The Stamps of CanadaPoole, Bertram W. H. (Bertram William Henry)
History
The Stamps of Canada
Poole, Bertram W. H. (Bertram William Henry)
Postage stamps -- Canada
The historical moment of the arrival of Cartier's brave little "fleet"
is interestingly depicted on the 20c value of the tercentenary series.
Samuel de Champlain, whose portrait is also shown on the 1c
denomination, was born in 1570 and died in 1635. Again we are indebted
to the article in _Gibbons' Stamp Weekly_ for the following
particulars:--
In 1603 he was commissioned by King Henry IV of France to found a
settlement in Canada. On his first voyage he sailed up the St.
Lawrence, and established friendly relations with the various
native chiefs of the tribes inhabiting the country through which
the river flowed. On his second voyage he was accompanied by only
thirty people, and on July 3rd, 1608, he landed at the village of
Canada, which was mentioned above. His first thought was to find a
site suitable for the erection of an "_abitation_" where he might
pass the winter that was coming on. "I could find no more
comfortable or better spot than the land around Quebec, where
countless nut trees were to be seen," wrote Champlain. That was
exactly the same place where Cartier had built his fort sixty years
before.
Thanks to extreme industry, winter quarters were rapidly erected.
The habitation consisted of three principal buildings, each two
stories high. Two of these buildings measured 18 ft. long by 9 ft.
wide, and the third, used as a storehouse, was 36 ft. long by 18
ft. wide and had a large cellar. In the first building Champlain
lived with a few of the workmen in the lower story; in the other
the remaining workpeople lived, and had with them the arms and
ammunition of the whole party. An annexe was attached to one of the
buildings, and it was used as a smithy; a few of the people also
slept there. The whole of the buildings were enclosed by a trench
or moat 15 ft. wide and 9 ft. deep, to protect the settlers from
the ravages of wild beasts.
Champlain had earthworks thrown up on the inner side of the moat,
on which cannons were mounted. Between the encampment and the river
there remained a strip only 24 ft. wide; and behind, on the side of
the mountain, there was a plot of arable land a little more than
100 ft. long and 60 ft. wide, where Champlain had corn sown and
vines planted.
[Illustration]
This "abitation" is shown on the 5c value of the series, while on the
10c is shown the city of Quebec as it had grown by 1700 from such small
and modest beginnings.
[Illustration]
In the following May Champlain decided to explore the river and his
departure on this momentous journey is depicted on the 15c stamp.
[Illustration]
On the 7c denomination are portraits of the two famous generals,
Montcalm and Wolfe, both of whom were killed fighting each other on the
heights of Quebec. Again, to quote from the article in _Gibbons' Stamp
Weekly:_--
[Illustration]
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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