Champlain

Samuel de Champlain sailed for the French, crossing the ocean some thirty times, and is considered the father of New France and the first governor of North America. He had a different world view than some of his time. He had seen the mistreatment of native peoples in the Caribbean by Europeans, and chose to act differently. In his interactions as a leader of Frenchmen, he treated tribes from a nation-to-nation perspective, with respect. 

In doing so, he smoothed the way for settlement.

He was also an explorer, mapping out large parts of the eastern part of the continent. An astrolabe, a navigation tool of his time, is seen here.

He would make treaties and alliances with indigenous peoples that would allow French settlement, and the legacy he left behind is a big one. His name remains on the map all over the country.

Because the French made alliances with indigenous peoples, that also came with joining their allies against their enemies. Thus began a period called the Post-Contact Wars.

This reproduction of an indigenous club can be touched. A lethal weapon when swung at an enemy.

The Post-Contact Wars came to an end with the passing of the Great Peace of Montreal Treaty, in which disputes were settled through diplomacy.

The era of New France had begun.

The new colony was slow to grow, consisting mostly of men.

800 women, known to history as les Filles du Roi, or daughters of the King, would change that, crossing the ocean, finding husbands, and starting families. 

Household goods and furniture of New France is found here.

Outlook

 I ascended to the platform itself to take in the views. I plan to return in the fall for some sunset views.

Here we have the other of the statues that stood here at Kiweki Point when it was Nepean Point. Samuel de Champlain was the French explorer who first came up the river in 1613. A statue was raised in his honour and placed high on a plinth at the top of the hill. The plinth is gone, but the statue is back near its original location, and standing alone, with the scout that once stood at its base now off on its own. Champlain still looks to the west.

Another sculpture belonging to the National Gallery. This is, I believe, the first time I've photographed it in its own right.

A final view, and a pleasure to have come here.

Rise Of New France

It was past time to put in a new seasonal header for the blog. This one was taken, appropriately enough, at the Champlain Lookout in Gatineau Park last fall. 

Samuel de Champlain left a huge legacy behind. He mapped out new places in multiple expeditions, and his name is all over the Canadian map today.

But in the wake of contact with Europeans, an unexpected turn- indigenous peoples were exposed to diseases that the French had been largely immune to for generations. 

The Post-Contact Wars were a violent and turbulent time.

Ultimately they ended with the Great Peace of Montreal, a 1701 peace treaty that resolved much of the conflicts.

The era of New France had already begun.

But to people it was another matter. Young women in France, known as Les Filles du roi, sailed to the New World to settle and make families.

Age Of Exploration

Explorers for France set out across the ocean, not prepared for the reality of what they had to face.

Jacques Cartier led three voyages from 1534-42. His attempts at settlement failed.

The old rival to the French, namely the English, were sending their own explorers. Martin Frobisher sailed into the Arctic in this period, seeking what would come to be called the Northwest Passage.

He thought he found gold. He was wrong. He sent Inuit captives back to England as part of his spoils.

One sample of his ore is in this display case.

An explorer who had a very different perspective on life in the New World was Samuel de Champlain, the Father of New France.

Time spent sailing for the Spanish to their colonies in the Caribbean opened his eyes. He didn't like how the colonists treated the natives.

Leading expeditions of explorations for the French King, Champlain would adopt a very different technique- engaging tribes in a nation-to-nation way, as equals. It succeeded where others had failed, and alliances were created because of that. If only others had learned from that example.

As a partner in alliances with First Nations people, Champlain was obliged to fight their enemies. French settlers would take part in the Post-Contact Wars alongside their allies as a result.

Diplomat, soldier, explorer- Champlain was all of these. An astrolabe is seen here, typical of his period.