Champlain's Dream

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Champlain's Dream
Champlain's Dream.jpg
First edition
Author David Hackett Fischer
Cover artist Johannes Vermeer, The Geographer - 1668/69
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Genre History
Publisher Simon & Schuster
Publication date
14 October 2008
Media typePrint (Hardback & Paperback)
Pages834 p. (hardback edition)
ISBN 9781416593324 (hardback edition)
OCLC 780062304

Champlain's Dream: The European Founding of North America is a biography written by American historian, David Hackett Fischer and published in 2008. It is a biography of French "soldier, spy, master mariner, explorer, cartographer, artist and "Father of New France"", Samuel de Champlain. [1] In this book, Fischer examines more closely Champlain's personal impact on the establishment of a French colony in the New World - securing royal support despite opposition from formidable foes like Marie de Medici and Cardinal Richelieu, negotiating with "Indian nations" and imbuing the new colony with the values of humanism. [2] He is also remembered for having survived 27 crossings of the North Atlantic in 37 years - without ever losing a ship. [1] Despite never being the "senior official" of New France, Champlain functioned as an absolute ruler and as Fischer shows, his vision for New France (a vision that was very much a product of Champlain's upbringing and experiences) helps explain both its triumphs and failures. [2]

Contents

Fischer has substantial experience using the life and perspective of a great leader to tell a broader historical narrative; he employed a similar structure in Washington's Crossing for which he received a Pulitzer Prize in 2005. [2]

Main thesis

Samuel de Champlain arrive a Quebec - George Agnew Reid - 1909 Samuel de Champlain arrive a Quebec - George Agnew Reid - 1909.jpg
Samuel de Champlain arrive à Québec - George Agnew Reid - 1909

Champlain's dreams as an explorer and cartographer are documented in his own writings - one of them was to find a North American passage to China. [3] Ostensibly, his overarching dream was to establish a successful French colony in the New World. This required Champlain to:

Between 1535 and 1601, six French settlements in the New World ended in failure. [5] Champlain carefully studied the experiences of earlier explorers like Jacques Cartier and Pierre de Chauvin. But then, he needed to convince men like the duc de Sully, the King's Chief Minister who thought American colonies were against French national interest as they distracted from business at home. [6] Other noblemen of the time would have preferred domestic reforms to expansion abroad and Champlain stayed alert to their machinations.

Even after royal support could be secured, "rival merchants, competing seaports and the representatives of foreign powers" conspired against the colonies of 'New France' [6] and it fell to Champlain to lead his men to deal with all kinds of problems. The explorers had to claim land, protect it from the "Indian nations" and convince French subjects to emigrate to the New World – a prospect they were much less enthusiastic about than Britishers fleeing religious persecution. [7] Even after all of this was done and the colonies began to run smoothly, he had to regulate unlicensed trade on the rivers and build trading posts to make sure the colony stayed profitable. [8]

But as Fischer puts forward in this book, Champlain's dream went further than that. He envisioned that this colony would be "a place where people of different cultures could live together in amity and concord" and hoped that North America could be this place. [3] He dreamed of collective action, humanistic ideals like peace and tolerance and a Francophone legacy in the new world. Fischer makes frequent reference to Champlain's "grand design" or his sweeping vision.

What Fischer seeks to do in this book, after articulating this aspiration, is ask a series of questions about why this man believed in it and what steps he took to make it a reality.

Fischer's treatment of Champlain

Fischer rejects the view that Champlain was just another European mercenary looking to seize lands and enslave native populations like many other early British and Spanish explorers in North America. He writes admiringly of Champlain's humanist values - that he treated "Indian nations" with respect and pursued peaceful coexistence through policies of "trade alliances, cultural tolerance and intermarriage". [9]

An explanation for Champlain's humanism

Fischer describes the unique character of Brouage, the town of Champlain's youth as the "salty broth in which our hero was cooked". [10] Due to its thriving economy and "cosmopolitan nature", the man historians know as Champlain's father managed to work his way up from a humble ship's pilot to a naval captain in the King's Marine. Thus, Champlain's early life was one of visible opportunity and upwards mobility, an experience that Fischer claims Champlain's later optimism and persistence is a result of.

Brouage was in a region that was deeply suspicious of Paris, the seat of power but enjoyed a "broad diversity of language, culture, religion and ecology". [11] This upbringing inculcated in Champlain an exceptional curiosity about cultural differences. He learned Dutch, English and Spanish in school and from his neighbors and "the art of navigation" from his father. [12] Despite not having a 'classical' education, Samuel de Champlain became skilled in the use of weapons and likely learned map-making from a Champlain family friend who was an "engineer and geographer to the King". [13] Fischer emphasizes the exposure Champlain had as a youth and the different strengths he picked up through his family, his education and his town to show that each served him well in the adventures that would come later on.

Even the small town of Brouage was not immune from the clashes between Calvinists and Roman Catholics that occurred after the Protestant Reformation. Fischer writes about an incident in which a rival port city sent "barges full of sand and rock" to block the channel leading to Brouage and sabotage its trade. [14] After 1628, Brouage was even turned into a garrison by Cardinal Richelieu, its sea trade having been cut off. Even though historians cannot confirm whether Champlain was a Protestant or a Catholic, his writings show the influence of a deep "Christian faith". [15] Fischer goes further, drawing parallels between King Henry IV of France and Champlain, arguing that both men detested intolerance and believed it to be "anti-Christian". [16] He claims that both thought religion was a force for social and political stability, faith was an intensely personal choice and religious controversy mattered far less than "piety, humility and good works". [16]

Fischer claims that Champlain gained an understanding of the need for cultural acceptance, but also limited violence to ensure stability from war.

That Champlain may have been the illegitimate son of the King

One of the new theories published in this book is that Champlain was actually the son of French King, Henry IV. [17] Historians such as Marcel Trudel and Hubert Deschamps have previously expressed belief that Champlain was actually the son of an "unknown French nobleman". [18] Fischer, however, said that both Champlain's "close relationship with the King" and "the King’s travel history in the nine months prior to Champlain’s birth" lead him to believe that Henry IV was in fact the father. At a book reception in Brandeis, Fischer stated that, “He was at the right place at the right time, so to speak. It could have happened. Granted that there is exactly zero hard evidence to support that theory, but [if Henry IV were his father] it would explain many anomalies in their relationship. It’s only a possibility, but it’s very clear that the two of them had a very special relationship.” [19]

The challenges of writing biography on Samuel de Champlain

The defeat of the Iroquois at Lake Champlain Samchamprifle.jpg
The defeat of the Iroquois at Lake Champlain

Many reviewers of Fischer's work pointed out that little is known about Samuel de Champlain- both in the United States and also in Canada. [2] [9] [20] Despite the variety of his achievements, he is a somewhat obscure figure.

There is only a single “authentic likeness . . . is known to survive from his own time”. [2] This likeness is a one-inch engraving wielding an advanced wheel-lock arquebus and with a panache , or a feathery plume in his helmet. [21] Every other portrait or image came much later.

Another is that he wrote "thousands of pages about what he did, but only a few words about who he was" - historians hardly know his birthdate, level of schooling or even whether he was baptized as a Protestant or a Catholic. [22]

Fischer has also offered the view that Champlain may have been forgotten due to the predominance of the Annales school of French historiography. [20] Under its influence, the "structure of society and the details of daily and communal life" were seen as more important subjects for history than great men or major events.

In response to the many questions left unanswered, Fischer devotes a series of Appendices that examine competing theories on subjects from his birthdate to the questions of authorship or authenticity in his surviving writings. [23]

Fischer's views on biography

External video
Nuvola apps kaboodle.svg Presentation by Fischer on Champlain's Dream at the New York Historical Society, October 23, 2008, C-SPAN

In the Introduction to this book, Fischer mentions the need for biography to walk the line between hagiography and iconoclasm. [24]

In an address to the New York Historical Society, Fischer lays out the three rules of biography he picked up from historians Francis Parkman and Samuel Eliot Morison:

  1. "Go there"
  2. "Do it"
  3. "Then write it" [25]

Partly in deference to this process, the Introduction to the book is subtitled In Search of Champlain and Fischer makes frequent mention of the role of "physical evidence" in knowing history. [26]

Reception

Tony Horwitz, writing for The Washington Post , described Champlain's Dream as "exhaustively researched" though perhaps too effusive in its praise for Champlain's character. [9] He writes that Champlain seems “almost perfect, and perfectly dull” and though Fischer tries, Champlain remains an abstract figure and doesn't come alive. Moreover, Horwitz describes the near avoidance of Champlain's love life or trust placed in Champlain's own writings of how the Native Americans loved him as odd notes. He adds that the absence of a dramatic event to offer a tight focus (like in Fischer's other books, Washington's Crossing and Paul Revere's Ride) throws off the book's pace.

Max Boot, in The New York Times , takes the view that this work must be considered within the view of how little documentation exists of Champlain's life and how he "remains a relatively obscure corner of our continent’s history". [2] Since Fischer's "plain, unadorned" prose is seeded with "intriguing ideas", the reader's interest is caught by how this man they barely knew anything about was so versatile and accomplished and how smoothly Fischer's narrative of his life fits its big ideas together.

In general, the response was positive, with Champlain's Dream being declared one of the best books of 2008 by the New York Times (100 Notable Books) and Publishers Weekly (Best Books of the Year) as well as a number of regional papers. [27] It was also a runner-up for the 2009 Cundill Prize. [28]

Related Research Articles

Samuel de Champlain 16/17th-century French explorer of North America

Samuel de Champlain was a French colonist, navigator, cartographer, draftsman, soldier, explorer, geographer, ethnologist, diplomat, and chronicler. He made between 21 and 29 trips across the Atlantic Ocean, and founded Quebec, and New France, on 3 July 1608. An important figure in Canadian history, Champlain created the first accurate coastal map during his explorations, and founded various colonial settlements.

French colonization of the Americas Part of Frances colonial empire

The French colonization of the Americas began in the 16th century and continued on into the following centuries as France established a colonial empire in the Western Hemisphere. France founded colonies in much of eastern North America, on a number of Caribbean islands, and in South America. Most colonies were developed to export products such as fish, rice, sugar, and furs.

New France Area colonized by France in North America

New France was the area colonized by France in North America, beginning with the exploration of the Gulf of Saint Lawrence by Jacques Cartier in 1534 and ending with the cession of New France to Great Britain and Spain in 1763 under the Treaty of Paris (1763).

Coureur des bois French-Canadian independent fur traders

A coureur des bois or coureur de bois was an independent entrepreneurial French-Canadian trader who traveled in New France and the interior of North America, usually to trade with First Nations peoples by exchanging various European items for furs. Some learned the trades and practices of the Indigenous peoples.

Étienne Brûlé was the first European explorer to journey beyond the St. Lawrence River into what is now known as Canada. He spent much of his early adult life among the Hurons, and mastered their language and learned their culture. Brûlé became an interpreter and guide for Samuel de Champlain, who later sent Brûlé on a number of exploratory missions, among which he is thought to have preceded Champlain to the Great Lakes, reuniting with him upon Champlain's first arrival at Lake Huron. Among his many travels were explorations of Georgian Bay and Lake Huron, as well as the Humber and Ottawa Rivers. Champlain agreed to send Brûlé, at his own request, as an interpreter to live among the Onontchataron, an Algonquin people, in 1610. In 1629, during the Anglo-French War, he escaped after being captured by the Seneca tribe. Brûlé was killed by the Bear tribe of the Huron people, who believed he had betrayed them to the Seneca.

Beaver Wars 17th c. wars between Hurons and Iroquois

The Beaver Wars, also known as the Iroquois Wars or the French and Iroquois Wars, encompass a series of conflicts fought intermittently during the 17th century in North America. They were battles for economic dominance throughout the Saint Lawrence River valley in Canada and the lower Great Lakes region which pitted the Iroquois against the northern Algonquians and the Algonquians' French allies. From medieval times, Europeans had obtained furs from Muscovy and Scandinavia. American pelts came on the European market during the 16th century, decades before the French, English, and Dutch established permanent settlements and trading posts on the continent. Basque fishermen chasing cod off Newfoundland's Grand Banks bartered with local Indigenous peoples for beaver robes to help fend off the Atlantic chill. By virtue of their location, the tribes wielded considerable influence in European–Indian relations from the early seventeenth century onwards.

Pierre Dugua, Sieur de Mons French merchant and explorer

Pierre Dugua de Mons was a French merchant, explorer and colonizer. A Calvinist, he was born in the Château de Mons, in Royan, Saintonge and founded the first permanent French settlement in Canada. He travelled to northeastern North America for the first time in 1599 with Pierre de Chauvin de Tonnetuit.

Hiers-Brouage Part of Marennes-Hiers-Brouage in Nouvelle-Aquitaine, France

Hiers-Brouage is a former commune in the Charente-Maritime department, southwestern France. On 1 January 2019, it was merged into the new commune Marennes-Hiers-Brouage.

Company of One Hundred Associates 1600s French fur-trading company in modern Canada

The Company of One Hundred Associates, or Company of New France, was a French trading and colonization company chartered in 1627 to capitalize on the North American fur trade and to expand French colonies there. The company was granted a monopoly to manage the fur trade in the colonies of New France, which were at that time centered on the Saint Lawrence River valley and the Gulf of Saint Lawrence. In return, the company was supposed to settle French Catholics in New France. The Company of One Hundred Associates was dissolved by King Louis XIV, who incorporated New France into a province in 1663.

David Hackett Fischer is University Professor of History at Brandeis University. Fischer's major works have covered topics ranging from large macroeconomic and cultural trends to narrative histories of significant events to explorations of historiography.

Chimney Point, Vermont History museum in Addison, Vermont

Chimney Point is a peninsula in the town of Addison, Vermont, which juts into Lake Champlain forming a narrows. It is one of the earliest settled and most strategic sites in the Champlain Valley.

History of Quebec City Aspect of history

The history of Quebec City extends back thousands of years, with its first inhabitants being the First Nations peoples of the region. The arrival of French explorers in the 16th century eventually led to the establishment of Quebec City, in present-day Quebec, Canada. The city is one of the oldest European settlements in North America, with the establishment of a permanent trading post in 1608.

Hélène Desportes is often cited as the first white child born in Canada. There is considerable disagreement about when she was born and, in particular, if she was born in Quebec or just before she arrived on the continent.

Jean de Biencourt de Poutrincourt et de Saint-Just (1557–1615) was a member of the French nobility best remembered as a commander of the French colonial empire, one of those responsible for establishing the most successful among early attempts to establish a permanent settlement in the North American territory that became known as Acadia, a region of New France.

Nicolas Denys

Nicolas Denys was a French-born merchant, governor, author, and settler in New France. He founded settlements at St. Pierre, Ste. Anne and Nepisiquit.

Events from the year 1611 in Quebec.

France–Americas relations

France–Americas relations started in the 16th century, soon after the discovery of the New World by Christopher Columbus, and have developed over a period of several centuries.

The Cundill History Prize was founded in 2008 by Peter Cundill to recognize and promote literary and academic achievement in history. The prize is presented annually to an author who has published a non-fiction book in the prior year that is likely to have profound literary, social, and academic impact in the area of history. At a value of $75,000 U.S., the Grand Prize is claimed to be the richest non-fiction historical literature prize in the world. In addition, two "Recognition of Excellence" prizes of $10,000 U.S. each are awarded. The winners of the Prizes are selected by an independent jury of at least five internationally qualified individuals selected by McGill University. The Cundill Prize in History at McGill is administered by McGill University's Dean of Arts, with the help of the McGill Institute for the Study of Canada (MISC).

The action of 17 July 1628 took place during the Anglo-French War (1627–1629). The English force led by the Kirke brothers succeeded in capturing a supply convoy bound for New France, severely impairing that colony's ability to resist attack.

Battle of Sorel

The Battle of Sorel occurred on June 19, 1610, with Samuel de Champlain supported by the Kingdom of France and his allies, the Huron, Algonquin people, and Montagnais that fought against the Mohawk people in New France at present-day Sorel-Tracy, Quebec. The forces of Champlain armed with the arquebus engaged and killed or captured nearly all of the Mohawks. The battle ended major hostilities with the Mohawks for twenty years.

References

  1. 1 2 "Champlain's dream". sasklibraries.ca. Archived from the original on 2015-07-03. Retrieved 2015-07-02.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Boot, Max (2008-10-31). "They Didn't Name That Lake for Nothing". The New York Times . Retrieved 2016-01-07.
  3. 1 2 Fischer 2008, p 7
  4. Fischer 2008, p 345
  5. Fischer 2008, p 113
  6. 1 2 Fischer 2008, p 119
  7. Fischer 2008, p 445
  8. Fischer 2008, p 455
  9. 1 2 3 "The Ideal Colonist". washingtonpost.com.
  10. Fischer 2008, p 15
  11. Fischer 2008, p 37
  12. Fischer 2008, p 26
  13. Fischer 2008, p 25
  14. Fischer 2008, p 20
  15. Fischer 2008, p 23
  16. 1 2 Fischer 2008, p 57
  17. Fischer 2008, p 45
  18. Fischer 2008, p 43
  19. "The Brandeis Hoot » Hackett Fischer discusses book Champlain's Dream". thebrandeishoot.com.
  20. 1 2 "Champlain's dream lives on in North America". The Globe and Mail.
  21. Fischer 2008, p 3
  22. Fischer 2008, p 4
  23. Fischer 2008, p 569-635
  24. Fischer 2008, p 10
  25. "Book Discussion Champlain's Dream - Video - C-SPAN.org". C-SPAN.org.
  26. Fischer 2008, p 1
  27. http://list.uvm.edu/cgi-bin/wa?A3=ind0903&L=CRVNET&E=base64&P=2775981&B=--------------060704000800050107030504&T=application%2Fmsword;%20name=%22Champlain's%20Dream-Reviews.doc%22&N=Champlain's%20Dream-Reviews.doc.
  28. "2009 Short List - Cundill Prize in History". cundillprize.com. Archived from the original on 2015-06-29. Retrieved 2015-07-02.

Bibliography