What would history be without the picturesque annals of the Gallic race? This is a question which the serious student may well ask himself as he works his way through the chronicles of a dozen centuries. From the age of Charlemagne to the last of the Bonapartes is a long stride down the ages; but there was never a time in all these years when men might make reckonings in the arithmetic of European politics without taking into account the prestige, the power, and even the primacy of France....

France, when she undertook the creation of a Bourbon empire beyond the seas, was the first nation of Europe. Her population was larger than that of Spain, and three times that of England. Her army in the days of Louis Quatorze, numbering nearly a half-million in all ranks, was larger than that of Rome at the height of the imperial power. No nation since the fall of Roman supremacy had possessed such resources for conquering and colonizing new lands. By the middle of the seventeenth century...

It was Samuel Champlain, a seaman of Brouage, who first secured for France and for Frenchmen a sure foothold in North America, and thus became the herald of Bourbon imperialism. After a youth spent at sea, Champlain engaged for some years in the armed conflicts with the Huguenots; then he returned to his old marine life once more.

CONTENTSI. FRANCE OF THE BOURBONSII. A VOYAGEUR OF BRITTANYIII. THE FOUNDING OF NEW FRANCEIV. THE AGE OF LOUIS QUATORZEV. THE IRON GOVERNORVI. LA SALLE AND THE VOYAGEURSVII. THE CHURCH IN NEW FRANCEVIII. SEIGNEURS OF OLD CANADAIX. THE COUREURS-DE-BOISX. AGRICULTURE, INDUSTRY, AND TRADEXI. HOW THE PEOPLE LIVEDBIBLIOGRAPHICAL NOTE

In the heart of the untamed wilderness of New France, a band of intrepid explorers, missionaries, and soldiers embarked on a perilous quest to establish a foothold for their faith and their nation. Led by the indomitable Samuel de Champlain, these Crusaders of New France faced countless challenges and dangers as they navigated treacherous rivers, forged alliances with Native American tribes, and clashed with rival European powers. Their unwavering determination and unwavering belief would ...