The Founder of New France : A chronicle of Champlain | Page 6

of a career. Hastening to the coast, he began the long series of
voyages which was to occupy the remainder of his life. Indeed, the sea
and what lay beyond it were henceforth to be his life.
The sea, however, did not at once lead Champlain to New France.

Provencal, his uncle, held high employment in the Spanish fleet, and
through his assistance Champlain embarked at Blavet in Brittany for
Cadiz, convoying Spanish soldiers who had served with the League in
France. After three months at Seville he secured a Spanish commission
as captain of a ship sailing for the West Indies. Under this appointment
it was his duty to attend Don Francisco Colombo, who with an armada
of twenty galleons sailed in January 1599 to protect Porto Rico from
the English. In the maritime strife of Spain and England this expedition
has no part that remains memorable. For Champlain it meant a first
command at sea and a first glimpse of America.
The record of this voyage was an incident of no less importance in
Champlain's fortunes than the voyage itself. His cruisings in the
Spanish Main gave him material for a little book, the Bref Discours;
and the Bref Discours in turn advanced his career. Apart from any
effect which it may have had in securing for him the title of Geographer
to the King, it shows his own aspiration to be a geographer. Navigation
can be regarded either as a science or a trade. For Champlain it was
plainly a science, demanding care in observation and faithfulness of
narrative. The Bref Discours was written immediately upon his return
from the West Indies, while the events it describes were still fresh in
mind. Appearing at a time when colonial secrets were carefully guarded,
it gave France a glimpse of Spanish America from French eyes. For us
it preserves Champlain's impressions of Mexico, Panama, and the
Antilles. For Champlain himself it was a profession of faith, a
statement that he had entered upon the honourable occupation of
navigator; in other words, that he was to be classed neither with
ship-captains nor with traders, but with explorers and authors.
It was in March 1601 that Champlain reached France on his return from
the West Indies. The next two years he spent at home, occupied partly
with the composition of his Bref Discours and partly with the quest of
suitable employment. His avowed preference for the sea and the
reputation which he had already gained as a navigator left no doubt as
to the sphere of his future activities, but though eager to explore some
portion of America on behalf of the French crown, the question of ways
and means presented many difficulties. Chief among these was the

fickleness of the king. Henry IV had great political intelligence, and
moreover desired, in general, to befriend those who had proved loyal
during his doubtful days. His political sagacity should have led him to
see the value of colonial expansion, and his willingness to advance
faithful followers should have brought Champlain something better
than his pension and the title of Geographer. But the problems of
France were intricate, and what most appealed to the judgment of
Henry was the need of domestic reorganization after a generation of
slaughter which had left the land desolate. Hence, despite momentary
impulses to vie with Spain and England in oversea expansion, he kept
to the path of caution, avoiding any expenditure for colonies which
could be made a drain upon the treasury, and leaving individual
pioneers to bear the cost of planting his flag in new lands. In friendship
likewise his good impulses were subject to the vagaries of a mercurial
temperament and a marked willingness to follow the line of least
resistance. In the circumstances it is not strange that Champlain
remained two years ashore.
The man to whom he owed most at this juncture was Aymar de Chastes.
Though Champlain had served the king faithfully, his youth and birth
prevented him from doing more than belongs to the duty of a subaltern.
But De Chastes, as governor of Dieppe, at a time when the League
seemed everywhere triumphant, gave Henry aid which proved to be the
means of raising him from the dust. It was a critical event for
Champlain that early in 1603 De Chastes had determined to fit out an
expedition to Canada. Piety and patriotism seem to have been his
dominant motives, but an opening for profit was also offered by a
monopoly of the Laurentian fur trade. During the civil wars
Champlain's strength of character had become known at first hand to
De Chastes, who both liked and admired him. Then, just at the right
moment, he reached Fontainebleau, with his good record as a soldier
and the added prestige which had come