The Works of Samuel De Champlain Reprinted, Translated & Annotated by Six Canadian Scholars. Edited by H.P. Biggar.

CHAMPLAIN, Samuel de

Published by Toronto, The Champlain Society, 1922

About this Item

8vo. 23.5cm, in 7 volumes, containing 82 maps and plates, many folding, (including separate portfolio of plates and maps), limited and numbered edition (a matched set) in the original crested red cloth, t.e.g., spines variously faded (titles clear). With the text in French and English. T.P.L. 30. Waterston p203. Champlain's vigorous descriptions of Quebec, Tadoussac, the St. Lawrence and Acadian regions were not fully available in English translation until 1936. He presented his comments on trade, exploration and climate in a series of official reports between 1604 and 1632, Samuel de Champlain, explorer and colonizer, was born at Brouage, France, about 1567. Visiting America in 1601, he was appointed royal geographer on his return to France; and in 1603 he made his first visit to the Gulf of St. Lawrence. In 1604 he accompanied Monts's expedition to Acadia, and he spent the next three years exploring and mapping the coasts of Acadia and northern New England. In 1608 he commanded the expedition which founded the post of Quebec and the rest of his life was mainly devoted to making this settlement a success. In 1612 he was appointed commandant in New France; and in 1627 he became Governor of the Colony under the Company of One Hundred Associates. His work as an explorer and geographer, was, however, no less noteworthy than his work as a colonizer. In 1613 he visited the upper Ottawa Valley, and in 1615-16 he reached Georgian Bay, by way of the Ottawa River and Lake Nipissing; spent a winter among the Huron Indians; followed the Trent valley south to Lake Ontario; and penetrated into the Iroquois country in Northern New York. Here Champlain had an encounter with the Iroquois which proved later disastrous for the French colonists; but this result he could hardly have foreseen. Champlain died at Quebec on December 25, 1635 but with the satisfaction of seeing the colony of New France firmly established. His writings are classics of early North American travel. Wallace DCB.

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Bibliographic Details

• Title: The Works of Samuel De Champlain Reprinted, Translated & Annotated by Six Canadian Scholars. Edited by H.P. Biggar.
• Publisher: Toronto, The Champlain Society
• Publication Date: 1922
• Condition: a very good set