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Champlain by Christopher Moore
“One July day four hundred years ago, Samuel de Champlain stepped out of a small boat at Quebec and began a great adventure.” So begins Christopher Moore’s riveting account of the life of the extraordinary, daring “father of New France.”
Samuel de Champlain helped found the first permanent French settlement in the New World; he established the village that eventually became the great city of Quebec; he was a skilled cartographer who gave us many of our first accurate maps of North America; he forged alliances with Native nations that laid the foundations for vast trading networks; and as governor, he set New France on the road to becoming a productive, self-sufficient, thriving colony.
But Champlain was also a man who suffered his share of defeats and disappointments. That first permanent settlement was abandoned after a disastrous winter claimed the lives of half the colonists. His marriage to a child bride was unhappy and marked by long separations. Eventually Quebec had to be surrendered temporarily to the English in 1629.
In this remarkable book, illustrated entirely with paintings, archival maps, and original artifacts, Christopher Moore brings to life this complex man and, through him, creates a portrait of Canada in its earliest days.
Champlain is illustrated with archival maps and paintings. Additional artwork has been provided by Francis Back.
Samuel de Champlain helped found the first permanent French settlement in the New World; he established the village that eventually became the great city of Quebec; he was a skilled cartographer who gave us many of our first accurate maps of North America; he forged alliances with Native nations that laid the foundations for vast trading networks; and as governor, he set New France on the road to becoming a productive, self-sufficient, thriving colony.
But Champlain was also a man who suffered his share of defeats and disappointments. That first permanent settlement was abandoned after a disastrous winter claimed the lives of half the colonists. His marriage to a child bride was unhappy and marked by long separations. Eventually Quebec had to be surrendered temporarily to the English in 1629.
In this remarkable book, illustrated entirely with paintings, archival maps, and original artifacts, Christopher Moore brings to life this complex man and, through him, creates a portrait of Canada in its earliest days.
Champlain is illustrated with archival maps and paintings. Additional artwork has been provided by Francis Back.
Hardcover
First published August 24, 2004
17 people want to read
About the author
Christopher Moore
25 books11 followersLibrarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name.
(2)
Christopher Moore has been described as Canada's most versatile writer of history. Twice a winner of the Governor General's Award (and other literary prizes), he writes widely about Canadian history for adults and children. He has also developed historical materials for historic sites, museums, radio, and television, and he speaks frequently to a wide variety of audiences.
He writes a long-running column on history and historians for Canada's History Magazine. A past chair of the Writers' Union of Canada, Christopher Moore lives in Toronto.
(2)
Christopher Moore has been described as Canada's most versatile writer of history. Twice a winner of the Governor General's Award (and other literary prizes), he writes widely about Canadian history for adults and children. He has also developed historical materials for historic sites, museums, radio, and television, and he speaks frequently to a wide variety of audiences.
He writes a long-running column on history and historians for Canada's History Magazine. A past chair of the Writers' Union of Canada, Christopher Moore lives in Toronto.
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
August 7, 2016
Visually beautiful, with historically accurate art work and photos, this book is a feast for the eyes. The story of Champlain is told in a narrative form, sometimes straying into a patronizing tone that is slightly immature for the content and reading level. “Would anyone there have work for a bold young man who was now an experienced sailor and traveller? Yes, they would.”
Taking a much more balanced approach to First Peoples than many writings about Champlain this book focus quite heavily on his alliance with the First Nations people and the early French settlers’ reliance on them. This book offers a more tempered and realistic approach to this subject as both people learned from one another and quickly became dependent upon each other.
This is a nice introduction to Champlain and the settling of New France. It is very much a brief overview, giving little in depth detail about his life, rather skimming highlights. Although he had many exciting adventures the author holds strictly to the facts without allowing for any sensationalism.
One of the greatest advantages over others which cover this period in New France’s history is the way in which the Iroquois are addressed. Rather than being painted as evil attackers, this book offers a far more balanced and factual approach. It explains that with a very similar lifestyle to the Huron, the two people groups were trade rivals. The French aligned themselves with the Huron, the English with the Iroquois and this escalated a trade war that had already been in existence.
Teacher Application
A useful book for learning about Champlain and early New France. This book is better suited to jr.-high school students as it is simply told, but doesn’t elaborate very much on the more exciting experiences in his life. Only giving passing mention to things like being shot by Iroquois on the war path. Younger students would likely enjoy a book which focused more heavily on these moments, and less on the mundane.
There is not a chronology included in the book. Students could create a timeline for either the settlement of New France or Champlain’s life.
Contents:
Foreword
The Early Years
First Attempts at Settlement
Canada 1608
The struggle to build New France
Alliances and Explorations
A Thriving Settlement
Champlain the Canadian
After Champlain
The Champlain Mysteries
Historic Sites and Monuments
Reading About Champlain
Acknowledgements and Illustration Credits
Index
Taking a much more balanced approach to First Peoples than many writings about Champlain this book focus quite heavily on his alliance with the First Nations people and the early French settlers’ reliance on them. This book offers a more tempered and realistic approach to this subject as both people learned from one another and quickly became dependent upon each other.
This is a nice introduction to Champlain and the settling of New France. It is very much a brief overview, giving little in depth detail about his life, rather skimming highlights. Although he had many exciting adventures the author holds strictly to the facts without allowing for any sensationalism.
One of the greatest advantages over others which cover this period in New France’s history is the way in which the Iroquois are addressed. Rather than being painted as evil attackers, this book offers a far more balanced and factual approach. It explains that with a very similar lifestyle to the Huron, the two people groups were trade rivals. The French aligned themselves with the Huron, the English with the Iroquois and this escalated a trade war that had already been in existence.
Teacher Application
A useful book for learning about Champlain and early New France. This book is better suited to jr.-high school students as it is simply told, but doesn’t elaborate very much on the more exciting experiences in his life. Only giving passing mention to things like being shot by Iroquois on the war path. Younger students would likely enjoy a book which focused more heavily on these moments, and less on the mundane.
There is not a chronology included in the book. Students could create a timeline for either the settlement of New France or Champlain’s life.
Contents:
Foreword
The Early Years
First Attempts at Settlement
Canada 1608
The struggle to build New France
Alliances and Explorations
A Thriving Settlement
Champlain the Canadian
After Champlain
The Champlain Mysteries
Historic Sites and Monuments
Reading About Champlain
Acknowledgements and Illustration Credits
Index
July 16, 2015
This is just the type of children's biography that I recommend adults read when they want a little information but do not want to drown in a 400+ page adult biography. As for children, this book is aimed at middle school grades and above. Moore presents Champlain's life from his earliest days until his death explaining what is known about his life and what is not. The illustrations, which are historically accurate to the best of our knowledge, help the reader visualize Champlain's surroundings. Various additional information is provided in the back of the book with the only thing that could possibly be added is a chronology. I thought the book was excellent although Moore stumbled a bit at the end trying to address the harm done to the Native Americans with the European colonization.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews