which had left the land desolate.  Hence, despite momentary impulses to vie with Spain and England in oversea expansion, he kept to the path of caution, avoiding any expenditure for colonies which could be made a drain upon the treasury, and leaving individual pioneers to bear the cost of planting his flag in new lands.  In friendship likewise his good impulses were subject to the vagaries of a mercurial temperament and a marked willingness to follow the line of least resistance.  In the circumstances it is not strange that Champlain remained two years ashore.

The man to whom he owed most at this juncture was Aymar de Chastes.  Though Champlain had served the king faithfully, his youth and birth prevented him from doing more than belongs to the duty of a subaltern.  But De Chastes, as governor of Dieppe, at a time when the League seemed everywhere triumphant, gave Henry aid which proved to be the means of raising him from the dust.  It was a critical event for Champlain that early in 1603 De Chastes had determined to fit out an expedition to Canada.  Piety and patriotism seem to have been his dominant motives, but an opening for profit was also offered by a monopoly of the Laurentian fur trade.  During the civil wars Champlain’s strength of character had become known at first hand to De Chastes, who both liked and admired him.  Then, just at the right moment, he reached Fontainebleau, with his good record as a soldier and the added prestige which had come to him from his successful voyage to the West Indies.  He and De Chastes concluded an agreement, the king’s assent was specially given, and in the early spring of 1603 the founder of New France began his first voyage to the St Lawrence.

Champlain was now definitely committed to the task of gaining for France a foothold in North America.  This was to be his steady purpose, whether fortune frowned or smiled.  At times circumstances seemed favourable; at other times they were most disheartening.  Hence, if we are to understand his life and character, we must consider, however briefly, the conditions under which he worked.

It cannot be said that Champlain was born out of his right time.  His active years coincide with the most important, most exciting period in the colonial movement.  At the outset Spain had gone beyond all rivals in the race for the spoils of America.  The first stage was marked by unexampled and spectacular profits.  The bullion which flowed from Mexico and Peru was won by brutal cruelty to native races, but Europe accepted it as wealth poured forth in profusion from the mines.  Thus the first conception of a colony was that of a marvellous treasure-house where gold and silver lay piled up awaiting the arrival of a Cortez or a Pizarro.