Aymar de Chaste (1514–1603) was a Catholic French

admiral Admiral is one of the highest ranks in some navies. In the Commonwealth nations and the United States, a "full" admiral is equivalent to a "full" general in the army or the air force, and is above vice admiral and below admiral of the fleet, ...

during the Franco-Spanish Wars between 1582 and 1598. A gentleman of the King's Chamber, François Aymar (or Aimar) de Cleremont de Chaste served as governor of

Dieppe Dieppe (; Norman: ''Dgieppe'') is a coastal commune in the Seine-Maritime department in the Normandy region of northern France. Dieppe is a seaport on the English Channel at the mouth of the river Arques. A regular ferry service runs to Newha ...

and Arques-la-Bataille as well as the French ambassador to England during mid to late 16th century. A vice admiral, Chaste commanded the French-Portuguese naval forces supporting

António, Prior of Crato António, Prior of Crato (; 153126 August 1595; sometimes called ''The Determined'', ''The Fighter'', ''The Independentist'' or ''The Resistant''), was a grandson of King Manuel I of Portugal who claimed the Portuguese throne during the 1580 d ...

's attempt to defend the

Azores ) , motto =( en, "Rather die free than subjected in peace") , anthem= ( en, "Anthem of the Azores") , image_map=Locator_map_of_Azores_in_EU.svg , map_alt=Location of the Azores within the European Union , map_caption=Location of the Azores wi ...

from Spain to use as a staging point to liberate Portugal. However, he was defeated by

Álvaro de Bazán Álvaro (, , ) is a Spanish, Galician and Portuguese male given name and surname (see Spanish naming customs) of Visigothic origin. Some claim it may be related to the Old Norse name Alfarr, formed of the elements ''alf'' "elf" and ''arr'' "warrio ...

, Marquis of Santa Cruz at the Battle of Terceira in 1583. After agreeing to command an expedition to the

Saint Lawrence River The St. Lawrence River (french: Fleuve Saint-Laurent, ) is a large river in the middle latitudes of North America. Its headwaters begin flowing from Lake Ontario in a (roughly) northeasterly direction, into the Gulf of St. Lawrence, connectin ...

with former officers

Pierre Dugua, Sieur de Mons Pierre Dugua de Mons (or Du Gua de Monts; c. 1558 – 1628) was a French merchant, explorer and colonizer. A Calvinist, he was born in the Château de Mons, in Royan, Saintonge (southwestern France) and founded the first permanent French set ...

François Gravé Du Pont François Gravé (Saint-Malo, November 1560 – 1629 or soon after), said ''Du Pont'' (or ''Le Pont'', ''Pontgravé''...), was a Breton navigator (captain on the sea and on the "Big River of Canada"), an early fur trader and explorer in the N ...

, and

Samuel Champlain Samuel de Champlain (; Fichier OrigineFor a detailed analysis of his baptismal record, see RitchThe baptism act does not contain information about the age of Samuel, neither his birth date nor his place of birth. – 25 December 1635) was a Fr ...

, Chaste was appointed Viceroy of Canada by King Henry IV on February 6, 1602. Chaste would preside over

New France New France (french: Nouvelle-France) was the area colonized by France in North America, beginning with the exploration of the Gulf of Saint Lawrence by Jacques Cartier in 1534 and ending with the cession of New France to Great Britain and Spai ...

as lieutenant governor later forming the "Canada and Acadia Trading Company", which would eventually establish French domination of the

North American fur trade The North American fur trade is the commercial trade in furs in North America. Various Indigenous peoples of the Americas traded furs with other tribes during the pre-Columbian era. Europeans started their participation in the North American fur ...

for more than a decade, overseeing the company until his death in 1603, shortly before this first expedition return to France.

Further reading