Samuel de Champlain
Sign in to save16/17th-century French explorer of North America
AI overview
Samuel de Champlain was a French explorer in the 16th and 17th centuries who played a major role in exploring and mapping North America, particularly present-day Canada. He matters because his expeditions, settlements, and detailed records helped establish French presence in North America and provided important knowledge about the geography and peoples of the continent.
AI-generated from the Wikipedia summary — may contain errors.
Article
Samuel de Champlain ( French: [samɥɛl də ʃɑ̃plɛ̃]; baptized 13 August 1574 – 25 December 1635) was a French explorer, navigator, cartographer, soldier, geographer, diplomat, and chronicler who founded Quebec City and established New France as a permanent French colony in North America.
Champlain made between 21 and 29 voyages across the Atlantic Ocean during his career, founding Quebec on 3 July 1608. As an accomplished cartographer, he created the first accurate maps of North America's eastern coastline and the Great Lakes region, combining direct observation with information provided by Indigenous peoples. His detailed maps and written accounts provided Europeans with their first comprehensive understanding of the geography and peoples of northeastern North America.