Europeans, almost immediately upon arrival, perceived America as an obstacle to be crossed. Their first grand illusion of the American North (Canada) was to underestimate the vastness of its continental dimension. For more than a century, Sébastien Cabot, Henry Hudson, Thomas James and others, seeking a passage to Asia, imagined the South Sea (Pacific Ocean) to be much closer to the North Sea (Atlantic) than it was in reality. For Champlain, in particular, this quest lay at the center of his mission to America. The idea of temporary settlement while awaiting a better place to go became a founding myth of Canada (Québec). From the very beginning, European explorers saw Canada as a mere place of transit to somewhere else.