Ever since Christopher Columbus and Jacques Cartier set foot on the New World I have always wanted to see for myself the savages and monsters that inhabit this land. When Samuel de Champlain announced that he was recruiting crew members to go with him, I enlisted right away and started the perilous journey to the New World. After months of seasickness, disease, and other hardships, we finally arrived.
When we first arrived, Champlain discovered that there were many rich furs here that were in high demand back in Europe. We first needed a colony to settle year-round first, though so in the Year of our Lord of 1607, Champlain formed a colony called Acadia. I was one of the first ones to settle there, but soon left the others and moved on.
After we settled and met the Algonquian natives, as they were called, our leader, Champlain wanted native trappers to trade their furs with him for his pots, metal tools, and guns. The native chief announced that in order for us to trade with them we must first form a military alliance by helping the natives fight their enemies, the Iroquois. So one day in 1609, we set out to raid an Iroquois camp. The fight was fierce, with arrows flying and weapons clashing, but with our guns they were no match for us. After the victory we formed a pact with the Algonquians, saying that they only trade with us in return for our tools and guns.
After we had developed a strong alliance with the Algonquians, Champlain wanted to further enforce the fur trade by making us learn more about their culture and language. To do this he sent several of us, including me, to Huronia (where the Hurons, Algonquian allies, live.) villages to live with them and learn as much as we could. Some even went as far as to marry with Huron women and live there for the rest of their lives. However, the Algonquians feared our ties with the Hurons were too strong, so when a group of English explorers came, they helped them invade our settlements.
Even as all this was going on, Champlain still had one goal: to find a North-West passage to the orient. After Cartier left, there was still much unexplored land and it was still believed that that land would eventually lead to China. Although we were unsuccessful, this allowed us to explore more land and meet more natives, which would benefit us in the long run. It is now 1640. I must end my story, but there is still much to be explored, much to be learned. I am looking forward to that and hope to write back soon.
