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Samuel de Champlain was born on August 13th, 1574. He was French, so he was born at Brouage in Frace. He is the son of Marguerite Le Roy and Antoine Champlain.
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Samuel joined the French military in 1587. He accompanied his uncle who was the Pilot-General.
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In January of 1599, Champlain joined the Spanish fleet. He sailed on the "St. Julian" in the New World. It was to search for English privateers in the Carribean.
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In 1602, Champlain was given a chance to join an exploration led by a merchnat named Pontgrave. They were going to colonize lands in "New France" (Canada). The ship that they sailed on was called "St. Julian".
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Champlain discovered a great freshwater lake, and named it Lake Champlain. It's now on the present day border of Vermont and New York.
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On March 15th, 1603, he set sail from Honfleur, France. It was in an expedition consisting of two different ships. He, and the people he was with, followed the route shown in Jaques Cartier's map. He also joined the expedition under Pontgrave, which had been organized by Gov. Aymer de Chastes.
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In July 1608, after he returned to Acadia from going back to France, he founded Quebec City. Which is one reason why he has the nickname, "The Father of Canada" or "The Father of New France".
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In the summer of 1609, a war was started between native groups in Canada. Samuel decided he and his French men would join. One side was the French, Algonquins, Montganais, and Hurons. They wanted to fight their enemies, the Iroquois. Champlain is considered a bad leader because of this. As predicted, the French and the Algonquin won the war.
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In 1610, Champlain (43) married Helene Boulle (12). In 1611, Champlain left to return to Quebec to continue his exploration of the St. Lawerence River.
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In 1615, Champlain make his very last voyage to Lake Huron in Ontario.
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Throughout 1628, a war broke out between England and France. This left Samuel de Champlain having to surrender Quebec to the English. Then he returned to France. Later that year, a peace treaty was signed. He returned to Quebec as a govenor.
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Champlain was very ill from October to December, 1635. At the age of 61, Samuel de Champlain died of a stroke. He made many explorations, and found important discoveries. Which makes him one of the most famous explorers today. He was a prominent figure, and leading spirit in French exploration and colonization in America.
