In this sweeping, enthralling biography, an acclaimed historian brings to life the remarkable story of Samuel de Champlain--soldier, spy, artist, and Father of New France.
The French explorer, surveyor, cartographer, and diplomat Samuel de Champlain (c. 1575-1635) is often called the Father of New France for founding the settlement that became Quebec City, governing New France, and mapping much of the St. Lawrence and eastern Great Lakes region. Champlain was also a prolific writer who documented his experiences in the Americas, including his travels, impressions of the New World, and encounters and alliances with native peoples.
Samuel de Champlain — explorer, cartographer, administrator and diplomat to the Native American peoples he encountered — made twelve voyages to North America between 1603 and 1633. He authored four accounts of his explorations and observations, each published in his own day and lavishly illustrated with maps and engravings. Champlain’s Works became increasingly popular after his death and ultimately shaped the founding narratives of the colonization of northeastern North America and the creation of New France. In this volume, Gayle K. Brunelle offers a thorough and balanced examination of Champlain’s life and career, and invites students to consider how, through his explorations, his writings, and his remarkable maps, Champlain shaped our understanding of early North American history. Document headnotes, maps and illustrations, a chronology of events, questions to consider, a selected bibliography, and an index are provided to enrich student understanding.
"Follows the travels of French mapmaker and navigator Samuel de Champlain as he mapped out the St. Lawrence River and the North American Coast."--Publisher.
Alternates between a fictionalized portrait of French explorer Samuel de Champlain and his 1607 effort to establish a colony in Canada and the modern story of Andy Winslow, whose urban landscape is threatened by encroaching environmental and economic disaster. Original.