The sea, however, did not at once lead Champlain to New France.  Provencal, his uncle, held high employment in the Spanish fleet, and through his assistance Champlain embarked at Blavet in Brittany for Cadiz, convoying Spanish soldiers who had served with the League in France.  After three months at Seville he secured a Spanish commission as captain of a ship sailing for the West Indies.  Under this appointment it was his duty to attend Don Francisco Colombo, who with an armada of twenty galleons sailed in January 1599 to protect Porto Rico from the English.  In the maritime strife of Spain and England this expedition has no part that remains memorable.  For Champlain it meant a first command at sea and a first glimpse of America.

The record of this voyage was an incident of no less importance in Champlain’s fortunes than the voyage itself.  His cruisings in the Spanish Main gave him material for a little book, the Bref Discours; and the Bref Discours in turn advanced his career.  Apart from any effect which it may have had in securing for him the title of Geographer to the King, it shows his own aspiration to be a geographer.  Navigation can be regarded either as a science or a trade.  For Champlain it was plainly a science, demanding care in observation and faithfulness of narrative.  The Bref Discours was written immediately upon his return from the West Indies, while the events it describes were still fresh in mind.  Appearing at a time when colonial secrets were carefully guarded, it gave France a glimpse of Spanish America from French eyes.  For us it preserves Champlain’s impressions of Mexico, Panama, and the Antilles.  For Champlain himself it was a profession of faith, a statement that he had entered upon the honourable occupation of navigator; in other words, that he was to be classed neither with ship-captains nor with traders, but with explorers and authors.

It was in March 1601 that Champlain reached France on his return from the West Indies.  The next two years he spent at home, occupied partly with the composition of his Bref Discours and partly with the quest of suitable employment.  His avowed preference for the sea and the reputation which he had already gained as a navigator left no doubt as to the sphere of his future activities, but though eager to explore some portion of America on behalf of the French crown, the question of ways and means presented many difficulties.  Chief among these was the fickleness of the king.  Henry iv had great political intelligence, and moreover desired, in general, to befriend those who had proved loyal during his doubtful days.  His political sagacity should have led him to see the value of colonial expansion, and his willingness to advance faithful followers should have brought Champlain something better than his pension and the title of Geographer.  But the problems of France were intricate, and what most appealed to the judgment of Henry was the need of domestic reorganization after a generation of slaughter