Samuel de Champlain (c. 1567-c. 1635) If there was one founder of New France or the future Canada, it was the French explorer Samuel de Champlain. In 1605, along with Pierre du Guast, Lord de Monts (1560-1611), he founded the first European settlement, later to become Montreal. Before founding Quebec, Champlain led pioneering trips up the St Lawrence and other rivers, reaching Lake Huron and Lake Ontario and finally discovered the lake that bears his name. At that particular time he was accompanied by a war party of the Algonquins and Hurons, actively supporting their eventual victory over the Iroquois near the present Ticonderoga.

Mediterranean Sea Nicolaos Vourdopolos, c. 1600-1610 Parchment, 50.5 x 59 cm Bibliothèque nationale de France, Paris