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Primary sourcePainting1613

The Defeat of the Iroquois on Lake Champlain

Samuel de Champlain · 1613

An engraved plate made by Champlain himself showing his 1609 battle against the Iroquois, published in 1613.

Champlain himself drew this record of his role fighting the Iroquois in 1609, revealing his military activities as an explorer.

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Engraved plate showing a battle between two groups of archers on a wooded shore. Canoes lie along the water in the foreground. Figures in the center fall and lie on the ground, and a fortified palisade stands at the right. A number 232 is handwritten at top right.
Samuel de Champlain, The Defeat of the Iroquois on Lake Champlain, 1613 engraving.

About this source

What it is

This is an engraving drawn by Samuel de Champlain, showing a battle fought in 1609 between his allied forces and the Iroquois near the lake that now bears his name. It was engraved and printed in 1613.

Why it matters

The image records Champlain's own view of a violent clash between European newcomers and Indigenous peoples in North America. As both witness and participant, Champlain shaped how this conflict would be remembered, making the picture a rare first-hand visual record from early French colonization.

Look closer

  • Why might Champlain have chosen to depict this battle rather than other events from his voyages?
  • What details in the scene tell you who is winning, and who made that choice?
  • What might this image leave out about the people and causes behind the fighting?

This painting is part of the curated material that grounds the AI version of Samuel de Champlain on Humy.ai — when students ask about related events, the AI can quote it and cite it.

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