Voyages of Samuel de Champlain, vol 1 | Page 2

to the progress of geographical knowledge, to
the aggrandizement of France, and to the dissemination of the Christian
faith in the church of which he was a member, I shall feel that my aim
has been fully achieved.
The annotations which accompany Dr. Otis's faithful and scholarly
translation are intended to give to the reader such information as he
may need for a full understanding of the text, and which he could not
otherwise obtain without the inconvenience of troublesome, and, in
many instances, of difficult and perplexing investigations. The sources
of my information are so fully given in connection with the notes that
no further reference to them in this place is required.
In the progress of the work, I have found myself under great obligations
to numerous friends for the loan of rare books, and for valuable
suggestions and assistance. The readiness with which historical
scholars and the custodians of our great depositories of learning have
responded to my inquiries, and the cordiality and courtesy with which
they have uniformly proffered their assistance, have awakened my
deepest gratitude. I take this opportunity to tender my cordial thanks to
those who have thus obliged and aided me. And, while I cannot spread
the names of all upon these pages, I hasten to mention, first of all, my
friend, Dr. Otis, with whom I have been so closely associated, and
whose courteous manner and kindly suggestions have rendered my task
always an agreeable one. I desire, likewise, to mention Mr. George
Lamb, of Boston, who has gratuitously executed and contributed a map,
illustrating the explorations of Champlain; Mr. Justin Winsor, of the
Library of Harvard College; Mr. Charles A. Cutter, of the Boston
Athenaeum; Mr. John Ward Dean, of the Library of the New England
Historic Genealogical Society; Mrs. John Carter Brown, of Providence,
R. I.; Miss S. E. Dorr, of Boston; Monsieur L. Delisle, Directeur
Général de la Bibliothèque Nationale, of Paris; M. Meschinet De
Richemond, Archiviste de la Charente Inférieure, La Rochelle, France;
the Hon. Charles H. Bell, of Exeter, N. H.; Francis Parkman, LL.D., of
Boston; the Abbé H. R. Casgrain, of Rivière Ouelle, Canada; John G.
Shea, LL.D., of New York; Mr. James M. LeMoine, of Quebec; and Mr.

George Prince, of Bath, Maine.
I take this occasion to state for the information of the members of the
Prince Society, that some important facts contained in the Memoir had
not been received when the text and notes of the second volume were
ready for the press, and, to prevent any delay in the completion of the
whole work, Vol. II. was issued before Vol. I., as will appear by the
dates on their respective title-pages.
E. F. S.
BOSTON, 14 ARLINGTON STREET, November 10, 1880.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
PREFACE MEMOIR OF SAMUEL DE CHAMPLAIN
ANNOTATIONES POSTSCRIPTAE PREFACE TO THE
TRANSLATION DEDICATION TO THE ADMIRAL, CHARLES DE
MONTMORENCY EXTRACT FROM THE LICENSE OF THE
KING THE SAVAGES, OR VOYAGE OF SIEUR DE CHAMPLAIN,
1603 CHAMPLAIN'S EXPLANATION OF THE CARTE DE LA
NOVVELLE FRANCE, 1632 THE PRINCE SOCIETY, ITS
CONSTITUTION AND MEMBERS
ILLUSTRATIONS.
ENGRAVED PORTRAIT OF CHAMPLAIN ON WOOD, AFTER
THE ENGRAVING OF MONCORNET BY E. RONJAT, heliotype.
MAP ILLUSTRATING THE EXPLORATIONS OF CHAMPLAIN,
heliotype. ENGRAVED PORTRAIT OF CHAMPLAIN, AFTER A
PAINTING BY TH. HAMEL FROM AN ENGRAVING OF
MONCORNET, steel. ILLUMINATED TITLE-PAGE OF THE
VOYAGE OF 1615 ET 1618, heliotype. CARTE DE LA NOVVELLE
FRANCE, 1632, heliotype.
INDEX

MEMOIR OF SAMUEL DE CHAMPLAIN.

CHAPTER I.
PARENTAGE--BIRTH--HOME AT BROUAGE--ITS
SITUATION--A MILITARY STATION--ITS SALT WORKS--HIS
EDUCATION--EARLY LOVE OF THE SEA--QUARTER-MASTER
IN BRITTANY--CATHOLICS AND HUGUENOTS--CATHERINE

DE MEDICIS--THE LEAGUE--DUKE DE
MERCOEUR--MARSHAL D'AUMONT--DE SAINT
LUC--MARSHAL DE BRISSAC--PEACE OF VERVINS
Champlain was descended from an ancestry whose names are not
recorded among the renowned families of France. He was the son of
Antoine de Champlain, a captain in the marine, and his wife Marguerite
LeRoy. They lived in the little village of Brouage, in the ancient
province of Saintonge. Of their son Samuel, no contemporaneous
record is known to exist indicating either the day or year of his birth.
The period at which we find him engaged in active and responsible
duties, such as are usually assigned to mature manhood, leads to the
conjecture that he was born about the year 1567. Of his youth little is
known. The forces that contributed to the formation of his character are
mostly to be inferred from the abode of his early years, the occupations
of those by whom he was surrounded, and the temper and spirit of the
times in which he lived.
Brouage is situated in a low, marshy region, on the southern bank of an
inlet or arm of the sea, on the southwestern shores of France, opposite
to that part of the Island of Oleron where it is separated from the
mainland