Samuel de Champlain: Explorer and Colonizer

Transportation

A 17th-century galleon Copyright/Source

The names of the ships on Champlain's voyages are not all known. Most were probably galleons, a sailing ship that was built in many different sizes. These ships were crowded and the food was not very good. Many men became ill on long voyages.

Once in New France, Champlain used a canoe to explore. Canoes were made with a wooden frame and covered with the bark from a birch tree. They were very light and could be carried past dangerous rapids and waterfalls.

An Amazing Discovery!

The astrolabe thought to be used by Champlain to chart his explorations Copyright/Source

Navigators used a metal disc called an astrolabe to calculate latitude. Pointers moved to measure the height of the sun above the horizon. An astrolabe, said to have belonged to Champlain, was found in 1867 by Edward Lee, a 14-year-old boy, while helping his dad clear trees by Green Lake near Cobden, Ontario. He was offered $10 for it by Captain Cowley, who ran a steamboat. The boy never saw the money. His astrolabe was sold by Captain Cowley to R. W. Cassels from Toronto, president of the Ottawa Forwarding Company. It's now in the Canadian Museum of Civilization, in Ottawa.