Roberval was a complicated man operating in a complicated era.

A nobleman with military experience and evident ambitions, he had the ear of King François I of France — a monarch determined to press French claims in the New World at a time when Spain and Portugal were already extracting enormous wealth from the Americas.

Roberval was appointed lieutenant-general for Canada, a title with real authority behind it: he was empowered by the king to establish a French colonial presence in what is now eastern Canada.

This appointment came with financial opportunity — and possibly financial need.