Chronicles of Canada Volume 03 - Founder of New France: A Chronicle of Champlain

Charles William Colby, who lived from 1867 to 1955, was a Canadian historian who taught at McGill University in Montreal. He wrote this account of Champlain in 1915 for the Chronicles of Canada, a series of short books on the main episodes of the country's history, produced for a wide audience rather than specialists. Founder of New France: A Chronicle of Champlain is the third volume in that series.

Samuel de Champlain, the book's hero, is remembered as the founder of Quebec and as one of the great explorers of the early seventeenth century. Colby tells how he came to North America, how he took part in early attempts at colonisation in Acadia, and how he established a permanent presence on the St Lawrence. The author presents him as a man of courage and persistence, but also of faith and loyalty, and his admiration for his subject is evident throughout. This is history written in the confident, narrative style of the early twentieth century, and it reflects the outlook of its time, including attitudes to indigenous peoples and to the colonial enterprise that modern readers may want to weigh with care.

The book has six chapters, beginning with Champlain's early years and moving through Acadia and the founding of Quebec. It runs for about three hours and is read by one LibriVox volunteer. It is a good introduction for anyone interested in Canadian history, in the age of exploration, or in the way earlier generations told the story of their country. It is an engaging path into the early history of North America.