"There hasn't been a single piece of law that has been passed that doesn't take the charter into account"

Bob Rae - former Ontario premier

Documents in History - A Primary View

That first contact with North America by European explorers is one of the most interesting areas of historic study or just plain reading. These intrepid explorers braved the unknown, the danger, the disease, the challenges form aboriginal peoples and the ultimate cost of their lives in the pursuit of new lands and knowledge. The native peoples reaction to these foreigners is usually just as interesting and the clash of cultures or in some cases the humanitarian cooperation between the two worlds is vibrant with drama and discovery. These first hand documents of that contact and Canada in another age leave much to imagination but enough in print to entrance the reader and keep riveted to the story of exploration.