Editing Samuel de Champlain (section)

== Early life ==
[[File:Samuel-de-champlain-s.jpg|thumb|right|Inauthentic depiction of Champlain, by [[Théophile Hamel]] (1870), after the one by Ducornet, based on a portrait of [[Michel Particelli d'Emery]] by Balthasar Moncornet.  No authentic portrait of Champlain is known to exist.<ref>[[#Bishop1948|Bishop (1948)]], pp 6–7</ref>]]

Champlain was born to Antoine Champlain (also written "Anthoine Chappelain" in some records) and Marguerite Le Roy, in either [[Hiers-Brouage]], or the port city of [[La Rochelle]], in the French province of [[Aunis]].

He was born on or before 13 August 1574, according to a recent baptism record<!--if the record of a 1574 [[baptism]] is "recent", it is surely bogus; should this read "recently found"?--> found by Jean-Marie Germe, French genealogist.<ref name="birth" /><ref group=Note name="birth2" /><ref name=Germe>[[#Germe|Germe]], p. 2</ref>

Although in 1870, the Canadian Catholic priest Laverdière, in the first chapter of his ''Œuvres de Champlain'', accepted Pierre-Damien Rainguet's<ref>[[#Rainguet1851|Rainguet (1851)]]</ref> estimate of Champlain's birth year as 1567 and tried to justify it, his calculations were based on assumptions now believed, or proven, to be incorrect.

Although Léopold Delayant (member, secretary, then president of ''l'Académie des belles-lettres, sciences et arts de La Rochelle'') wrote as early as 1867 that Rainguet's estimate was wrong, the books of Rainguet and Laverdière have had a significant influence. The 1567 date was carved on numerous [[monuments]] dedicated to Champlain and is widely regarded as accurate.

In the first half of the 20th century, some authors disagreed, choosing 1570 or 1575 instead of 1567. In 1978 Jean Liebel published groundbreaking research about these estimates of Champlain's birth year and concluded, "Samuel Champlain was born about 1580 in Brouage, France."<ref>[[#Liebel1978|Liebel (1978)]], p. 236</ref>

Liebel asserts that some authors, including the Catholic priests Rainguet and Laverdière, preferred years when Brouage was under Catholic control (which include 1567, 1570, and 1575).<ref>[[#Liebel1978|Liebel (1978)]], pp. 229–237.</ref>
Champlain claimed to be from Brouage in the title of his 1603 book and to be ''Saintongeois'' in the title of his second book (1613).

He belonged to a [[Roman Catholic]] family in Brouage which was most of the time a Catholic city, Brouage was a royal fortress and its governor, from 1627 until his death in 1635, was [[Cardinal Richelieu]]. The exact location of his birth is thus also not known with certainty, but at the time of his birth his parents were living in [[Hiers-Brouage|Brouage]].<ref group=Note>His family lived in Brouage at the time of his birth; the exact place and date of his birth are unknown.[http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/105187/Samuel-de-Champlain Britannica.com] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090414232618/http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/105187/Samuel-de-Champlain |date=2009-04-14 }}</ref>
[[File:ChamplianStoneDingleTowerHalifaxNovaScotia.jpg|thumb|left|[[Sir Sandford Fleming Park]], [[Halifax, Nova Scotia]] – Stone from Samuel de Champlain's birthplace in [[Brouage]], France (1574)]]

Born into a family of mariners (both his father and uncle-in-law were sailors, or navigators), Samuel Champlain learned to navigate, draw, make [[nautical chart]]s, and write practical reports. His education did not include [[Ancient Greek]] or [[Latin]], so he did not read or learn from any ancient literature.

As each French fleet had to assure its own defense at sea, Champlain sought to learn to fight with the firearms of his time: he acquired this practical knowledge when serving with the army of [[Henry IV of France|King Henry IV]] during the later stages of [[French Wars of Religion|France's religious wars]] in [[Brittany]] from 1594 or 1595 to 1598, beginning as a quartermaster responsible for the feeding and care of horses.

During this time he claimed to go on a "certain secret voyage" for the king,<ref>[[#Fischer|Fischer (2008)]], p. 62</ref> and saw combat (including maybe the [[Siege of Fort Crozon]], at the end of 1594).<ref name=F65>[[#Fischer|Fischer (2008)]], p. 65 Note: Fischer cites numerous other authorities in repeating this.</ref> By 1597 he was a "capitaine d'une compagnie" serving in a garrison near [[Quimper, Finistère|Quimper]].<ref name="F65" />