First published 2009
David Hackett Fischer reconstructs the life of Samuel de Champlain, the French explorer who founded Quebec and shaped early North America. Born on France's Atlantic coast during brutal religious wars, Champlain grew into a soldier, navigator, and visionary colonizer. Fischer traces his subject's journey from the court intrigues of Paris, where he maneuvered between supportive kings and hostile regents, to the wilderness of the St. Lawrence River. There Champlain established the first lasting European settlement in Canada while conducting diplomacy with dozens of Indigenous nations. The author draws on Champlain's own journals, maps, and artwork to reveal a man who promoted religious tolerance and intermarriage between French colonists and Native peoples. Fischer shows how Champlain's 27 Atlantic crossings and three decades of exploration across six future Canadian provinces and five American states laid the foundation for Québécois, Acadian, and Métis populations. This comprehensive biography illuminates both the personal struggles of a complex leader and the broader forces that created New France.
Genres: biography, historical-fiction, adventure, american-history
Vibes: intimate, suspenseful, thought-provoking
Tropes: exploration, historical-figure
Setting: Quebec, St. Lawrence River, Canada, United States
Period: 17th Century, Religious Wars
864 pages · Paperback · Vintage Canada