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Champlain's Dream
Winner of the Pritzker Literature Award for Lifetime Achievement in Military Writing
In this sweeping, enthralling biography, acclaimed historian David Hackett Fischer brings to life the remarkable Samuel de Champlain—soldier, spy, master mariner, explorer, cartographer, artist, and Father of New France.
Born on France's Atlantic coast, Champlain grew to manhood in a country riven by religious warfare. The historical record is unclear on whether Champlain was baptized Protestant or Catholic, but he fought in France's religious wars for the man who would become Henri IV, one of France's greatest kings, and like Henri, he was religiously tolerant in an age of murderous sectarianism. Champlain was also a brilliant navigator. He went to sea as a boy and over time acquired the skills that allowed him to make twenty-seven Atlantic crossings without losing a ship.
But we remember Champlain mainly as a great explorer. On foot and by ship and canoe, he traveled through what are now six Canadian provinces and five American states. Over more than thirty years he founded, colonized, and administered French settlements in North America. Sailing frequently between France and Canada, he maneuvered through court intrigue in Paris and negotiated among more than a dozen Indian nations in North America to establish New France. Champlain had early support from Henri IV and later Louis XIII, but the Queen Regent Marie de Medici and Cardinal Richelieu opposed his efforts. Despite much resistance and many defeats, Champlain, by his astonishing dedication and stamina, finally established France's New World colony. He tried constantly to maintain peace among Indian nations that were sometimes at war with one another, but when he had to, he took up arms and forcefully imposed a new balance of power, proving himself a formidable strategist and warrior.
Throughout his three decades in North America, Champlain remained committed to a remarkable vision, a Grand Design for France's colony. He encouraged intermarriage among the French colonists and the natives, and he insisted on tolerance for Protestants. He was a visionary leader, especially when compared to his English and Spanish contemporaries—a man who dreamed of humanity and peace in a world of cruelty and violence.
This superb biography, the first in decades, is as dramatic and exciting as the life it portrays. Deeply researched, it is illustrated throughout with many contemporary images and maps, including several drawn by Champlain himself.
In this sweeping, enthralling biography, acclaimed historian David Hackett Fischer brings to life the remarkable Samuel de Champlain—soldier, spy, master mariner, explorer, cartographer, artist, and Father of New France.
Born on France's Atlantic coast, Champlain grew to manhood in a country riven by religious warfare. The historical record is unclear on whether Champlain was baptized Protestant or Catholic, but he fought in France's religious wars for the man who would become Henri IV, one of France's greatest kings, and like Henri, he was religiously tolerant in an age of murderous sectarianism. Champlain was also a brilliant navigator. He went to sea as a boy and over time acquired the skills that allowed him to make twenty-seven Atlantic crossings without losing a ship.
But we remember Champlain mainly as a great explorer. On foot and by ship and canoe, he traveled through what are now six Canadian provinces and five American states. Over more than thirty years he founded, colonized, and administered French settlements in North America. Sailing frequently between France and Canada, he maneuvered through court intrigue in Paris and negotiated among more than a dozen Indian nations in North America to establish New France. Champlain had early support from Henri IV and later Louis XIII, but the Queen Regent Marie de Medici and Cardinal Richelieu opposed his efforts. Despite much resistance and many defeats, Champlain, by his astonishing dedication and stamina, finally established France's New World colony. He tried constantly to maintain peace among Indian nations that were sometimes at war with one another, but when he had to, he took up arms and forcefully imposed a new balance of power, proving himself a formidable strategist and warrior.
Throughout his three decades in North America, Champlain remained committed to a remarkable vision, a Grand Design for France's colony. He encouraged intermarriage among the French colonists and the natives, and he insisted on tolerance for Protestants. He was a visionary leader, especially when compared to his English and Spanish contemporaries—a man who dreamed of humanity and peace in a world of cruelty and violence.
This superb biography, the first in decades, is as dramatic and exciting as the life it portrays. Deeply researched, it is illustrated throughout with many contemporary images and maps, including several drawn by Champlain himself.
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First published October 14, 2008
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About the author
David Hackett Fischer
19 books496 followersDavid Hackett Fischer is University Professor of History Emeritus at Brandeis University and one of America’s most influential historians. His work spans cultural history, economics, and narrative nonfiction, with major titles including Albion’s Seed, The Great Wave, Paul Revere’s Ride, and the Pulitzer Prize-winning Washington’s Crossing. Educated at Princeton and Johns Hopkins, Fischer has combined scholarly depth with accessible storytelling throughout his career. His Champlain’s Dream further showcased his skill for biographical history, earning international recognition. Honored with the Pritzker Literature Award for Lifetime Achievement in Military Writing, he is celebrated for both his groundbreaking research and his dedication to teaching.
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April 26, 2016
Having grown up a Minnesotan, I feel a lot of affinity towards Canada. After all, Canadians and Minnesotans share a high tolerance for cold; a generally pleasant disposition towards strangers; and a love of ice hockey and maple syrup. Furthermore, after transplanting to Nebraska – the unaccented home of the Gallup corporation – I’ve been told that my accent is very similar to the parodied intonations of our northern neighbors.
That said, I grew up mostly ignorant of the French-Canadian influence on my home state, even though it’s all around. I was born in Hennepin County, took Nicollet Avenue to school, and spent a week each summer paddling around the Boundary Waters, after which my friends and I would head to Grand Marais for pizza at Sven & Ole’s. You really can’t take two steps without running into a Faribault, a Fond du Lac, or a Le Sueur. Yet I never really gave all these strange names a second thought.
One reason, of course, is that it doesn’t seem strange if you’ve been there the whole time. Another reason is that I was a kid at the time, and kids are stupid.
Also, though, I think there’s something to be said about our ignorance of the history of New France and its impact on the United States. The French colonization of Canada is consistently overshadowed by the English settlements that eventually grew into the thirteen original tea-chucking tax-hating colonies. I’d venture most Americans can tell you something about John Smith and Jamestown, or about the pilgrims and Plymouth Rock. There are probably significantly less people who know the history behind Tadoussac, Trois-Rivieres, or Quebec.
To be sure, I’m no expert on the subject. My reading on New France has mostly taken place in the context of the French and Indian War. For instance, I know how France lost Canada to Great Britain. And I can also tell you why: based on repeat viewings of Michael Mann’s The Last of the Mohicans, it seems that Daniel Day Lewis and his flowing locks accomplished this task singlehandedly.
That said, I didn't know a whole lot about why the French were there in the first place. David Hackett Fischer’s Champlain’s Dream has definitely helped in that regard.
Champlain’s Dream is a sprawling biography of Samuel de Champlain, the man who rightly deserved his title of the Father of New France, even if that title doesn’t mean much today. Champlain was a Frenchman of uncertain origin (Fischer devotes an entire appendix trying to track down the date of his birth) who gained prominence as a soldier, mariner, artist, cartographer and explorer. He was also a talented politician in the King’s Court, lobbying ceaselessly for his grand project: the colonization of Canada.
Fischer is certainly the author to take on this ambitious subject. He is a noted historian and a dogged researcher. His prose might not send you into fits of rapture, but he is certainly as easy to read as any other popular historian working today. Moreover, as he did with his Pulitzer Prize-winning Washington’s Crossing, he delivers a complete package. Champlain’s Dream is almost an embarrassment of riches, if we define riches as knowledge, rather than diamonds and rubies (there are no diamonds or rubies).
For one, Champlain’s Dream avoids the annoying tendency of nonfiction books to gather a half-assed collection of photographs, stick them in center, and claim “illustrated” status. Here, the illustrations occur throughout the book, and they are placed to be, you know, illustrative. If Fischer is talking about a historical figure, that person’s portrait will appear on that page. If he’s talking about a battle, he’ll feature a woodcut of that engagement. There are two traditional picture sections, comprised of handsome color plates. There is also a profusion of maps, both historical and modern. The modern maps are clear and uncluttered, which is helpful for someone like myself, with the spatial orientation of a drunk hobo who has just been spun around three times.
If Fischer’s main text is not enough to satiate your voracious appetite for New France trivia, there are sixteen (!) appendices covering a diverse array of topics, such as a description of Champlain’s arquebus, a chronology of Champlain’s voyages, and a discussion of 16th century weights and measurements. But wait, there’s still more, if you care to turn to the abundantly annotated “notes” section. Don’t worry about information overload, though; Fischer helpfully provides a “conclusion” chapter, that neatly summarizes everything.
With all that said, Champlain’s Dream starts a bit slow. The early chapters, detailing the origin and childhood of young Champlain, is hampered by a lack of solid evidence. Unfortunately, many of Champlain’s papers have disappeared. Thus, in the early going, Fischer has to do a lot of detective work, tracing down leads, reasoning by analogy, and making learned assumptions. Fischer is careful and methodical in this task, but frankly, it doesn’t make for an invigorating narrative.
Things get only mildly better as Champlain reaches early adulthood. Here, the story gets a bit confusing, especially for those (such as myself) who are not versed in French history. Champlain gets embroiled in France’s complicated Wars of Religion, which involved a great deal of needless enmity and the toppling of several monarchies. There is so much happening, and Fischer is trying so hard to keep everything straight, that Champlain fades into the background. He doesn’t become a character – a recognizable man – until he starts making his voyages to North America.
Not coincidentally, this is where Champlain’s Dream hits its stride. Fischer is at his best relating Champlain’s explorations in the New World. There are fraught ocean passages, bold expeditions, and more than a few battles with the indigenous peoples (Fischer begins his book with a recounting of Champlain’s defeat of the Iroquois on the shores of Lake Champlain).
While there is a great deal of adventure, Fischer spends much of his time on dual political intrigues. The first of these took place in France, and involved Champlain’s continuing efforts to keep New France alive, even as various kings rose and fell. For some reason, France was never near as serious about colonizing North America as Great Britain. Accordingly, it fell almost solely on Champlain to keep the flame alive, even if there were times when New France was more an ideal than a reality. What makes Champlain’s exploits even more impressive is that he was not a nobleman. In an era that worshiped bloodlines, he carved his niche on merit alone. (Well, merit, and the ability to promote his merit). Though he was never made a governor of New France, all who lived their recognized him as their true leader.
The second political intrigue, far more fascinating than the first, concerned Champlain’s dealings with the Indians. Throughout Champlain’s Dream, Fischer presents Champlain as a conservative humanist. He dealt with the various Indian tribes with honesty, respect, and compassion. Fischer contends this behavior came about from Champlain’s time in New Spain, where Champlain witnessed firsthand the cruelty of the Spaniards towards Indians and African slaves. Make no mistake, Champlain was a killer, but when he took to the woods, arquebus in hand, he did so with a larger strategic goal in mind. He allied with the Montagnais against the Iroquois in an attempt to bring about a wider peace.
Whether or not you approve of Champlain’s methods, it’s clear that New France had far better relationships with the Indian tribes than the English colonies along the Atlantic seaboard. Champlain’s vision – his “dream,” if you will – was almost utopian. What he wanted for New France was integration between French and Indian, in the hope of lasting peace. This is in marked contrast to Great Britain’s colonies, which sparked several genocidal conflicts with the Indians.
Treatment of the indigenous tribes ties into one of Fischer’s overarching themes: the contrast between New France, which faded, and New England, which succeeded. Fischer does not get all starry-eyed about New France. He states very starkly that New France was not a land of liberty and freedom; rather, it was an extension of France itself, with all her hierarchies and strict castes. Despite this, it had humanistic tendencies and a willingness to coexist with Indians. New England, on the other hand, was a refuge for those seeking to escape persecution and oppression; it was a place that valued the then-evolving concept of liberty. Unfortunately, that liberty often entailed using the Indians for short-term gain before discarding them at will.
Much of what was once known about Champlain has been lost. It is a testament to Fischer’s abilities that, by the end of the book, as Champlain lay dying, that I felt for him as a human being, rather than some guy who found a pretty lake. Still, there are so many gaps in Champlain’s life that Champlain’s Dream works better as a history of New France than as a traditional biography.
One of the nagging gaps is Champlain’s enigmatic marriage to Helene Boulle. The book’s overall quality notwithstanding, Fischer’s handling of this couple is either strikingly naïve or needlessly discrete. Champlain was in his forties when he became betrothed to the twelve year-old Helene, an arrangement that isn’t even legal in Arkansas. They lived apart most of their marriage, had no children, and even Fischer concedes they probably never consummated their union. Nevertheless, Fischer believes their marriage had several happy years, during the time Helene lived in New France. Really, though, there is no proof of that. And I can’t be the only one to draw a different conclusion about Champlain based on these facts: that Champlain was a bachelor most of his life; that he never had a child with his wife; that he refused the advances of numerous Indians maidens who threw themselves at his feet; and that he was Catholic. Put those pieces together and it starts to sound like a list. I’m not saying that Champlain was gay, just that it sounds like he was gay (which, for the record, is perfectly fine). In any event, while Fischer extrapolates a lot from scarce evidence, he doesn’t touch this question with a twelve-foot-long halberd.
Overall, though, this is as complete a treatment of Champlain as you will read (barring the discovery of more of Champlain’s papers inside a dusty old French attic). It is insightful, detailed, comprehensible and – a rare enough trait – optimistic without being hagiographic. Fischer is not a historian to shy away from one-time heroes for the sake of political correctness. He embraces Champlain as a world-historical figure without a hint of hand-wringing about the flood-tide of war and disease and displacement that followed in his wake.
I had absolutely no interest in Samuel de Champlain or New France before I picked up this book. I read it on Fischer’s reputation alone (having thoroughly enjoyed Washington’s Crossing). I think it’s a measure of its quality that it created an interest within me where before there has been nothing but warmed-over Canada jokes and a short stack of half-digested pancakes.
That said, I grew up mostly ignorant of the French-Canadian influence on my home state, even though it’s all around. I was born in Hennepin County, took Nicollet Avenue to school, and spent a week each summer paddling around the Boundary Waters, after which my friends and I would head to Grand Marais for pizza at Sven & Ole’s. You really can’t take two steps without running into a Faribault, a Fond du Lac, or a Le Sueur. Yet I never really gave all these strange names a second thought.
One reason, of course, is that it doesn’t seem strange if you’ve been there the whole time. Another reason is that I was a kid at the time, and kids are stupid.
Also, though, I think there’s something to be said about our ignorance of the history of New France and its impact on the United States. The French colonization of Canada is consistently overshadowed by the English settlements that eventually grew into the thirteen original tea-chucking tax-hating colonies. I’d venture most Americans can tell you something about John Smith and Jamestown, or about the pilgrims and Plymouth Rock. There are probably significantly less people who know the history behind Tadoussac, Trois-Rivieres, or Quebec.
To be sure, I’m no expert on the subject. My reading on New France has mostly taken place in the context of the French and Indian War. For instance, I know how France lost Canada to Great Britain. And I can also tell you why: based on repeat viewings of Michael Mann’s The Last of the Mohicans, it seems that Daniel Day Lewis and his flowing locks accomplished this task singlehandedly.
That said, I didn't know a whole lot about why the French were there in the first place. David Hackett Fischer’s Champlain’s Dream has definitely helped in that regard.
Champlain’s Dream is a sprawling biography of Samuel de Champlain, the man who rightly deserved his title of the Father of New France, even if that title doesn’t mean much today. Champlain was a Frenchman of uncertain origin (Fischer devotes an entire appendix trying to track down the date of his birth) who gained prominence as a soldier, mariner, artist, cartographer and explorer. He was also a talented politician in the King’s Court, lobbying ceaselessly for his grand project: the colonization of Canada.
Fischer is certainly the author to take on this ambitious subject. He is a noted historian and a dogged researcher. His prose might not send you into fits of rapture, but he is certainly as easy to read as any other popular historian working today. Moreover, as he did with his Pulitzer Prize-winning Washington’s Crossing, he delivers a complete package. Champlain’s Dream is almost an embarrassment of riches, if we define riches as knowledge, rather than diamonds and rubies (there are no diamonds or rubies).
For one, Champlain’s Dream avoids the annoying tendency of nonfiction books to gather a half-assed collection of photographs, stick them in center, and claim “illustrated” status. Here, the illustrations occur throughout the book, and they are placed to be, you know, illustrative. If Fischer is talking about a historical figure, that person’s portrait will appear on that page. If he’s talking about a battle, he’ll feature a woodcut of that engagement. There are two traditional picture sections, comprised of handsome color plates. There is also a profusion of maps, both historical and modern. The modern maps are clear and uncluttered, which is helpful for someone like myself, with the spatial orientation of a drunk hobo who has just been spun around three times.
If Fischer’s main text is not enough to satiate your voracious appetite for New France trivia, there are sixteen (!) appendices covering a diverse array of topics, such as a description of Champlain’s arquebus, a chronology of Champlain’s voyages, and a discussion of 16th century weights and measurements. But wait, there’s still more, if you care to turn to the abundantly annotated “notes” section. Don’t worry about information overload, though; Fischer helpfully provides a “conclusion” chapter, that neatly summarizes everything.
With all that said, Champlain’s Dream starts a bit slow. The early chapters, detailing the origin and childhood of young Champlain, is hampered by a lack of solid evidence. Unfortunately, many of Champlain’s papers have disappeared. Thus, in the early going, Fischer has to do a lot of detective work, tracing down leads, reasoning by analogy, and making learned assumptions. Fischer is careful and methodical in this task, but frankly, it doesn’t make for an invigorating narrative.
Things get only mildly better as Champlain reaches early adulthood. Here, the story gets a bit confusing, especially for those (such as myself) who are not versed in French history. Champlain gets embroiled in France’s complicated Wars of Religion, which involved a great deal of needless enmity and the toppling of several monarchies. There is so much happening, and Fischer is trying so hard to keep everything straight, that Champlain fades into the background. He doesn’t become a character – a recognizable man – until he starts making his voyages to North America.
Not coincidentally, this is where Champlain’s Dream hits its stride. Fischer is at his best relating Champlain’s explorations in the New World. There are fraught ocean passages, bold expeditions, and more than a few battles with the indigenous peoples (Fischer begins his book with a recounting of Champlain’s defeat of the Iroquois on the shores of Lake Champlain).
While there is a great deal of adventure, Fischer spends much of his time on dual political intrigues. The first of these took place in France, and involved Champlain’s continuing efforts to keep New France alive, even as various kings rose and fell. For some reason, France was never near as serious about colonizing North America as Great Britain. Accordingly, it fell almost solely on Champlain to keep the flame alive, even if there were times when New France was more an ideal than a reality. What makes Champlain’s exploits even more impressive is that he was not a nobleman. In an era that worshiped bloodlines, he carved his niche on merit alone. (Well, merit, and the ability to promote his merit). Though he was never made a governor of New France, all who lived their recognized him as their true leader.
The second political intrigue, far more fascinating than the first, concerned Champlain’s dealings with the Indians. Throughout Champlain’s Dream, Fischer presents Champlain as a conservative humanist. He dealt with the various Indian tribes with honesty, respect, and compassion. Fischer contends this behavior came about from Champlain’s time in New Spain, where Champlain witnessed firsthand the cruelty of the Spaniards towards Indians and African slaves. Make no mistake, Champlain was a killer, but when he took to the woods, arquebus in hand, he did so with a larger strategic goal in mind. He allied with the Montagnais against the Iroquois in an attempt to bring about a wider peace.
Whether or not you approve of Champlain’s methods, it’s clear that New France had far better relationships with the Indian tribes than the English colonies along the Atlantic seaboard. Champlain’s vision – his “dream,” if you will – was almost utopian. What he wanted for New France was integration between French and Indian, in the hope of lasting peace. This is in marked contrast to Great Britain’s colonies, which sparked several genocidal conflicts with the Indians.
Treatment of the indigenous tribes ties into one of Fischer’s overarching themes: the contrast between New France, which faded, and New England, which succeeded. Fischer does not get all starry-eyed about New France. He states very starkly that New France was not a land of liberty and freedom; rather, it was an extension of France itself, with all her hierarchies and strict castes. Despite this, it had humanistic tendencies and a willingness to coexist with Indians. New England, on the other hand, was a refuge for those seeking to escape persecution and oppression; it was a place that valued the then-evolving concept of liberty. Unfortunately, that liberty often entailed using the Indians for short-term gain before discarding them at will.
Much of what was once known about Champlain has been lost. It is a testament to Fischer’s abilities that, by the end of the book, as Champlain lay dying, that I felt for him as a human being, rather than some guy who found a pretty lake. Still, there are so many gaps in Champlain’s life that Champlain’s Dream works better as a history of New France than as a traditional biography.
One of the nagging gaps is Champlain’s enigmatic marriage to Helene Boulle. The book’s overall quality notwithstanding, Fischer’s handling of this couple is either strikingly naïve or needlessly discrete. Champlain was in his forties when he became betrothed to the twelve year-old Helene, an arrangement that isn’t even legal in Arkansas. They lived apart most of their marriage, had no children, and even Fischer concedes they probably never consummated their union. Nevertheless, Fischer believes their marriage had several happy years, during the time Helene lived in New France. Really, though, there is no proof of that. And I can’t be the only one to draw a different conclusion about Champlain based on these facts: that Champlain was a bachelor most of his life; that he never had a child with his wife; that he refused the advances of numerous Indians maidens who threw themselves at his feet; and that he was Catholic. Put those pieces together and it starts to sound like a list. I’m not saying that Champlain was gay, just that it sounds like he was gay (which, for the record, is perfectly fine). In any event, while Fischer extrapolates a lot from scarce evidence, he doesn’t touch this question with a twelve-foot-long halberd.
Overall, though, this is as complete a treatment of Champlain as you will read (barring the discovery of more of Champlain’s papers inside a dusty old French attic). It is insightful, detailed, comprehensible and – a rare enough trait – optimistic without being hagiographic. Fischer is not a historian to shy away from one-time heroes for the sake of political correctness. He embraces Champlain as a world-historical figure without a hint of hand-wringing about the flood-tide of war and disease and displacement that followed in his wake.
I had absolutely no interest in Samuel de Champlain or New France before I picked up this book. I read it on Fischer’s reputation alone (having thoroughly enjoyed Washington’s Crossing). I think it’s a measure of its quality that it created an interest within me where before there has been nothing but warmed-over Canada jokes and a short stack of half-digested pancakes.
March 11, 2024
The life and times of this pivotal figure in history is told in vivid and bold narrative. I did not even know who Samuel de Champlain was before I read this book...how funny it is that history books 'editorialize' who should be written about. I would venture to say that very few Americans know the role Champlain played in his three decades of influence in North America.
December 5, 2024
A brilliant, all-encompassing look at the life of the father of New France, Samuel de Champlain. Though he oddly gets shoved aside and overshadowed by other famous explorers, David Hackett Fischer's meticulous research and engaging narrative shines a formative light on Champlain's early rise and esteem with the French Monarchy. This evenly flows onwards and highlights his astonishingly steadfast moral compass, selfless diplomacy, and eventual discoveries of Quebec, Vermont, New York, and other portions of early North America. While a majority of histories of this epic proportion tend to be dry and rather monotonous, Fischer's powerful prose and overall promise of enlightening his audience on his subject's life from one chapter to the next is beyond comparison. True to its title, Champlain's Dream is a masterpiece that delivers on all aspects of a proper biography—filled with a welcome amount of chapter breaks and sources, maps and illustrations following almost every other page, and an abundance of pertinent appendices at the end.
January 25, 2018
A huge thank you to Marita for this.
I thoroughly enjoyed reading La Rêve de Champlain. This was the history of a man who, as an early explorer, mapmaker and founder of Canada, was a hero of mine as a child. By the time I was eleven years old, I knew every place he travelled to in his explorations of the Saint Lawrence basin. I could trace his routes on a map. I thought that he and the other explorers of our northern land were true heroes and spent a lot of time at the local bookmobile searching for history books. I knew a lot ....
Or so I thought. It took an American academic to fill in all of the huge gaps in my knowledge. It was excellent. I not only learned a lot but will be back on the search for other such books on others of my heroes (LaVerendre, Hearn, Thompson, MacKenzie).
What I learned was that Champlain was a true humanitarian long before it was politically correct. He was a man driven by a dream to found a new world. He devoted his life to this task, taking setbacks and wavering supporting stride. He was a real pioneer. I picked a cool childhood hero.
The book is exceptionally well researched and written. Reading the French translation gave me the opportunity to read Champlain’s own words in early 16th century French. It was a great deal of fun. Perhaps I should look into finding some of Champlain’s books. I suspect that they would be fascinating as well.
I would recommend it to anyone who wants to know the life of a great man and the founder of Québec in 1608..cool. (And my favourite city in Canada)
I thoroughly enjoyed reading La Rêve de Champlain. This was the history of a man who, as an early explorer, mapmaker and founder of Canada, was a hero of mine as a child. By the time I was eleven years old, I knew every place he travelled to in his explorations of the Saint Lawrence basin. I could trace his routes on a map. I thought that he and the other explorers of our northern land were true heroes and spent a lot of time at the local bookmobile searching for history books. I knew a lot ....
Or so I thought. It took an American academic to fill in all of the huge gaps in my knowledge. It was excellent. I not only learned a lot but will be back on the search for other such books on others of my heroes (LaVerendre, Hearn, Thompson, MacKenzie).
What I learned was that Champlain was a true humanitarian long before it was politically correct. He was a man driven by a dream to found a new world. He devoted his life to this task, taking setbacks and wavering supporting stride. He was a real pioneer. I picked a cool childhood hero.
The book is exceptionally well researched and written. Reading the French translation gave me the opportunity to read Champlain’s own words in early 16th century French. It was a great deal of fun. Perhaps I should look into finding some of Champlain’s books. I suspect that they would be fascinating as well.
I would recommend it to anyone who wants to know the life of a great man and the founder of Québec in 1608..cool. (And my favourite city in Canada)
November 24, 2016
In this warmly-written, epic work, David Hackett Fischer has given us the definitive biography of Samuel Champlain. It's formidably-researched and gives us a richly detailed story of his life and the times he shaped: in this work we learn of early French Canada, and his humane and intelligent rapport with the native peoples, now the First Nation of Canada. He emerges from these pages as an intelligent, charismatic man, even at this distance in time.
It's a book that has had considerable influence since its publication in 2008; just as an example, American Nations: A History of the Eleven Rival Regional Cultures of North America seems to have drawn on it almost exclusively for his commentary on French-speaking, modern-day Canada and its present-day alliance with the First Nation.
It's also a book that shows that a hardcover paper book still has advantages over an electronic edition. The numerous maps, charts and illustrations weave into the text, complement the story, provide insights to the reader and make 530 pages of text, plus ample appendices (don't miss "Memories of Champlain," a gathering of contemporary writing about Champlain).
This work will be the definitive work on Champlain and early Quebec for a long time to come. For those interested in the early European exploration of America, it's indispensable. For those interested in history as great literature, it's a worthy addition to your shelf.
Highest recommendation.
It's a book that has had considerable influence since its publication in 2008; just as an example, American Nations: A History of the Eleven Rival Regional Cultures of North America seems to have drawn on it almost exclusively for his commentary on French-speaking, modern-day Canada and its present-day alliance with the First Nation.
It's also a book that shows that a hardcover paper book still has advantages over an electronic edition. The numerous maps, charts and illustrations weave into the text, complement the story, provide insights to the reader and make 530 pages of text, plus ample appendices (don't miss "Memories of Champlain," a gathering of contemporary writing about Champlain).
This work will be the definitive work on Champlain and early Quebec for a long time to come. For those interested in the early European exploration of America, it's indispensable. For those interested in history as great literature, it's a worthy addition to your shelf.
Highest recommendation.
December 14, 2021
Excellent writing; David Fischer's passion and respect for his subject clearly comes through in this book. I never thought I'd read the entire book of 600 pages, much less some of the appendices, but it kept my interest throughout the story of the life of Samuel Champlain.
I knew very little about 17th century France, Champlain or Canadian history and geography so I had to refer to maps a lot to get locations in my head. Fischer is a historian at a Boston university who lives on Mt. Desert Island (Maine) in the summers; one of the places explored and charted by Champlain.
So much about Champlain's life is amazing. Over 20 Atlantic crossings, going to battle with the St. Lawrence River Native Americans against the Iroquois, naming so many of the lakes and rivers of the Canadian/American borderlands. Champlain's first trip to the New World was with the Spanish, to the West Indies, possibly as a spy for King Henri IV. He was shocked at the suffering he saw among the African slaves and native Americans there. The French, under Champlain, deliberately did not try to conquer the natives and compel them to work for them as did New Spain. Nor did they try to push them out as did New England and Virginia; instead, Champlain wanted a world where the native Americans and French could trade and live together.
I especially enjoyed the stories of Champlain's exploring voyages. Quebec City, the successful settlement, was not the first one . . . Champlain and the French tried several times elsewhere; they mapped and tried to claim parts of New England. The cold Canadian winters continually surprised the French; it took a couple of decades before any French women arrived in the settlements.
Champlain was born a Protestant but converted to Catholicism and was very devout.
I sometimes wondered if Fischer was too respectful of Champlain in the book. There's very little discussion of his marriage to Helene (who was 12 to his 40 years on their wedding day). Much of the information on Champlain's career comes from his own writings (confirmed by contemporaries) but that also means very, very little personal information about Champlain. Still, at book's end, I too was a great admirer of Samuel de Champlain!
I knew very little about 17th century France, Champlain or Canadian history and geography so I had to refer to maps a lot to get locations in my head. Fischer is a historian at a Boston university who lives on Mt. Desert Island (Maine) in the summers; one of the places explored and charted by Champlain.
So much about Champlain's life is amazing. Over 20 Atlantic crossings, going to battle with the St. Lawrence River Native Americans against the Iroquois, naming so many of the lakes and rivers of the Canadian/American borderlands. Champlain's first trip to the New World was with the Spanish, to the West Indies, possibly as a spy for King Henri IV. He was shocked at the suffering he saw among the African slaves and native Americans there. The French, under Champlain, deliberately did not try to conquer the natives and compel them to work for them as did New Spain. Nor did they try to push them out as did New England and Virginia; instead, Champlain wanted a world where the native Americans and French could trade and live together.
I especially enjoyed the stories of Champlain's exploring voyages. Quebec City, the successful settlement, was not the first one . . . Champlain and the French tried several times elsewhere; they mapped and tried to claim parts of New England. The cold Canadian winters continually surprised the French; it took a couple of decades before any French women arrived in the settlements.
Champlain was born a Protestant but converted to Catholicism and was very devout.
I sometimes wondered if Fischer was too respectful of Champlain in the book. There's very little discussion of his marriage to Helene (who was 12 to his 40 years on their wedding day). Much of the information on Champlain's career comes from his own writings (confirmed by contemporaries) but that also means very, very little personal information about Champlain. Still, at book's end, I too was a great admirer of Samuel de Champlain!
December 19, 2011
Champlain's dream is biography so big it edges over into history. It might be more corect to say the life related was so big that it enormously affected history. I personally had a double-edged reaction to it, liking it but not liking it.
Samuel Champlain was the French soldier, mariner, and explorer who was along for some of the earliest voyages of discovery to what is now Canada's Maritime coast and the St. Lawrence Valley. He helped found Quebec and other settlements along the river. He traveled extensively throughout the region establishing diplomatic and trade relations with the various American Indian groups. He was constantly busy making maps of wherever he traveled, often the first European there. An important man in France, too, he had connections at court as well as business roles in several corporations funding the settlement of what was called New France. Eventually he was named as the head of the colony, the representative of Crown and Cardinal Richelieu.
My problems with the book are that it doesn't seem to realistically portray the historical events. Though the events seem to be factually accurate, I define the problem as a lack of cynicism on the part of the author, David Hackett Fischer. Because everything is depicted in a rosy light the book reads as if it was more suitable for younger readers. The book is so enthusiastically positive in relating Champlain's deeds and responses to what he saw that I began to wonder if history could be so ideal. Sometimes I thought the book gushed. And I began to think it was giving a false impression and that there was no true description of the lives lived. The Canadian light is always bright. Indians sing to everyone's delight and pleasure. Relations are all extravagant generosity and splendid displays. I began to see maybe the fault wasn't that Fischer didn't see the less than rosy side of Champlain. He may have been exactly what Fischer says he was. It may be that he didn't see the less than rosy side of the world around Champlain.
This enormous moment in history must have been as shocking to Europeans as it was to the Native Americans. The wonder of such a huge land so full of promise and bounty compared to the smaller, cramped Europe, often war-torn, its society always circumscribed by centuries of established economies and class, must have produced true wonder, maybe even a sense of disbelief. Both Indians and Europeans must have functioned in states of amazement. As full as Fischer's story is, it's still too sketchy to adequately convey this.
I also thought that Champlain is taken out of the broad history of North American exploration and Old World expansion. He gives us a Champlain too different from John Smith or Cortez or Sir Walter Raleigh. He shines too brightly and stands apart from them when in fact he was one of them. He may have been better at it and his intentions may have included the very best for the Native Americans. Nevertheless he was part of the movement in which the leading edge of the globe's most advanced economy and technology overwhelms the primitive. Fischer's failure to recogize Champlain in that way makes his book about a paragon rather than a man.
The final chapters do provide better history. Fischer tells the story of the most important voyageurs who traveled the Great Lakes and intricate inland waterways exploring, mapping, and trading. And he describes the settlement of the Maritime coast and what came to be known as Acadia. Their history is so finely told that I was reminded of what an interesting writer of history Fischer can be. His book might have been better as a history of the broad nationalistic sweep of France into the political vacuum that was the New World rather than the lifetime dream of one man.
Samuel Champlain was the French soldier, mariner, and explorer who was along for some of the earliest voyages of discovery to what is now Canada's Maritime coast and the St. Lawrence Valley. He helped found Quebec and other settlements along the river. He traveled extensively throughout the region establishing diplomatic and trade relations with the various American Indian groups. He was constantly busy making maps of wherever he traveled, often the first European there. An important man in France, too, he had connections at court as well as business roles in several corporations funding the settlement of what was called New France. Eventually he was named as the head of the colony, the representative of Crown and Cardinal Richelieu.
My problems with the book are that it doesn't seem to realistically portray the historical events. Though the events seem to be factually accurate, I define the problem as a lack of cynicism on the part of the author, David Hackett Fischer. Because everything is depicted in a rosy light the book reads as if it was more suitable for younger readers. The book is so enthusiastically positive in relating Champlain's deeds and responses to what he saw that I began to wonder if history could be so ideal. Sometimes I thought the book gushed. And I began to think it was giving a false impression and that there was no true description of the lives lived. The Canadian light is always bright. Indians sing to everyone's delight and pleasure. Relations are all extravagant generosity and splendid displays. I began to see maybe the fault wasn't that Fischer didn't see the less than rosy side of Champlain. He may have been exactly what Fischer says he was. It may be that he didn't see the less than rosy side of the world around Champlain.
This enormous moment in history must have been as shocking to Europeans as it was to the Native Americans. The wonder of such a huge land so full of promise and bounty compared to the smaller, cramped Europe, often war-torn, its society always circumscribed by centuries of established economies and class, must have produced true wonder, maybe even a sense of disbelief. Both Indians and Europeans must have functioned in states of amazement. As full as Fischer's story is, it's still too sketchy to adequately convey this.
I also thought that Champlain is taken out of the broad history of North American exploration and Old World expansion. He gives us a Champlain too different from John Smith or Cortez or Sir Walter Raleigh. He shines too brightly and stands apart from them when in fact he was one of them. He may have been better at it and his intentions may have included the very best for the Native Americans. Nevertheless he was part of the movement in which the leading edge of the globe's most advanced economy and technology overwhelms the primitive. Fischer's failure to recogize Champlain in that way makes his book about a paragon rather than a man.
The final chapters do provide better history. Fischer tells the story of the most important voyageurs who traveled the Great Lakes and intricate inland waterways exploring, mapping, and trading. And he describes the settlement of the Maritime coast and what came to be known as Acadia. Their history is so finely told that I was reminded of what an interesting writer of history Fischer can be. His book might have been better as a history of the broad nationalistic sweep of France into the political vacuum that was the New World rather than the lifetime dream of one man.
October 9, 2023
Le reve de Champlain de David Hackett Fischer montre que Champlain a été non-seulement un grand héros du Canada, mais aussi de toute l'Amérique du Nord et de l'Europe entier. Champlain était un grand navigateur, un cartographe hors paire, un diplomat, un administrateur, un guerrier et un grand esprit.
Robert Charlebois a posé la grande question: 'Cartier, Cartier! Pourquoi n'avez vous pas navigué à l'envers.' Voilà le grand cliché qui est très vrai. Le Canada a été fort mal situé pour un emplacement de colonie. Avec un moindre talent que Champlain, la colonie Canadienne n'aurait jamais survécu.
Hackett trouve que Champlain a été un excellent ambassadeur de la civilisation Européen. Il prechait la tolerance entre les religions. Ils voyaient des Amérindiens comme étant des collaboraturs non comme étant des énemis.
Nous devons remercier fortement l'américain Fischer pour son excellente biographie d'un grand Canadien.
Robert Charlebois a posé la grande question: 'Cartier, Cartier! Pourquoi n'avez vous pas navigué à l'envers.' Voilà le grand cliché qui est très vrai. Le Canada a été fort mal situé pour un emplacement de colonie. Avec un moindre talent que Champlain, la colonie Canadienne n'aurait jamais survécu.
Hackett trouve que Champlain a été un excellent ambassadeur de la civilisation Européen. Il prechait la tolerance entre les religions. Ils voyaient des Amérindiens comme étant des collaboraturs non comme étant des énemis.
Nous devons remercier fortement l'américain Fischer pour son excellente biographie d'un grand Canadien.
May 20, 2014
Much of my reading over the past year or so has focused on this question: How did we (Americans) get to be so politically different, one from the other? How did the "red states" get to be so red? How did the "blue states" get to be so blue? What is the history behind all that?
Books like The Big Sort; Roger Williams and the Creation of the American Soul: Church, State, and the Birth of Liberty ; American Nations: A History of the Eleven Rival Regional Cultures of North America; A Great and Noble Scheme: The Tragic Story of the Expulsion of the French Acadia, and even Gone With the Wind offered great insight. And to that list I must now add David Hackett Fischer's Champlain's Dream.
In a nutshell: Fischer asserts that Champlain was probably the illegitimate son of French King Henry IV and was much favored by the king. Champlain grew up in a seaport town where cultures fused, molding Champlain's personality into one full of diplomatic and interactional skills. Champlain fully subscribed to Henry's embrace of religious tolerance and carried it to North America, where he met the native Americans not as a race to be subjugated but as near co-equals, a people to be respected, albeit ones slightly amoral and little rough around the edges.
Earlier, in the late 1500s, Henry had also sent Champlain as an observer aboard Spanish sailings to the Caribbean, where the young man was appalled at the brutal treatment of native tribes by the Spanish.
The upshot: a liberal legacy in Quebec quite unlike that of the English colonies (save for perhaps that of Roger Williams) and Spanish.
Odd, but I was not at all offended by Fischer's seeming adulation of Champlain, since I was dismayed at Doris Kearns Goodwin's similar fawning over Lincoln in Team of Rivals. Fischer's exhaustive research and the facts surrounding Champlain's life and exploits lead one to believe Fischer has not exaggerated: Champlain was a Renaissance man, a man of multiple talents, and a man far more deserving of honor and respect in North American history . . . certainly far more than Columbus.
Fischer leaves the reader thinking that Champlain was not only a remarkably talented and brilliant man. He was a good man.
Books like The Big Sort; Roger Williams and the Creation of the American Soul: Church, State, and the Birth of Liberty ; American Nations: A History of the Eleven Rival Regional Cultures of North America; A Great and Noble Scheme: The Tragic Story of the Expulsion of the French Acadia, and even Gone With the Wind offered great insight. And to that list I must now add David Hackett Fischer's Champlain's Dream.
In a nutshell: Fischer asserts that Champlain was probably the illegitimate son of French King Henry IV and was much favored by the king. Champlain grew up in a seaport town where cultures fused, molding Champlain's personality into one full of diplomatic and interactional skills. Champlain fully subscribed to Henry's embrace of religious tolerance and carried it to North America, where he met the native Americans not as a race to be subjugated but as near co-equals, a people to be respected, albeit ones slightly amoral and little rough around the edges.
Earlier, in the late 1500s, Henry had also sent Champlain as an observer aboard Spanish sailings to the Caribbean, where the young man was appalled at the brutal treatment of native tribes by the Spanish.
The upshot: a liberal legacy in Quebec quite unlike that of the English colonies (save for perhaps that of Roger Williams) and Spanish.
Odd, but I was not at all offended by Fischer's seeming adulation of Champlain, since I was dismayed at Doris Kearns Goodwin's similar fawning over Lincoln in Team of Rivals. Fischer's exhaustive research and the facts surrounding Champlain's life and exploits lead one to believe Fischer has not exaggerated: Champlain was a Renaissance man, a man of multiple talents, and a man far more deserving of honor and respect in North American history . . . certainly far more than Columbus.
Fischer leaves the reader thinking that Champlain was not only a remarkably talented and brilliant man. He was a good man.
March 31, 2022
There's so much info in this giant tome that it's hard to compare to other books. As a reference book, it's got everything one needs. As a history book to read for fun, it's too long and filled with too many subjects that are only vaguely related to Champlain. If this book were ever to be aimed at a wider audience than just those of us with an unnatural interest in seventeenth century North America, a good deal of cutting would be needed to make it a bit smoother. Great appendices though and tons of fantastic pictures, maps, artwork, etc. It's almost worth flipping through just to see all the visual aides. So much cool stuff to see.
June 6, 2015
The history of European colonization in the Americas is strewn with rogues, murderers and exploiters, but this book about Samuel de Champlain, "founder" of New France, (Quebec and Acadia) suggests something different; born in sixteenth century France that was torn apart by religious wars between Catholics and Protestants that at times approached genocide, (France had ten civil wars in Champlain's lifetime) Champlain saw such horrors as a young soldier in Europe that he adopted a philosophy of tolerance, humanism and progressivism that he brought to North America as an explorer. Horrified by the example of the Spanish in Mexico and the Caribbean, (he journeyed there as a spy) he sought friendship and partnership with the Indian groups that he met in Canada, fostering a reputation as a holy man and an ally, (not honored after his passing). Champlain as a cartographer, explorer, (he crossed the Atlantic Ocean 27 times between 1598 and 1632) administrator and man of peace deserve to be remembered throughout the ages. He was a great figure in history.
April 28, 2025
An absolute workhorse unit and he maintained that spirit throughout his adult life until his death. Fischers' biography of the 15th century Frenchman makes it very clear as to why he's regarded as the Father of New France. Central to his momentous accomplishments was his hard-to-replicate leadership style that combined, among others, people management and a humanistic outlook. Not only these qualities allowed him to forge long-lasting friendships with many in the French kingdom, such as bureaucrats, labourers, and Jesuits, who were instrumental in actualizing his dream, this also enabled him to work tirelessly with others who did not share his vision, such as several actors in the French monarchy and their court officials, and capitalists. A stand out feature of the New France is how it treated the First Nations people largely with respect and friendliness compared to prejudice and violence shown by the English and Spanish colonial empire. The institutor of this was Champlain and this proved advantageous for both parties where his alliances with the Mi'kmaq, Algonquin, Huron, Montagnais, and Huron, and many more nations (count'em!) kept the uncooperative Iroquois at bay south of the St. Lawrence valley and helped to promote a peaceful landscape, which was maintained through Champlain's lengthy consultations from his multiethnic justice, for the French colonies to flourish after their precarious founding. This is evidenced by the failure of two colonies in Acadia, extraordinary difficulty Quebec faced from winters that were unheard of in France, long supply lines that were further lengthened by treacherous weather, and incentivizing colonists to improve the land. As for the man's raison d'etre, Fischer explains that there isn't much on the internal workings of the man in his publications but his tremendous devoutness to the Christian faith, as in its foundational focus on humanity, seems to had been an important driver.
Fascinating sections on the indigenous nations' rule by retribution when managing unfriendly neighbours, and their lack of hierarchy and its consequences at times of battles and relations with European colonists; the work of French interpreters whose free reign across the continent make them the OG frontiersmen in the continent; the origin of distinct vocabulary and accents of Quebec French and Acadian French; and numerous maps by Champlain on his explorations make the non-fiction an important one on the subject of New World colonialism and a must-have for Canadian history.
5/5
Fascinating sections on the indigenous nations' rule by retribution when managing unfriendly neighbours, and their lack of hierarchy and its consequences at times of battles and relations with European colonists; the work of French interpreters whose free reign across the continent make them the OG frontiersmen in the continent; the origin of distinct vocabulary and accents of Quebec French and Acadian French; and numerous maps by Champlain on his explorations make the non-fiction an important one on the subject of New World colonialism and a must-have for Canadian history.
5/5
Read
December 22, 2021I enjoyed the story of Champlain, but reserve some skepticism over some of the more hagiographical elements in the author’s rendering. I’m not sure much beyond his accomplishments is required to show what a remarkable historical figure Champlain was, but the author seemed hellbent on providing a counterbalance to “political correctness.” (I unfortunately do not yet have a hard copy, so I am not sure if the author provided footnotes or endnotes with specific references to the p.c. anti-Champlain historians he mentions in the very beginning section of the book, or if he just was drawing up straw men.)
Either way, I think it was well worth the read if interested in the history of Quebec/Canada. I can forgive some of the praise of Champlain because of the amount of research and detail that is in this book. Read because Louise Penny mentions it as a source in the Acknowledgments of Bury Your Dead.
Either way, I think it was well worth the read if interested in the history of Quebec/Canada. I can forgive some of the praise of Champlain because of the amount of research and detail that is in this book. Read because Louise Penny mentions it as a source in the Acknowledgments of Bury Your Dead.
October 27, 2013
There were perhaps a half-dozen French colonization attempts before 1608, all disastrous failures. Champlain studied them and took the appropriate lessons. He envisioned a new type of colony: well-ordered, hierarchical, Catholic but tolerant. Unlike the English colonies, it would be founded under royal sponsorship, not by various ad-hoc companies seeking gold or utopia. Unlike the Spanish, he would treat the natives with kindness and respect. Indeed, Champlain admired the Indians and befriended them, though he also strove to end the constant warring between tribes and the sadistic torture of prisoners that was customary among them. He was devoted to the idea of establishing a self-sustaining colony in Quebec, with a mixed French-Indian people loyal to the Church and to the French crown. It's a pleasure and an inspiration to read of his industry, piety, perseverence, wisdom, tolerance, righteousness, and honesty. The colony grew slowly and unevenly until the English captured it in 1629. They had to return it because the capture was made after a peace treaty had been signed in Europe, but the event spurred Richelieu to action. In the last few years before Champlain's death in Quebec, several hundred settlers were dispatched to New France and the rapid growth of the colony began.
The story is wonderfully told, full of scholarly detail and vivid descriptions. Sometimes the vividness gives rise to suspicion: at the start of a certain journey we are told how the paddles flashed in the sun or the seabirds flew over the water, but do his sources really tell him that it wasn't cloudy on that day, or that the birds put in their accustomed appearance? But the appendices contain critical bibliographies showing that Fischer paid careful attention to original sources, geographical and archaeological facts, and the opinions of other scholars, giving one great confidence that his judgment is trustworthy in all matters of substance. This book is an engaging and enlightening account of a part of Canadian and American history that is perhaps not as well known as it should be in America. It both teaches and delights.
The story is wonderfully told, full of scholarly detail and vivid descriptions. Sometimes the vividness gives rise to suspicion: at the start of a certain journey we are told how the paddles flashed in the sun or the seabirds flew over the water, but do his sources really tell him that it wasn't cloudy on that day, or that the birds put in their accustomed appearance? But the appendices contain critical bibliographies showing that Fischer paid careful attention to original sources, geographical and archaeological facts, and the opinions of other scholars, giving one great confidence that his judgment is trustworthy in all matters of substance. This book is an engaging and enlightening account of a part of Canadian and American history that is perhaps not as well known as it should be in America. It both teaches and delights.
May 4, 2020
Wonderful book about an incredible man. It takes you back in history to the French religious wars, takes you into the courts of several French kings and gives accounts of European colonialism in the Americas. It outlines Champlain's determination to found a colony in New France and his relations with the various native nations. His unique approach was one of cooperation rather than domination. It showed the explorer's gift for negotiation and talent for navigation, map drawing, art, and general enjoyment of life wherever he was.
May 30, 2009
Excellent history. Puts Champlain in the frame of his time. I have done quite a bit of research on Champlain and soon found, after reading lots of conflicting information, that some people writing about Champlain hadn't bothered to go back and actually read his works, but relied entirely on secondary and tertiary sources resulting in repeated misinformation. Fisher sets this record of confusion straight.
A couple of things I would have liked to have seen was more on the Huguenot influence in New France. After the death of Henry IV they drop out of Fisher's narrative, but they remained a strong presence in New France, mainly as tradesmen, until the early 18th century when they were forced to abjure their faith.
The other thing that could have been covered was the machinations of the Jesuits to get rid of the Recollets. Champlain introduced the Recollets to New France, but died under the influence of the Jesuits. There's a story there.
Fisher paints a convincing portrait of Champlain and tries to see him within his age without judging him from a contemporary standpoint. Fisher doesn't comment on Champlain's vision of the sons of France marrying the daughters of the native poeple - he never says that the daughters of France should marry the native men.
A couple of things I would have liked to have seen was more on the Huguenot influence in New France. After the death of Henry IV they drop out of Fisher's narrative, but they remained a strong presence in New France, mainly as tradesmen, until the early 18th century when they were forced to abjure their faith.
The other thing that could have been covered was the machinations of the Jesuits to get rid of the Recollets. Champlain introduced the Recollets to New France, but died under the influence of the Jesuits. There's a story there.
Fisher paints a convincing portrait of Champlain and tries to see him within his age without judging him from a contemporary standpoint. Fisher doesn't comment on Champlain's vision of the sons of France marrying the daughters of the native poeple - he never says that the daughters of France should marry the native men.
September 10, 2021
Champlain's Dream is on a list of suggested books to read when traveling to Quebec, where I am going to in a couple of weeks. I almost didn't read this book when I saw how long it was. I ended up getting the hardback out of the library and the audiobook which is abridged (it doesn't include the appendixes and notes which make up roughly 250 pages). I am very glad I did as it is an amazing book and David Hackett Fischer is a wonderful storyteller.
Being from New England, I am far more familiar with English Colonial history and had little understanding of how different the French approach was. Rather than conquer, Champlain sought to build alliances and solve problems. Champlain's Dream is fascinating and left me with a few "What if?" - for example, what if Henri IV had not been assassinated? What if the French had kept control of the areas they colonialized? At any rate, this is a wonderful book and a story that is worth understanding.
Being from New England, I am far more familiar with English Colonial history and had little understanding of how different the French approach was. Rather than conquer, Champlain sought to build alliances and solve problems. Champlain's Dream is fascinating and left me with a few "What if?" - for example, what if Henri IV had not been assassinated? What if the French had kept control of the areas they colonialized? At any rate, this is a wonderful book and a story that is worth understanding.
January 1, 2014
An exhaustively footnoted and sourced book. If you enjoy academic history this book is worth the time and effort to read. The author does a great job at really fleshing out the subject, and his desire to began the country that becomes Canada. He makes a good case for Champlain as the bastard son of Henry IV of France, but then he ceases to mention it for the rest of the book. I think it might have been a reason for some of the advantages that Champlain had in the early part of his career.
The apendices he writes are a little bit too much for me but the book itself was eye opening in a lot of ways.
The apendices he writes are a little bit too much for me but the book itself was eye opening in a lot of ways.
August 22, 2020
Samuel De Chaplain was a soldier, explorer, and founder of New France. David Hackett Fischer does a masterful job, explaining how he was a man of honour, courage, and deep Catholic piety. The author delves into the writings of Champlain and helps the reader understand this great man through his own words. Champlain once said that a good leader "keeps his word in any agreement; for anyone who does not keep his word is looked upon as a coward, and forfeits his honour and reputation." The book focuses on Champlain's vision of a Catholic colony in what is modern-day Quebec and how he spent his whole life working to achieve this grandiose goal.
September 21, 2024
Audible Plus 11 hours 18 min. Narrated by Edward Herrmann (A)
Abridged audiobook
This captivating biography captures the fascinating life of Samuel de Champlain through the years of his dream to establish a French colony in the New World. Champlain is noted for his discernment about the intelligence of native tribes with whom he established working relationships and is recognized as one of the few explorers who treated them honorably. Champlain is largely overlooked as a French explorer, but his friendships with the different tribes in the early 1600s were the primary reason they were loyal to the French during the French and Indian Wars.
Highly recommend!
Abridged audiobook
This captivating biography captures the fascinating life of Samuel de Champlain through the years of his dream to establish a French colony in the New World. Champlain is noted for his discernment about the intelligence of native tribes with whom he established working relationships and is recognized as one of the few explorers who treated them honorably. Champlain is largely overlooked as a French explorer, but his friendships with the different tribes in the early 1600s were the primary reason they were loyal to the French during the French and Indian Wars.
Highly recommend!
June 10, 2025
Champlain’s Dream is an extraordinary and thoroughly researched account of one of Canada’s foundational figures. The sheer volume of information, supported by meticulous citations, makes this not just a compelling biography but a valuable reference for anyone seeking to understand the creation of New France.
As someone typically drawn to British-Canadian history, I was surprised by how profoundly this book affected me. Samuel de Champlain lived a remarkable life—from fighting in the French religious wars to charting the Atlantic coast and founding key settlements in Acadia and Quebec. But perhaps his greatest legacy lies in his progressive and humane approach to Indian- French relations. Champlain viewed the Indians not as obstacles or subordinates, but as equals—partners in trade, diplomacy, and even family. His encouragement of intermarriage, alliance-building, and long periods of peace with groups like the Iroquois demonstrates a visionary mindset far ahead of his time.
Fischer captures Champlain as a man who believed deeply in unity through shared purpose, even amid cultural diversity. The book also starkly portrays how, after King Henry IV’s death, Champlain had to fight for every scrap of imperial support—further highlighting how much of New France’s foundation rests on one individual’s imagination, resilience, and perseverance.
Every Canadian should read Champlain’s Dream. It brings to life the volatile, adventurous years between 1600 and 1635—an era shaped by grit, faith, and bold diplomacy—with vivid storytelling and profound historical insight.
As someone typically drawn to British-Canadian history, I was surprised by how profoundly this book affected me. Samuel de Champlain lived a remarkable life—from fighting in the French religious wars to charting the Atlantic coast and founding key settlements in Acadia and Quebec. But perhaps his greatest legacy lies in his progressive and humane approach to Indian- French relations. Champlain viewed the Indians not as obstacles or subordinates, but as equals—partners in trade, diplomacy, and even family. His encouragement of intermarriage, alliance-building, and long periods of peace with groups like the Iroquois demonstrates a visionary mindset far ahead of his time.
Fischer captures Champlain as a man who believed deeply in unity through shared purpose, even amid cultural diversity. The book also starkly portrays how, after King Henry IV’s death, Champlain had to fight for every scrap of imperial support—further highlighting how much of New France’s foundation rests on one individual’s imagination, resilience, and perseverance.
Every Canadian should read Champlain’s Dream. It brings to life the volatile, adventurous years between 1600 and 1635—an era shaped by grit, faith, and bold diplomacy—with vivid storytelling and profound historical insight.
December 31, 2023
It was worthwhile learning more about the protagonist of the founding of modern Canada. It gives some insight into why the project of New France took a different trajectory to New England or New Spain.
I didn't rate the book higher I didn't feel that every one of Champlain's voyages and exploits needed to be covered to that degree of detail in order to appreciate the essence of his character and historical impact. But some people may prefer a more exhaustive retelling of events. That's what this book is.
I didn't rate the book higher I didn't feel that every one of Champlain's voyages and exploits needed to be covered to that degree of detail in order to appreciate the essence of his character and historical impact. But some people may prefer a more exhaustive retelling of events. That's what this book is.
November 27, 2022
Heavily researched with mega-footnotes, but still enthralling and fascinating. An in depth biography of a true visionary and humanitarian, way before his time. Living in an area of Ontario that was explored extensively by Champlain, I thought I knew the story but the detail was missing before. I’ve discovered a new hero while he was discovering New France. A long hard textbook kind of read but I’m happy I made the effort to honour HIS efforts.
February 3, 2017
Samuel de Champlain was one of the great explorers of the 17th Century. Over the course of 30 years, he explored much of what is now Canada and the New England states. He is considered the founder of New France, which is now Quebec. In 1605, he helped found the colony of Port Royal, Nova Scotia, which was the first permanent French settlement in North America. This is a thorough biography of Champlain but also a history of the first interactions between the French explorers/settlers in North America and the Native Americans of this region.
October 14, 2019
A little lengthy in detail, especially when it comes to 30-plus ocean crossings, but it is a well-written tale of a leader whose legacy is greater than the father of French Canada, but a visionary who saw a multiethnic North America.
November 30, 2021
Wow! One might be tempted to dismiss this as 'boring Canadian history'. BIG MISTAKE.
First, there is no boring Canadian history, and this is also more than 'just' Canadian history.
It is European/Canadian/US/North American, and it is exquisitely researched and beautifully written.
First, there is no boring Canadian history, and this is also more than 'just' Canadian history.
It is European/Canadian/US/North American, and it is exquisitely researched and beautifully written.
October 15, 2023
"Champlain's Dream" is an absolute BANGER of a book for anyone even remotely interested in the history, exploration, First Nations, and the remarkable life of Samuel de Champlain, Quebec, and Canada. Fischer's storytelling skills are top-notch, making this biography not only informative but also easy and addictive to read.
The humanist side of Champlain shines brightly in this book. More importantly than being the father of Quebec, his unyielding commitment to peaceful coexistence with indigenous people and his unwavering dedication to understanding and respecting their cultures make him an incredibly admirable figure. Few people have ever had a harmonious vision of the New World, and fewer still have endeavoured up to such an extent to materialize it. Specially here in North America, where having completely different cultures in the same land could present a challenge to thriving together, his efforts are nothing short of inspiring. Champlain's dream was not just about colonization; it was about building bridges and connections, something that still resonates today.
But what surprised me were Fischer's comments on the evolution of the French language. He weaves in these fun linguistic explanations effortlessly, and points out the differences and relations between old French, metropolitan French, pidgin languages and the Quebec and Acadian accents spoken today in these regions. Even though he only talked about it in a couple of pages, the best part is that I can actually notice these accurate explanations every day.
The history of North America, Canada, Quebec, the First Nations, and Champlain's life intertwine perfectly in this biography that will stand for years as one of the best books I've ever read. A necessary read for anybody claiming to be North American, and a must for anybody claiming to be a global citizen.
"Champlain's greatest achievement was not his career as an explorer or his success as a founder of colonies. His largest contribution was the success of his principled leadership in the cause of humanity. That is what made him a world figure in modern history. It is his legacy to us all."
The humanist side of Champlain shines brightly in this book. More importantly than being the father of Quebec, his unyielding commitment to peaceful coexistence with indigenous people and his unwavering dedication to understanding and respecting their cultures make him an incredibly admirable figure. Few people have ever had a harmonious vision of the New World, and fewer still have endeavoured up to such an extent to materialize it. Specially here in North America, where having completely different cultures in the same land could present a challenge to thriving together, his efforts are nothing short of inspiring. Champlain's dream was not just about colonization; it was about building bridges and connections, something that still resonates today.
But what surprised me were Fischer's comments on the evolution of the French language. He weaves in these fun linguistic explanations effortlessly, and points out the differences and relations between old French, metropolitan French, pidgin languages and the Quebec and Acadian accents spoken today in these regions. Even though he only talked about it in a couple of pages, the best part is that I can actually notice these accurate explanations every day.
The history of North America, Canada, Quebec, the First Nations, and Champlain's life intertwine perfectly in this biography that will stand for years as one of the best books I've ever read. A necessary read for anybody claiming to be North American, and a must for anybody claiming to be a global citizen.
"Champlain's greatest achievement was not his career as an explorer or his success as a founder of colonies. His largest contribution was the success of his principled leadership in the cause of humanity. That is what made him a world figure in modern history. It is his legacy to us all."
January 1, 2021
"Champlain's Dream" is the apotheosis of historical biographies. So carefully researched and lovingly but objectively written, I really think it belongs in a category all its own. This book looks at the founder of New France (Quebec) and the unique historical moment that made such a colony possible. Fischer carefully shows how the founders of New France were part of a period of French history celebrated for a spirit of religious pluralism after decades of religious wars. Many, including Champlain himself, came from a region of France famed for its practicality and toleration. The argument of the book is that there was a genuine desire among the founders of New France to build something truly unique - a place that combined French and Indigenous peoples into one nation. The author goes further to argue that the unique personality of Quebec and of Canada generally can be laid at this broader vision practiced by the founders of New France. I am not as well versed in Canadian history and I know that the story is much more complicated than this. But for its sheer bravado, "Champlain's Dream" is worth a read.
August 30, 2015
What I particularly enjoy about David Hackett Fischer’s books is that he is a practitioner of what I like to call “thick history”. On the one hand, he is a throwback to older generations of historians who wrote history as the acts of remarkable individuals – heroes. The Samuel de Champlain who emerges from the pages of this book is definitely that. At the same time, Fischer is informed by the broad range of developments in the practice and writing of history that emerged during the course of the twentieth century: the new social history, ethnography, economic history, and so on. Whatever his topic, he has an eye for the role of folkways, of speech patterns, and styles of architecture in recovering the past. On top of this, he is unabashed in his devotion to what some feel is an irreconcilable pair of opposites, “the study of the past on its own terms and at the same time [to] link it with the present” (p. 567).
The “dream” at the core of this book is Champlain’s humanistic vision of a world of tolerance and cooperation in the North American forest, as different as possible from the world of cruelty and religious intolerance into which he was born in France. An early assignment as an intelligence agent (= “spy”) in New Spain showed him one possible way of dealing with the native populations of the western hemisphere, and it appalled him. From his first voyage along the St. Lawrence River, his approach was unusual. He was vitally interested in the native population. While there were aspects of their lives that met with his disapproval, there was much more that he found to admire. In return, the natives experienced in Champlain a man unlike many of those they would encounter: a man who listened, who sought to understand, and one who kept his word. He was not the only one, but there were too few like him.
There is a sense of tragedy in the account, not only in the tale of a man whose devotion to his goal and his manifold skills in pursuing it enabled him to overcome many obstacles and reversals, both in the New World and back home in the Old. More than that, there is the sense of a missed opportunity, a sense that Champlain’s dream died with him. Yet this reader was left wondering what chance the dream had of fulfilment. Champlain avoided violence against the native inhabitants, certainly laudable, yet the diseases carried by the settlers he imported proved as deadly as any weapons he could have wielded. He had the fortune of dying of a stroke before epidemics ravaged the Huron nation. What were the real prospects for the achievement of his dream, even had his masters back home, Louis XIII and Richelieu, subscribed to it? Of course we cannot know. Nevertheless it remains incontestable that Champlain accomplished much; more important than the amount of his achievement or its permanence, however, was the way he achieved what he did. The age in which he lived would have made it easier for him to act very differently than he did – less honorably, less peaceably, less tolerantly. What I felt ennobling in reading this book was that, by doing things in the way he did, Champlain met with more success than those who employed more conventional methods.
Symptomatic of the thoroughness of Fischer’s approach is a section he wedges between the final chapter of his text and the sixteen appendices that follow, entitled Memories of Champlain. In it, he surveys the historiography of Champlain over four centuries. He shows a virtuostic mastery of the material; more than that, a magnanimous spirit that values the achievement of various schools and tendencies, even those with which he disagrees. In this way, Fischer is not unlike Champlain.
Highly recommended.
The “dream” at the core of this book is Champlain’s humanistic vision of a world of tolerance and cooperation in the North American forest, as different as possible from the world of cruelty and religious intolerance into which he was born in France. An early assignment as an intelligence agent (= “spy”) in New Spain showed him one possible way of dealing with the native populations of the western hemisphere, and it appalled him. From his first voyage along the St. Lawrence River, his approach was unusual. He was vitally interested in the native population. While there were aspects of their lives that met with his disapproval, there was much more that he found to admire. In return, the natives experienced in Champlain a man unlike many of those they would encounter: a man who listened, who sought to understand, and one who kept his word. He was not the only one, but there were too few like him.
There is a sense of tragedy in the account, not only in the tale of a man whose devotion to his goal and his manifold skills in pursuing it enabled him to overcome many obstacles and reversals, both in the New World and back home in the Old. More than that, there is the sense of a missed opportunity, a sense that Champlain’s dream died with him. Yet this reader was left wondering what chance the dream had of fulfilment. Champlain avoided violence against the native inhabitants, certainly laudable, yet the diseases carried by the settlers he imported proved as deadly as any weapons he could have wielded. He had the fortune of dying of a stroke before epidemics ravaged the Huron nation. What were the real prospects for the achievement of his dream, even had his masters back home, Louis XIII and Richelieu, subscribed to it? Of course we cannot know. Nevertheless it remains incontestable that Champlain accomplished much; more important than the amount of his achievement or its permanence, however, was the way he achieved what he did. The age in which he lived would have made it easier for him to act very differently than he did – less honorably, less peaceably, less tolerantly. What I felt ennobling in reading this book was that, by doing things in the way he did, Champlain met with more success than those who employed more conventional methods.
Symptomatic of the thoroughness of Fischer’s approach is a section he wedges between the final chapter of his text and the sixteen appendices that follow, entitled Memories of Champlain. In it, he surveys the historiography of Champlain over four centuries. He shows a virtuostic mastery of the material; more than that, a magnanimous spirit that values the achievement of various schools and tendencies, even those with which he disagrees. In this way, Fischer is not unlike Champlain.
Highly recommended.
October 16, 2019
This is an exceptional biography, which I enjoyed and could often not put down. Well researched, well written - anyone who is a fan of history will enjoy this book - which is long, but a great read. My grade - A.
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