Champlain’s astrolabe: the journey of a mythical Canadian heritage object

par Bergeron, Yves

An astrolabe that may have belonged to the explorerSamuel de Champlain was discovered in 1867 near the Ottawa River. More than a century later, thisprecision instrument known as "Champlain's astrolabe" has become one ofCanada's most highly prized heritage objects and it now belongs to thepermanent collection of the Canadian Museum of Civilization. The unique journeyof this iconic object of Canadian history resembles a fictional tale, withfirst Champlain as the central figure, and then the astrolabe. Weinvite you to discover how this 17^th-century navigation instrumentbecame a Canadian heritage symbol.

Article disponible en français : Astrolabe de Champlain : parcours d'un objet mythique du patrimoine canadien

The Astrolabe Today
The 19th Century Discovery of the Astrolabe
Legitimate Questions
The Confederation Train
Further Questions on the Astrolabe's Authenticity
A Tale of Heritage
What Does the Astrolabe Account Tell Us?
- NOTES

DOCUMENTS COMPLÉMENTAIRES

The Astrolabe Today

In 1989, Canada'sDepartment of Communications took the necessary steps to acquire Champlain'sastrolabe, which for a number of years had been in the hands of the New-YorkHistorical Society, in order to integrate it into the collections of theCanadian Museum of Civilization that was just about to open to the public.During the 1967 Centennial Celebrations of the Canadian Confederation,reproductions of the astrolabe had already been offered to several Canadian andAmerican museums. Statues ofChamplain holding his astrolabe were also erected. The one in Ottawa has becomeone of Canada's most photographed monuments. The proliferation of images of theastrolabe contributed to the heritage-building process in which this mythicalobject became a Canadian heritage item and Samuel de Champlain, father ofCanada.

The 19^th-Century Discovery of the Astrolabe

Accompanied byNicolas de Vignau, Champlain explored the Ottawa River during the summer of1613 in search of a passage to China and the riches of the East. The two men apparently proceededupstream to the present Gould's Landing, then crossed a series of lakes andportaged between them, in order to avoid the Ottawa rapids, until they reached AllumetteIsland. In his account of thevoyage, Champlain begins by providing precise measurements of the latitude, anindication that he used his astrolabe. Later he offers a simple description of the area without specifying thelatitude, suggesting that the astrolabe was lost, in spite of the fact thatnowhere did Champlain report the disappearance of his precious measuringinstrument, although he included many other details in his report.

The history of theheritage acquisition of Champlain's astrolabe began some 254 years later, inAugust 1867. That year, a teenagernamed Edward George Lee stumbled upon "a brass disk in the groundbeneath a fallen tree. His father,John Lee, a farmer from the Cobden, Ontario, area, had been doing clearing workon the shores of Green Lake."^{(NOTE 1)} This is how Jean-PierreChrestien, curator of the Canadian Museum of Civilization, reports thediscovery of the astrolabe in a major work about Champlain published in 2004.

At the same time,young Lee discovered other objects, including "a rusty iron chain, smallcontainers or plates embedded in copper, and two engraved or emblazonedtumblers." All of these objectswere handed over to the owner of the land, one Captain Overman.

In an accountpublished in 1880, a certain Mr. Scadding indicates that "the tumblers weresold to a peddler then melted down, while the copper objects were reused for,among other purposes, to repair a hole in a canoe." Thus, the only evidence that would have made it possible toidentify the origin of all these objects with any certainty was lost forever. As for the astrolabe, it was apparentlykept for "a number of months on the officers' desk of the steamship serving theshores of Muskrat Lake, and the public learned of the event only a number ofyears later." ^{(NOTE 2)}

In 1870, Father Charles-HonoréLaverdière published the collected works of Champlain, thus rekindlinginterest in the astrolabe. Anartist by the name of Alexander Jamieson Russell produced a leaflet in which heasserted that the astrolabe in question had indeed belonged to Champlain, whileproviding only circumstantial evidence for his claim.

That same year,Orasmus Holmes Marshall, a book collector from Buffalo, commented on thisdiscovery and stated that he agreed with Russell's arguments (although heremained prudent as to the origins of the astrolabe), since, in his opinion,the evidence remained inconclusive. In the end, the editor of the CanadianJournal of Science, Literature, and History took up these arguments duringthe 1879 conference of the Canadian Institute. As Chrestien points out, this was when "Champlain'sastrolabe assumed its place in Canadian history." ^{(NOTE 3)}

During this time,the astrolabe changed hands several times. Captain Overman sold the instrument to his boss, R. W.Cassels. Then Cassels's heirs soldit to the American collector Samuel V. Hoffman, who bequeathed it to the New-YorkHistorical Society in 1942. Overthe course of this journey, the astrolabe was shown in a number of exhibits,most notably "at the Smithsonian Institute in Washington, the Peabody Museum inSalem, [Mass.] and the Canada Science and Technology Museum in Ottawa." ^{(NOTE 4)}

Legitimate Questions

Certain detailsconcerning the history of this astrolabe inevitably raise a number ofquestions. In 1613, only a fewlearned individuals knew how to use this "high-tech" instrument that enabledChamplain to map with precision the new territory he was exploring. So why didn't he mention itsdisappearance in his account of this voyage, in which he provided a greatnumber other details? How is itthat the astrolabe was found with other objects having no obvious connectionwith Champlain's expedition? Onemust not also forget that there is only oral tradition to support the discoveryof the astrolabe in 1867, since it was 12 years before the first text reporting such a finding was actuallypublished. It is also curious thatthe astrolabe just happened to be discovered in August 1867, a few weeks afterthe confederation of Canada on July 1^st, 1867.

Moreover, in1879, just as Canada's territorial expansion westward was causing a majorcrisis involving the Manitoba and Saskatchewan Metis, three publications wereproduced to confirm the authenticity of Champlain's astrolabe. At this time, the Canadian governmentwas funding the construction of a railway line to unite the country fromeast to west, with the goal of linking British Columbia to the rest of thecountry. One thing is sure: Canada was still a young country whosehistory remained to be written. The discovery of Champlain's astrolabe could not have come at a bettertime.

The Confederation Train

In 1967, the Centennialcelebrations of the Canadian Confederation caused re-emergence of the nearlyforgotten history of Champlain's astrolabe, which was then in the possession ofthe New-York Historical Society in the United States. As a part of the extensive program to commemorate nationalhistory, the Canadian government borrowed the astrolabe in order to make replicas,which it then distributed to various museums. The government incorporated the object into the grand historicalaccount it was planning to present to the Canadian people, particularly in thecontext of the confederation train project that crossed the country presentingan exhibit interpreting the history of Canada. Implicit in this whole process was the obvious desire tolegitimize the authenticity of the astrolabe and, at the same time, to makeCanadian history better known and appreciated. Following the same line ofthinking, in 1989, the Canadian government acquired the astrolabe andintegrated it into the new Canadian Museum of Civilization collections,a gesture that resonated with meaning- both from the point of view of thecountry's history and its identity.

Further Questions on the Astrolabe's Authenticity

The curator ofthe Canadian Museum of Civilization, Jean-Pierre Chrestien, points out that theyear 1603 is engraved on the astrolabe's 13-cm (5 in) disk and that metallurgicanalyses confirm that it was indeed manufactured in Europe at the beginning ofthe 17^th century. Butthere is nothing to guarantee that it comes from France, nor is there any proofthat it actually is the astrolabe that belonged to Champlain. We do know that before his death,Champlain bequeathed all his worldly goods to Father Charles Lalemant who mayhave inherited this astrolabe...if it was not lost during the voyage of1613. Furthermore, Chrestien hashypothesized that perhaps it was Father Lalemant himself who lost it during oneof his trips between Huronia and Quebec. Chrestien also wonders whether Father Lalemant might not "have given itto somebody else, to Father Daniel for example? Did Champlain have several astrolabes? He probably did since he could not havedrawn up his maps with such great precision using the tiny astrolabe discoveredat Green Lake."^{(NOTE 5)} An so there are anumber of hypotheses that cast doubt on the authenticity of "Champlain'sastrolabe" which need to be taken into consideration.

A Tale of Heritage

In reality, thisfabulous account is primarily based on the desire of all the players involvedto believe it. The story is toogood not to be true... Like allheritage and museum artifacts, Champlain's astrolabe plays a commemorativerole-in this case to remind us of the accomplishments of the Father of NewFrance.

What is yet evenmore remarkable, is that the historical account follows the traditionalstructure of a tale or legend, which can be broken down into the following sixmajor parts:

1. The initial situation places theprotagonist into the plot and setting of the story. 2. The hero then embarks upon a quest intendedto satisfy a specific need. 3. The hero must venture far afield inorder to find what he is looking for. 4. During his voyage, the hero facesobstacles and ordeals. 5. The hero usually receives some form ofmagical assistance that enables him to successfully complete his quest. 6.The heroreaches his goal, satisfying the original need, and all's well that ends well.

The passages ofChamplain's story that are directly related to the astrolabe match thisstructure rather faithfully.

Champlainenlisted in an exploration voyage in response to a clearly expressed requestmade by King Louis XIII, who ordered him to "find the easiest way to go throughthe said country to the Kingdom of China and the East Indies."^(NOTE6) Champlaintherefore had to venture far from Quebec City and explore an unknown territoryfraught with obstacles. The Algonquins that he met at Île aux Allumettesprovided the "magical" assistance in question by exposing the lies told by hisFrench guide (Nicolas de Vignau) and by giving him reliable information thatconvinced him to return to Quebec City-a decision that not prove entirelyfruitful for Champlain, but it did mark a return to routine life in the colony.The voyage was also momentous in that he had made significant degree of progressin acquiring knowledge of the territory.

Similar toChamplain's voyage to Île aux Allumettes, the story of the heritage-acquisitionprocess involving Champlain's astrolabe also takes on the classic form of aheroic tale. Here the astrolabeitself is the protagonist of the story. The quest evoked by the tale is the discovery of Canada's origins andthe nation's history.

The discovery ofthe astrolabe takes us back to the voyage Champlain made along the Ottawa Riverand throughout the vicinity in 1613. It also marks the second symbolic founding of Canada since the astrolabewas discovered-curiously enough-in 1867, in the same region that wouldeventually become the nation's capital. After having laid at rest beneath the earth for 254 years, Champlain'sastrolabe changed hands a number of times and ended up in the United States fora long period of exile. Whereas anumber of authors and collectors were convinced that the astrolabe wasauthentic, others were not so sure. Hence this authenticity had to be proven once and for all. The historians who addressed thequestion could not confirm the astrolabe's historical value beyond a reasonabledoubt. Instead they used this objectas a pretext for providing an historical account. The instrument temporarily returned to Canada in 1967 forthe Centennial Celebrations of the Confederation. The Canadian government made replicas that were circulated amongthe museums of the country's network, but the original remained in the UnitedStates. Finally, following lengthynegotiations between the Canadian and American governments, in 1989, the covetedobject returned home to stay. It was on the auspicious occasion of theinauguration of the Canadian Museum of Civilization, formerly the Museum ofMan. Its specific commission is to be "the national depository of humanhistory."

From this timeon, the Museum would make Champlain's astrolabe an iconic object that wouldtake its place at heart of a permanent exhibit dedicated to Canadianhistory. The story ends happily,like a traditional fairy tale. Butthe doubts expressed during recent years have led the Museum to take a morenuanced position on the astrolabe's authenticity. A renewed debate concerning the astrolabe arose during the400^th anniversary celebrations marking the founding of New Franceand the beginning of French cultural presence in North America. When commenting on museum artifacts,Jacques Hainard writes that it is a typical case "of contextualized objects vs.utilized objects."

What Does the Astrolabe Account Tell Us?

In the case ofChamplain's astrolabe, it is not so much the artifact that is of importance asit is the tale that has been woven around it: a tale of exploration, loss, and discovery, as well as one oforigins and identity. The historysurrounding Champlain's astrolabe is so unusual that the Canadian Museum ofCivilization Web site now provides the following version of the account:

"In May 1613,Samuel de Champlain, the French explorer-cartographer, travelled up the OttawaRiver. To avoid the rapids, hechose a course through a number of small lakes near Cobden, Ontario. Champlain and his men were forced toportage and to climb over and under fallen logs at one particularly difficultpoint by Green Lake, now also known as Astrolabe Lake. It was here, according to several 19^th-centuryauthors, that Champlain lost his astrolabe. If this is correct, the astrolabe remained where it hadfallen for 254 years. Eventually,a 14-year-old farm boy named Edward Lee found it in 1867 while helping hisfather clear trees by Green Lake."^{(NOTE 7)} "Champlain's astrolabe" has proven to bea commemorative object that serves as time machine, taking us back to the verybeginnings of the acquisition of the territory by the various European nations.It can also be seen as a veritable "relic" of our history that has made itpossible to legitimize the historical origins of Canada. The astrolabe evokes the mythicalaccount of the initial founding of the country by Champlain, as well as itsrebirth with the signing of the Canadian confederation. Although Champlain'stomb has yet to be discovered, we have his astrolabe to remind us of the keyrole that he played in Canada's history.

Yves Bergeron
Professor of Art History and Museology
Université du Québec à Montréal

NOTES

1: Jean-Pierre Chrestien, "L'astrolabe deChamplain," Champlain. La naissance de l'Amérique française,Nouveau monde (Septentrion, 2004), p. 351. (Excerpt translated into English forthis text.)

2: Ibid.

3: Ibid., p. 352.

4: Ibid.

5: Ibid., p. 353.

6: Marcel Trudel, "Champlain, Samuelde,"Dictionaryof Canadian Biogaphy Online.

7: http://www.civilization.ca/cmc/exhibitions/tresors/treasures/222eng.shtml HYPERLINK"http://www.civilization.ca/cmc/exhibitions/tresors/treasures/222eng.shtml"