Samuel de Champlain, born into a family…

July 1602 CE

Samuel de Champlain, born into a family of mariners (both his father and uncle-in-law were sailors, or navigators), had learned to navigate, draw, make nautical charts, and write practical reports.

As each French fleet had to assure its own defense at sea, Champlain sought to learn fighting with the firearms of his time: he acquired this practical knowledge when serving with the army of King Henry IV during the later stages of France's religious wars in Brittany from 1594 or 1595 to 1598, beginning as a quartermaster responsible for the feeding and care of horses.

During this time he claimed to go on a "certain secret voyage" for the king, and saw combat (including maybe the Siege of Fort Crozon, at the end of 1594).

He was by 1597 a "capitaine d'une compagnie", serving in a garrison near Quimper.

His uncle-in-law, a navigator whose ship Saint-Julien had been chartered to transport Spanish troops to Cadiz pursuant to the Treaty of Vervins, had given Champlain the opportunity to accompany him in 1598.

After a difficult passage, he spent some time in Cadiz before his uncle, whose ship was then chartered to accompany a large Spanish fleet to the West Indies, again offered in a place on the ship.

His uncle, who had given command of the ship to Jeronimo de Vallebrera, instructed the young Champlain to watch over the ship.

This journey had lasted two years, and had given Champlain the opportunity to see or hear about Spanish holdings from the Caribbean to Mexico City.

Along the way he took detailed notes, and wrote an illustrated report on what he learned on this trip, and gave this secret report to King Henry,who rewarded Champlain with an annual pension.

Secret, this report was very late published for the first time (it was in 1870 by Laverdière), as Brief Discours des Choses plus remarquables que Sammuel Champlain de Brouage a reconneues aux Indes Occidentalles au voiage qu'il en a faict en icettes en l'année 1599 et en l'année 1601, comme ensuite (and in English as Narrative of a Voyage to the West Indies and Mexico 1599–1602).

The authenticity of this account as a work written by Champlain has frequently been questioned, due to inaccuracies and discrepancies with other sources on a number of points; however, recent scholarship indicates that the work probably was authored by Champlain.

On Champlain's return to Cadiz in August 1600, his uncle, who had fallen ill, had asked him to look after his business affairs.

This Champlain did, and when his uncle died in June 1601, Champlain had inherited his substantial estate, comprising an estate near La Rochelle, commercial properties in Spain, and a 150-ton merchant ship.

This inheritance, combined with the king's annual pension, has given the young explorer a great deal of independence, as he is not dependent on the financial backing of merchants and other investors.

Champlain has served from 1601 to 1603 as a geographer in the court of King Henry.

As part of his duties he has traveled to French ports and learned much about North America from the fishermen that seasonally travel to coastal areas from Nantucket to Newfoundland to capitalize on the rich fishing grounds there.

He has also made a study of previous French failures at colonization in the area, including that of Pierre de Chauvin at Tadoussac.

When Chauvin forfeits his monopoly on fur trade in North America in 1602, responsibility for renewing the trade is given given to Aymar de Chaste.

Champlain approaches de Chaste about a position on the first voyage, which he receives with the king's assent.