Samuel De Champlain

Samuel De Champlain was one of the greatest explorers of his time. He mapped much of what is today Canada, founded Quebec, and colonized Montreal.

Samuel was born in 1574 in a small port town called Brouage, in France. Even though he wrote a lot about his travels, Samuel didn't write about his childhood, so we know very little about it.

Samuel first traveled with his uncle, and they made it as far as Spain and the West Indies. Later, Samuel was hired as a cartographer for King Henry IV. In France, he joined François Gravé Du Pont's expedition to the New World.

The expedition sailed up the Saint Lawrence and Saguenay rivers before arriving at Montreal. Even though Samuel didn't have a role in the expedition, he was useful because he made accurate predictions about the stretches of river ahead.

The next year, Champlain was sent as a geographer on another voyage to the New World. There, he described the place which was to be known as Plymouth Rock.

In 1608, Samuel was named lieutenant to de Monts, and they set off again down the Saint Lawrence River, establishing a fort there called Quebec, which would later become the hub of French fur trading. There, he made friends with a group of Indians called the Hurons, and traveled with them into the interior of Canada.

When Champlain returned to France, he found out that he had countless lawsuits and could not return to Quebec. Instead, he wrote stories of his travels until he could return.

Later, the English attacked and conquered Quebec, and he returned to France. This gave him more time to write his stories, and later the French signed the Treaty of Saint-Germain-en-Laye, which gave them Quebec back.

The French made him governor of Quebec, and Samuel went back. There, he served as governor until his death on Christmas Day, 1635.