The fisherman of the world had been sailing across the Atlantic for years, some even trading European wares for firs with the Indians in Canada. Aymar de Chastes would beg from Henry IV a patent to colonize the New World. He formed a company with the more prominent among the merchants. Two small ships set sail one commanded by Francois Grave Du Pont and the other by Samuel de Champlain. Frenchman were again leaving their footprints on the North American continent.