Champlain at very young age learned to navigate and he was expert in drawing nautical maps and writing reports. One fact is clearly known that his education was not based on Latin or Ancient Greek educational system. That means that he did not learn from the lectures of Ancient Greeks. (Hurwicz, 71) Champlain also learned to use fire arms of his time as each of the French fleet had to make sure its own defense at the oceans and seas. He had the advantage of knowledge which he acquired while serving the army of King Henry the IV. During the time of the France’s religious wars Champlain on orders of king went to many secret voyages. Early Travels of Samuel de Champlain In the year 1599 Champlain’s uncle-in-law who was a navigator and who had a ship named “Saint Julien” which was chartered to carry Spanish troops to the Treaty of Vervins. Chaplain got the opportunity to travel in this ship. (Champlain, 15-17) When this ship was carrying the large Spanish fleet to the West Indies his uncle gave the responsibility to watch over the ship to the young Champlain. This journey lasted for more than two years and gave Champlain the opportunity to learn about the Spanish wealth particularly form Mexico City to the Caribbean. All along the way he drew nautical maps and charts and wrote a large numbers of illustrated reports related to these journeys. After finalizing these top secret reports he passed this information to King Henry the IV. With his work the King was so pleased that he rewarded him with annual pension program. Later in 1870 this top secret report was published for the first time by Laverdiere. This report was published as “The Native of a Voyage to the West Indies and Mexico” This report was considered to be authentic as it was based on the accounts written by Champlain. Scholars of recent times believe that this work was actually authored by Samuel de Champlain. King Henry the IV also wanted reports on further discoveries. In the spring of 1604 Champlain was a part of another expedition to “New France”. (Champlain, 45) This journey was also exploratory mainly without carrying women and children. This journey continued for many years and was mainly focused on areas of St. Lawrence River which later became the famous area of Acadia. Dugua de Mon was the leader of this journey, who was a Protestant and noble merchant under whom the whole fur trading to “New France” was given by King Henry IV. Dugua liked Champlain a lot and wanted him to stay with him for a longer time. He wanted Champlain to find a new settlement for the winters. Champlain worked very hard and after exploring few sites near the Bay of Fundy, he chose the site of Saint Croix which is and Island near the river of St. Croix. After having a bad experience of harsh winter the location of the whole settlement to relocated across the St. Croix River where later the famous Port Royal was established. In 1605 he explored the region of North America as far as the region of Cape Cod. Champlain was in constant search for the sites for a permanent settlement. (MacLeod, Elizabeth, and John Mantha, 114 -117) Relationship with the natives In the summer of 1610 Samuel de Champlain was successful in forming better ties with the local tribes. During the same year he formed coalition with Algonquin, Etchemin and Wendat. His influence was all along the St. Lawrence River. (Sherwood, Snider, and Belanger, 26) All these tribes were always willing to help Champlain because he had an agreement with them that he will help them against Iroquois in times of war. Champlain was also successful in exploring the Richelieu River with the company of twenty French soldiers and around five hundred people belonging to the native tribes. Champlain became the first ever European to map the great “Lake Champlain” (Faber, 49) Conclusion Champlain was a soldier, navigator, geographer, ethnologist and cartographer and an expert map maker. He explored much of the region of Canada and known as the father of “New France”. He was the first European to explore many North American regions and the first person to draw maps and giving detailed accounts of his journeys. He was devoted to explore new sites for a permanent settlement and he was devoted to spread the word of Christianity. Works Cited: Hurwicz, Claude. Samuel de Champlain. Powerkids Pr, 2001. Print. Champlain, Samuel. Voyages of Samuel de Champlain, 1604-1918. Samuel de Champlain, Samu. Print. MacLeod, Elizabeth, and John Mantha. Samuel de Champlain. Kids Can Pr, 2008. Print. Sherwood, Betty, Janet Snider, and Hélène Bélanger. Samuel de Champlain. Éditions Canchron, 2006. Print. Faber, Harold. Samuel de Champlain, explorer of Canada. Benchmark Books (NY), 2004. Print. Read More