Samuel de Champlain’s childhood is surrounded with mystery. We don’t know either his birth date, or his social rank. Based on the meager information we have about his family, we know that his father was Antoine de Champlain, naval captain, that his mother was Marguerite Le Roy, and that his uncle was Guillaume Allène, also a naval captain, who went to Africa and America.

Champlain grew up in Brouage, a dynamic city, open to world, and ideal for stimulating an adventurous mind. Located in the Gulf of Saintonge, which opens onto the Atlantic Ocean, the region had been a large salt producer since Antiquity. Devastated during the One Hundred Years' War, the region was re-built during the 15^th and 16^th centuries. The City of Brouage was founded in 1555. Ships from many places of origin tied up in this prosperous port. Some set sail for North America, going there to hunt whales and fish.

During the wars of religion, Brouage was fortified by King Charles IX and became a military centre. The army maintained a presence there since it became a headquarters for the admiralty from which the king intended to control shipping activities.

Protestant elementary schools and even an academy which taught young people to ride horses, fence and draw plans, were located near Brouage. Did Champlain attend those institutions? It is difficult to know. Obviously, he learned the art of drawing when he was young, as proven by the magnificent maps that are attributed to him. It is possible, however, that it was a friend of his father, Charles Leber Du Carlo, the king’s engineer and geographer, who taught Champlain this skill. Champlain also learned how to navigate at a very young age, as he informed the queen in 1613.

At a young age, Samuel de Champlain signed up with the army of King Henry IV where he served as the Accomodation Marshal. At the end of the wars of religion, he went to Spain to prepare for a trip to the “West Indies”. A report of this trip exists and it is possible that it was written by Champlain. When he returned to his home land, Champlain was received by the king, who took an interest in his tales and offered him a pension at the court.

Two elements combined in France to encourage the exploration of America and the founding of a lasting settlement overseas. The year 1598 marked the beginning of a period during which King Henry IV took a great deal of interest in the New World. He appointed people to make expeditions, while granting them monopolies for the fur trade.

Several of the king's representatives set off in this way during a short period of time. At the same time, supply problems increased the demand for furs from New France, inciting investors to take part in this adventure, which had become a profitable one.

It was in this favorable period that Samuel de Champlain set out for North America in 1603. This trip, which provided an excellent opportunity to acquire an in-depth knowledge of the sites to be colonized, would have a major impact on his destiny... as well as on ours.
 
To learn more about Champlain’s travels, we invite you to come back on December 25, 2007.


Sources

LITALIEN, Raymonde and Denis Vaugeois (dir). Champlain: la naissance de l'Amérique française. [Paris], Nouveau Monde éditions; Sillery, Septentrion, 2004, 397 pages.

TRUDEL, Marcel. “Samuel de Champlain”, Dictionnaire biographique du Canada, tome 1, [Québec], Presses de l’Université Laval, 1966, pages 192 to 204.


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